Daniel /David Palmer, Discoverer of Chiropractor
By Gary R. Street, D.C., Ph.C., F.I.C.A., F.P.A.C., L.C.P., D.Ph.C.S., Chiropractic Historian
D. D. Palmer was born in Pickering, a small village between the lakes near Port Perry, north east of Toronto, Canada March 7, 1845. He attended the Scugog schools near Port Perry. On April 2, 1865, when Daniel David Palmer was twenty and his brother Thomas was eighteen, the two young men with two dollars borrowed walked south eighteen miles to the town of Whitby on the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario.
They disembarked at Buffalo, New York and a month later spent their last money for passage to Detroit. During that month Lee surrendered and the Civil War ended. In some manner they obtained permission from the commander of a troop train to ride with the military personnel to the banks of the Mississippi. Two months and fifteen days after their junket began, D. D. and T. J. rejoined their family in the heartland of America, What Cheer, Iowa.
Eight months after he arrived in the United States, D.D. became a schoolmaster in Muscatine County, Iowa. After one year teaching he then taught in Concord Township, Louisa County, Iowa. He taught students in School district Two, Jefferson Township, Louisa, County, Iowa. After teaching another year in district One, Port Louisa Township, Louisa County, in 1871 he taught school in the Intermediate Department in New Boston, Illinois.
After a number of years teaching school, D. D. apparently thought it time to change professions. He and his wife Abba, whom he married in November 1871, D. D. purchased 10 acres of land in Mercer County, about 10 miles north of New Boston, Illinois.
On the farm he planted and cultivated over 30 varieties of fruit trees along with a variety of evergreen trees. D. D. also had a grand interest in beekeeping and his apiary consisted of 300 hives. He sold honey by the train car loads to customers in New York, producing 18,600 pounds of honey in 1877. Due to bad weather his bee business finally ended in 1882.
Despite the misfortunes of the bee venture, D. D. developed a nursery operation of sufficient magnitude whereby in 1873 he produced a seedling of Lum’s Everbearer raspberry which was large and sweet. Between the bees and sweet raspberry he named is farm “Sweet Home”. He sold the Sweet Home Raspberry at premium price all across America.
His first marriage to Abba Lord ended in 1874. Six months later he married Louvenia Landers. At 36 years of age D.D. Palmer sold “Sweet Home” in 1881; he and Louvenia moved to What Cheer, Iowa, where the rest of the Palmer family resided. Louvenia gave birth to 3 children in What Cheer, Iowa. Two daughters, May in 1876 and Jessie in 1880 and a son, Joshua Bartlett 1882.
In What Cheer, population of 8000, D. D. opened a grocery store. It was a typical grocery story carrying all the necessaries of the time including fresh fish from
Davenport, Iowa and goldfish that got him the name “fish Palmer”. His wife and family lived in the rear of the store. Along with the store, D. D. also had a teaching position in Letts, Iowa. Tragedy struck when Louvenia died in 1884. With the grocery, teaching and three small children, D.D.’s life was difficult. In 1885, 40 year old D. D. Palmer married his third wife, Martha Henning 6 months later.
While living in What Cheer and teaching in Letts, Iowa, D.D. met Paul Caster, a magnetic healer from Ottumwa, Iowa. With his voracious appetite for reading and learning D. D. found magnetic healing interesting and naturally attracted to the concept, which appealed to his personal inclination.
He studied magnetic healing and began the practice, not in What Cheer, but further east in Burlington, Iowa in September 1886. His first office was located at 408 1/2 Jefferson Street, Burlington. He was located in Burlington only a short time and soon moved up river to Davenport, Iowa in 1887.
Martha, his third wife was apparently out of the picture (for unknown reasons), while D.D.’s magnetic practice grew quickly in Davenport’s Ryan Block. His finances improved and he advertised considerably. Patients flocked to his office, not only from the Tri-Cities, but many a days ride by buggy.
In 1888, D. D. had Rooms 7, 11, 12 and 13. in the Ryan Building and he produced the publication, “The Educator”. At age 43, D.D. entered into what could be described as the “golden decade” and additional rooms were leased in 1888.
He married his fourth wife, Villa Amanda Thomas of Rock Island, Illinois. She was a helpmate and assisted him in his practice, taking over the role of manager and tending to the patients requiring overnight care and accommodations.
He practiced magnetic healer for 9 years. During that time he studied the healing process. Constant study and deductive reasoning led him to establishing five principles in regards to natural laws.
Harvey Lillard, a black man, may have known D.D. Palmer in the early years as he lived in What Cheer, Iowa and worked in the coal mines. In 1895, Harvey was working as the janitor in the Ryan Building and had been deaf for 17 years. D. D. communicated with Harvey in regards to his deafness and adjusted Harvey on September 18, 1895. He regained most of his hearing with the first adjustment of the 4th thoracic vertebra and fully regained all of his hearing after two more adjustments. Chiropractic was born and named by D. D. with the assistance of Rev. Samuel Weed a minister and life long friend of D. D.
