DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker's the source, and I'm just the voice that carries it — here's how I'd tell the story of Dr. Samuel Hiatt Burnside and Mary Margaret Grice Burnside. Now, some stories start with a sickness, and some start with a meeting, and some — the best ones — start with both at the same time.
Samuel H. Burnside came out of Kentucky, earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1882, and wasted no time about it. By 1883, he had himself a practice right here in Wichita Falls, Texas.
That's a man who knew where he was going. Then along comes Mary Margaret Grice — a Philadelphia woman, proper and particular — who arrived in Wichita Falls in 1885 at the invitation of her uncle, George Fox. She wasn't just passing through for scenery.
She had tuberculosis, and she needed a doctor. She got Dr. Burnside.
Now, I don't know how many house calls it took, or how many careful conversations across a physician's desk. What I know is that a romance ensued — that's what the record says, and I find that phrase does a lot of quiet work — and in 1887, the two were married. Mary was no idle partner in this life.
She purchased land on Seventh Street, and together they built a large home there, one that also housed the doctor's office. Then in 1907, Dr. Burnside went ahead and built a hospital right next door — the Wichita Falls Sanitarium.
A home, an office, and a hospital, all on the same stretch of ground. The man was efficient, I'll give him that. And he was more than that.
Well respected in medical circles, Dr. Burnside served as chief surgeon for two railroad companies and as medical examiner for twenty-four insurance companies. He performed innovative surgeries.
He also treated Comanche Indians from the nearby reservations in Oklahoma — something the marker notes with the weight it deserves, a physician extending his practice across boundaries that others didn't always bother to cross. Mary, meanwhile, was building her own kind of legacy. She was a leader in local and state civic organizations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs.
Both she and the doctor were active in the First Presbyterian Church. They were the parents of five children. Two of them lived to adulthood.
The marker doesn't linger on that, and neither will I — but it won't let you look away from it either. A Kentucky doctor, a Philadelphia woman, a house on Seventh Street, a hospital next door, and a life built in full — right here in Wichita Falls. That's the story the marker carries, and now it's yours too.
What the marker says
Kentucky native Samuel H. Burnside, an 1882 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, opened a medical practice in Wichita Falls in 1883. Mary Margaret Grice, a native of Philadelphia, moved to Wichita Falls in 1885 at the invitation of her uncle, George Fox, and was treated for tuberculosis by Dr. Burnside. A romance ensued, and the two were married in 1887. Mary purchased land on Seventh Street where the couple built a large home, which also housed the doctor's office. Dr. Burnside built a hospital, the Wichita Falls Sanitarium, next door to the house in 1907. Well respected in medical circles, Dr. Burnside was a renowned physician who also served as chief surgeon for two railroad companies and medical examiner for twenty-four insurance companies. He performed innovative surgeries and often treated Comanche Indians from the nearby reservations in Oklahoma. Mary Burnside was a leader in local and state civic organizations, including the daughters of the American Revolution and the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs. Both Dr. and Mrs. Burnside were active in the First Presbyterian Church. They were the parents of five children, two of whom lived to adulthood. (1994)