"Portland The Rose City, Pictorial and Biographical."  Vol. 1. 
Chicago and Portland, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1911. p. 127.
 
RODNEY GLISAN, M. D.

     Dr. Rodney Glisan, whose creative genius found expression in improved
methods of practice and his contributions to medical literature, wherefore there
came to him recognition from eminent physicians in this country and abroad, was
born at Linganore, Frederick county, Maryland, January 29, 1827. His ancestors
were among the first English settlers of that state and resided there through
successive generations.
     Dr. Glisan supplemented his literary course by preparation for the medical
profession as a student in the medical department of the University of Maryland,
from which he was graduated in 1848, and after passing a severe competitive
examination before the medical board at Baltimore, he was appointed a medical
officer of the United States army in May, 1850. He spent six years as army
surgeon in Indian Territory and on the plains, and for five years was in Oregon
during the Indian wars, his life in both regions being attended by many
hardships and perils. His active military service in Oregon was mainly in
connector with the Rogue river war in 1855-56, in which he served as chief
medical officer on the staff of Colonel R. C. Buchanan of the regular army,
whose command, in conjunction with the Oregon Volunteers subdued the hostile
Indians of the southern part of the state. After the termination of the Indian
hostilities all of the Indians of southern Oregon were placed in the Coast
Indian reservation and were guarded by military posts. At one of these, Fort
Yamhill, Dr. Glisan was stationed from 1856 until January, 1861, in company with
Lieutenant (later Colonel) Phil H. Sheridan. He there resigned his commission
and settled in Portland, where he entered upon the active practice of his
profession.
     Soon after locating in this city Dr. Glisan was married in 1863 to Miss
Elizabeth R. Couch, a daughter of Captain John H. Couch, one of the Portland
pioneers. They became the parents of four children but one son, Dr. Clarence
Glisan, died in 1893. The surviving members of the family are Rodney L.;
Caroline C.; and Florence, the widow of Arthur M. Minott, a resident of
Portland.
     In the field of professional service Dr. Glisan made continuous progress,
gleaning from comprehensive study and research and from practical experience
valuable truths in connection with the work of the profession. The creation of a
new method of practice on his part whereby successful results were obtained soon
constituted a valuable factor in the practice of others, for he at once gave to
the public the benefit of his discovery in making public the methods that he
followed and the results attained. He became one of the most prominent educators
on the coast, being a professor in the first medical institution in this
state—the Oregon Medical College, which subsequently became the medical
department of the Willamette University, in which he was for a long time a
lecturer and emeritus professor. During his active connection with the college
he deeply felt the need of American text-books in his department of obstetrics,
and in 1881 published his text-book on Modern Midwifery. This was well received
both in the United States and in Great Britain. His writings also included a
Journal of Army Life and a volume entitled Two Years in Europe. Dr. Glisan wrote
many articles on professional subjects for the leading medical journals of the
United States which are of great value as outlining in certain diseases peculiar
and independent modes of successful treatment. Perhaps the most prominent of his
contributions to this class of literature appear in the United States Army
Statistics in 1855-60 and in the American Journal of Medical Science.
     He performed many important surgical operations, among the most notable
cases being the first amputation of the shoulder and thigh and two operations
for strangulated inguinal hernia ever performed on the north Pacific coast. Dr.
Glisan was president of the Medical Society of the state of Oregon from 1875 to
1876, and for many years was a member of the American Medical Association. He
took an active part in the Seventh International Medical Congress held in
London, England, in 1881, and was also a member of the Ninth International
Medical Congress, which convened at Washington, D. C., in 1887. His paper, read
by invitation before the latter congress, was favorably commented on in the
leading medical journals of America and Europe.
     Dr. Glisan was a faithful member of the Trinity Episcopal church, in which
he served as warden for more than twenty years. He died in Portland in June,
1890, and throughout the city there was manifestation of the deepest regret, for
his personal qualities had won him warm friendships while his professional
ability had gained him high honor. His work as physician and surgeon and as a
contributor to medical literature constituted a factor in the world's progress
along that line and he ranked among the distinguished men of Portland whose life
records have been a credit and an honor to the northwest.
 
 
Transcriber's note, this same biography is also found in:
 
"Portland, Oregon, Its History and Builders"                                            
Author:  Joseph Gaston
S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago-Portland, 1911
Vol. 2, Page 206


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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in February 2010 by Diana Smith. Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.