Richard, born at the family home, "Shelba", was the son of Capt. Joseph Bohannon (1750-1811), a prosperous planter, and Elizabeth LaFon (1750-1811), the daughter of Col. Richard LaFon of the Marquis de Lafayette's staff. Both of his parents died in the same diptheria outbreak. (Note that various other sources show the surname spelled "Bohannon").
Richard graduated in 1811 from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, having specialized in obstetrics, which at that time was becoming a true medical specialty (and not just the province of midwives). He set up practice in Richmond that year, and soon was delivering as many as 150 babies a year. He married Sarah Cabell Whitlock in Petersburg on 22 February 1838. They had seven children: Richard, George, Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Martha, and Charles. Both George and Joseph died in Confederate service.
In Richmond in December 1837, Richard joined with Lewis Webb Chamberlayne, John Cullen, and Augustus Warner to found the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College. That department became independent in 1854 and is now known as the Medical College of Virginia. He was the first professor of "Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children." He was a member of, and vestryman at, St. John's Church in Richmond.
"The Doctor was a laborious and studious man, solicitous for and devoted to his patients, ever on the lookout for new and improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of disease... The funeral cortege which followed his remains to 'Hollywood Cemetery' was unusually large and sympathetic, for they had nearly all been his patients and were his friends." (from "The Transactions of the American Medical Association" (1880).)∼July 15, 1855, Dr. RICHARD L. BOHANNON.
The friends of the family are requested to attend his funeral, from his residence, on Tuesday evening next at 5 o'clock P. M.
from the "Daily Dispatch," Richmond, Va., Monday, July 16, 1855 issue
Richard graduated in 1811 from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, having specialized in obstetrics, which at that time was becoming a true medical specialty (and not just the province of midwives). He set up practice in Richmond that year, and soon was delivering as many as 150 babies a year. He married Sarah Cabell Whitlock in Petersburg on 22 February 1838. They had seven children: Richard, George, Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Martha, and Charles. Both George and Joseph died in Confederate service.
In Richmond in December 1837, Richard joined with Lewis Webb Chamberlayne, John Cullen, and Augustus Warner to found the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College. That department became independent in 1854 and is now known as the Medical College of Virginia. He was the first professor of "Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children." He was a member of, and vestryman at, St. John's Church in Richmond.
"The Doctor was a laborious and studious man, solicitous for and devoted to his patients, ever on the lookout for new and improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of disease... The funeral cortege which followed his remains to 'Hollywood Cemetery' was unusually large and sympathetic, for they had nearly all been his patients and were his friends." (from "The Transactions of the American Medical Association" (1880).)∼July 15, 1855, Dr. RICHARD L. BOHANNON.
The friends of the family are requested to attend his funeral, from his residence, on Tuesday evening next at 5 o'clock P. M.
from the "Daily Dispatch," Richmond, Va., Monday, July 16, 1855 issue
Richard, born at the family home, "Shelba", was the son of Capt. Joseph Bohannon (1750-1811), a prosperous planter, and Elizabeth LaFon (1750-1811), the daughter of Col. Richard LaFon of the Marquis de Lafayette's staff. Both of his parents died in the same diptheria outbreak. (Note that various other sources show the surname spelled "Bohannon").
Richard graduated in 1811 from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, having specialized in obstetrics, which at that time was becoming a true medical specialty (and not just the province of midwives). He set up practice in Richmond that year, and soon was delivering as many as 150 babies a year. He married Sarah Cabell Whitlock in Petersburg on 22 February 1838. They had seven children: Richard, George, Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Martha, and Charles. Both George and Joseph died in Confederate service.
In Richmond in December 1837, Richard joined with Lewis Webb Chamberlayne, John Cullen, and Augustus Warner to found the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College. That department became independent in 1854 and is now known as the Medical College of Virginia. He was the first professor of "Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children." He was a member of, and vestryman at, St. John's Church in Richmond.
"The Doctor was a laborious and studious man, solicitous for and devoted to his patients, ever on the lookout for new and improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of disease... The funeral cortege which followed his remains to 'Hollywood Cemetery' was unusually large and sympathetic, for they had nearly all been his patients and were his friends." (from "The Transactions of the American Medical Association" (1880).)∼July 15, 1855, Dr. RICHARD L. BOHANNON.
The friends of the family are requested to attend his funeral, from his residence, on Tuesday evening next at 5 o'clock P. M.
from the "Daily Dispatch," Richmond, Va., Monday, July 16, 1855 issue
Richard graduated in 1811 from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, having specialized in obstetrics, which at that time was becoming a true medical specialty (and not just the province of midwives). He set up practice in Richmond that year, and soon was delivering as many as 150 babies a year. He married Sarah Cabell Whitlock in Petersburg on 22 February 1838. They had seven children: Richard, George, Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Martha, and Charles. Both George and Joseph died in Confederate service.
In Richmond in December 1837, Richard joined with Lewis Webb Chamberlayne, John Cullen, and Augustus Warner to found the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College. That department became independent in 1854 and is now known as the Medical College of Virginia. He was the first professor of "Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children." He was a member of, and vestryman at, St. John's Church in Richmond.
"The Doctor was a laborious and studious man, solicitous for and devoted to his patients, ever on the lookout for new and improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of disease... The funeral cortege which followed his remains to 'Hollywood Cemetery' was unusually large and sympathetic, for they had nearly all been his patients and were his friends." (from "The Transactions of the American Medical Association" (1880).)∼July 15, 1855, Dr. RICHARD L. BOHANNON.
The friends of the family are requested to attend his funeral, from his residence, on Tuesday evening next at 5 o'clock P. M.
from the "Daily Dispatch," Richmond, Va., Monday, July 16, 1855 issue