D. D.’s son B. J. studied chiropractic under D. D. and together they built the Palmer School in Davenport. Chiropractic graduates started practicing and teaching chiropractic across the country, but D.D. Palmer and the Palmer School of Chiropractic became known as the “Fountainhead” of chiropractic.
In 1905, D. D. was indicted for practicing medicine without a license. In the same year, D. D.’s fourth wife, Villa, died of morphine overdose.
January 1906, D.D. married his fifth wife, Mary Hudler, a Davenport resident. He was 60 years of age, she was fifty-five. The following day, D. D. became a grandfather when B. J.’s wife Mabel Heath Palmer, gave birth to a son who was also named Daniel David Palmer (“Dave”), namesake of D. D.
In April 1906, D. D. had his day in court for practicing medicine with out a license and was sent to jail and fined. Upon his release, his son B. J. purchased the Palmer School from his father and D. D. and his wife, Mary moved to Medford, Oklahoma. There they opened a grocery named “The Fair”. While in Oklahoma he started another chiropractic school. He later moved to Portland, Oregon and opened another chiropractic school. Later he moved to Santa Barbara, California, and yet another chiropractic school.
D.D. spent several years in residence in Santa Barbara, California. He traveled as the “Fountainhead” of chiropractic to many of the chiropractic colleges in the West and Mid-west as guest speaker and lectured on chiropractic. He authored many chiropractic articles.
D.D. Palmer returned to Davenport only occasionally. He found it convenient to support other chiropractic colleges, especially the Universal Chiropractic College, just down Brady Street hill from the Palmer School, in Davenport.
In the Spring of 1911, D. D. and his wife Mary took up new residence, an apartment at 42nd. Street and Grand in Los Angeles. There he continued to lecture and write.
D.D.’s last journey to the Tri-Cities was in the Summer of 1913 at the time of the Palmer Lyceum Parade down Brady Street hill. An argument about D.D.’s desire to walk at the lead of the parade gave an opportunity for bitter adversaries from the Universal Chiropractic College to allege that B.J. Palmer’s automobile bumped into D.D. during the parade, causing fatal injuries. Prior to the parade, D.D., had visited the Palmer School campus and posed for a photo which included the three generations of Palmers, D.D., B.J. and grandson, Dave. This was the first and only photo of all three together.
Several months later, Daniel David Palmer, died at 8am., Monday, October 20, 1913, at his home, 420 West Vernon Avenue, Los Angeles. The cause of death was typhoid fever of which he had taken ill for twenty-eight days. He was 68 years, 7 months and 14 days old. He was survived by his widow, Mary; two daughters, Mrs. May Brownell, of Yankton, South Dakota, and Mrs. Jessie Wall, Bellingham, of Washington; and a son B.J. Palmer, of Davenport, Iowa.
There were several individuals that spoke at his Memorial Service held Wednesday, October 23, 1913, at the Palmer School of chiropractic. First, Reverend Samuel H. Weed, secondly, L. Howard Nutting, relative of Dr. Willard Carver and friend to B.J. Palmer in 1902 and the final speaker was Cornelius H. Murphy, D.C., attorney, patient and friend. D.D. Palmer’s ashes were place in an urn and mounted in the large bust on the Palmer School of chiropractic campus.
References:
Dave Palmer, D.C., Ph.C., The Palmers
Vern Gielow, Old Dad Chiro
B.J. Palmer, D.C., Ph.C., Chiropractic Philosophy Science And Art
Gary R. Street, D.C., Ph.C., F.I.C.A., F.P.A.C., L.C.P., D.Ph.C.S., D.D. Palmer’s Early Years-His Path To The Discovery Of Chiropractic
Merwyn V. Zarbuck, D.C., Nature of Disease-Chiropractically
Cyrus Lerner, Lerner Report
D.D. Palmer, The Chiropractor’s Adjustor
Joseph C. Keating Jr., B.J. Of Davenport
Dennis Peterson/Glenda Weise, Chiropractic An Illustrated History
Eight months after he arrived in the United States, D.D. became a schoolmaster in Muscatine County, Iowa. After one year teaching he then taught in Concord Township, Louisa County, Iowa. He taught students in School district Two, Jefferson Township, Louisa, County, Iowa. After teaching another year in district One, Port Louisa Township, Louisa County, in 1871 he taught school in the Intermediate Department in New Boston, Illinois.
After a number of years teaching school, D. D. apparently thought it time to change professions. He and his wife Abba, whom he married in November 1871, D. D. purchased 10 acres of land in Mercer County, about 10 miles north of New Boston, Illinois.
