San Francisco County
Biographies
THOMAS P.
BODKIN, M. D.
The success achieved by Dr. Thomas P. Bodkin, eminent surgeon of San Francisco, is a diversified one. In his professional career, he has been surgeon of the San Francisco fire department since 1897, and surgeon for St. Joseph’s Hospital for twenty-three years, both of which are notable records; and in dairying and cattle raising he has likewise made an outstanding success, now being the owner of one of the finest dairy ranches in the state.
Dr. Bodkin was born in San Francisco, July 28, 1868, and is a son of the late Thomas and Lucy (Kiernan) Bodkin, both of whom were natives of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were reared and married in that city, and then came to California on their honeymoon in 1852, making the journey via the Isthmus of Panama. Thomas Bodkin was a contractor and builder, and erected many of the early business blocks and hundreds of homes in San Francisco. He was very prominently known in his trade. His death occurred in 1898, and his wife is also deceased. Their three sons and two daughters survive them.
In the grammar schools of San Francisco, Dr. Bodkin began his studies, continued through the Boys’ high school, then took up the study of pharmacy at the University of California and received his diploma in this subject in 1887. Next he entered the Cooper Medical College, and received therefrom the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1893. He then began practice in San Francisco, and has continued in this city ever since with the exception of two years, 1895 and 1896, when he served on the United States revenue cutter Bear in the Arctic regions and along the coast of Siberia. His crew rescued a lone survivor of a wrecked vessel, who had awaited assistance in the cold desolation of the Arctic for many months, and brought him back to civilization. Dr. Bodkin has been a constant student of the development of medicine, and has kept abreast of the times in every respect. He has done postgraduate work in Dublin, Ireland; in Bellevue hospital in New York; and in the famous Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As noted in a preceding paragraph, he has been associated as surgeon with the local fire department since 1897, a record of loyal and efficient service to the city. His connection for twenty-three years with St. Joseph’s Hospital is another record of meritorious service. He belongs to the American Medical Association.
Dr. Bodkin has always been a lover of fine cattle, and today he owns a two-thousand-acre stock ranch in Marin county, California, where he conducts one of the most modern and sanitary dairy enterprises in the state. He was one of the organizers of the Marindale Dairy Association, and was its first president. The Doctor passes as much of his time as possible on his excellent ranch, attending to the numerous details which are to him the most pleasurable diversion.
Dr. Bodkin married Miss Carmel Tanforan, a daughter of Turibeo Tanforan, and a descendant of one of California’s oldest Spanish families. Mrs. Bodkin’s mother was a member of the famous Valencia family of California, the name now being honored in the Valencia orange and in the naming of Valencia street in San Francisco.
In politics, Dr. Bodkin follows an independent course, casting his vote for the candidate he considers best fitted for office. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church. For thirty-five years, he has been a member of the Olympus Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and during this entire long period he has been surgeon for the parlor. He takes an enthusiastic interest in a number of sports, his favorites being duck hunting and horseback riding.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Byington, Lewis Francis, “History of
San Francisco 3 Vols”, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1931. Vol. 3 Pages 23-25.
© 2007 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S SAN
FRANCISCO BIOGRAPIES