In the mid 1800’s, residents of Orangeville (Emery County, Utah) seemed to feel little need for a doctor's services. In fact, a Mr. Curtis noted the following:
“We never had no smallpox and we never had no flu,
And we never had no doctors to pay our money to.”
The Mormon bishop, Orange Seeley (for whom the town was named) pulled teeth and set broken bones in addition to doing needed blacksmith work during his ecclesiastical visits among his congregation. There were midwives, and others capable of preparing herbal remedies for various ailments.
Perhaps the most noteworthy of these self-taught physicians was Wiley P. Allred who settled in the area in 1884. So honed were his skills, that he frequently received requests from neighboring communities. A horse was hitched to his buggy and he traveled through much of the county tending to baby deliveries, gun shot wounds or pulling a tooth.
Frequent outbreaks of diphtheria, scarlet fever and smallpox, or an injury from a runaway team of horses kept Dr. Allred very busy. The early 1900’s brought coal miners to the area, and Dr. Allred continued making his buggy rounds through the mining communities well into his 80’s. A remnant of his buggy is still found today.
Dr. Wiley P. Allred … never licensed. A skilled technician … Saved the lives of my ancestors.
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