On the farm he planted and cultivated over 30 varieties of fruit trees along with a variety of evergreen trees. D. D. also had a grand interest in beekeeping and his apiary consisted of 300 hives. He sold honey by the train car loads to customers in New York, producing 18,600 pounds of honey in 1877. Due to bad weather his bee business finally ended in 1882.
Despite the misfortunes of the bee venture, D. D. developed a nursery operation of sufficient magnitude whereby in 1873 he produced a seedling of Lum’s Everbearer raspberry which was large and sweet. Between the bees and sweet raspberry he named is farm “Sweet Home”. He sold the Sweet Home Raspberry at premium price all across America.
His first marriage to Abba Lord ended in 1874. Six months later he married Louvenia Landers. At 36 years of age D.D. Palmer sold “Sweet Home” in 1881; he and Louvenia moved to What Cheer, Iowa, where the rest of the Palmer family resided. Louvenia gave birth to 3 children in What Cheer, Iowa. Two daughters, May in 1876 and Jessie in 1880 and a son, Joshua Bartlett 1882.
In What Cheer, population of 8000, D. D. opened a grocery store. It was a typical grocery story carrying all the necessaries of the time including fresh fish from
Davenport, Iowa and goldfish that got him the name “fish Palmer”. His wife and family lived in the rear of the store. Along with the store, D. D. also had a teaching position in Letts, Iowa. Tragedy struck when Louvenia died in 1884. With the grocery, teaching and three small children, D.D.’s life was difficult. In 1885, 40 year old D. D. Palmer married his third wife, Martha Henning 6 months later.
While living in What Cheer and teaching in Letts, Iowa, D.D. met Paul Caster, a magnetic healer from Ottumwa, Iowa. With his voracious appetite for reading and learning D. D. found magnetic healing interesting and naturally attracted to the concept, which appealed to his personal inclination.
He studied magnetic healing and began the practice, not in What Cheer, but further east in Burlington, Iowa in September 1886. His first office was located at 408 1/2 Jefferson Street, Burlington. He was located in Burlington only a short time and soon moved up river to Davenport, Iowa in 1887.
Martha, his third wife was apparently out of the picture (for unknown reasons), while D.D.’s magnetic practice grew quickly in Davenport’s Ryan Block. His finances improved and he advertised considerably. Patients flocked to his office, not only from the Tri-Cities, but many a days ride by buggy.
In 1888, D. D. had Rooms 7, 11, 12 and 13. in the Ryan Building and he produced the publication, “The Educator”. At age 43, D.D. entered into what could be described as the “golden decade” and additional rooms were leased in 1888.
He married his fourth wife, Villa Amanda Thomas of Rock Island, Illinois. She was a helpmate and assisted him in his practice, taking over the role of manager and tending to the patients requiring overnight care and accommodations.
He practiced magnetic healer for 9 years. During that time he studied the healing process. Constant study and deductive reasoning led him to establishing five principles in regards to natural laws.
Harvey Lillard, a black man, may have known D.D. Palmer in the early years as he lived in What Cheer, Iowa and worked in the coal mines. In 1895, Harvey was working as the janitor in the Ryan Building and had been deaf for 17 years. D. D. communicated with Harvey in regards to his deafness and adjusted Harvey on September 18, 1895. He regained most of his hearing with the first adjustment of the 4th thoracic vertebra and fully regained all of his hearing after two more adjustments. Chiropractic was born and named by D. D. with the assistance of Rev. Samuel Weed a minister and life long friend of D. D.
D. D.’s son B. J. studied chiropractic under D. D. and together they built the Palmer School in Davenport. Chiropractic graduates started practicing and teaching chiropractic across the country, but D.D. Palmer and the Palmer School of Chiropractic became known as the “Fountainhead” of chiropractic.
In 1905, D. D. was indicted for practicing medicine without a license. In the same year, D. D.’s fourth wife, Villa, died of morphine overdose.
January 1906, D.D. married his fifth wife, Mary Hudler, a Davenport resident. He was 60 years of age, she was fifty-five. The following day, D. D. became a grandfather when B. J.’s wife Mabel Heath Palmer, gave birth to a son who was also named Daniel David Palmer (“Dave”), namesake of D. D.
In April 1906, D. D. had his day in court for practicing medicine with out a license and was sent to jail and fined. Upon his release, his son B. J. purchased the Palmer School from his father and D. D. and his wife, Mary moved to Medford, Oklahoma. There they opened a grocery named “The Fair”. While in Oklahoma he started another chiropractic school. He later moved to Portland, Oregon and opened another chiropractic school. Later he moved to Santa Barbara, California, and yet another chiropractic school.
D.D. spent several years in residence in Santa Barbara, California. He traveled as the “Fountainhead” of chiropractic to many of the chiropractic colleges in the West and Mid-west as guest speaker and lectured on chiropractic. He authored many chiropractic articles.
D.D. Palmer returned to Davenport only occasionally. He found it convenient to support other chiropractic colleges, especially the Universal Chiropractic College, just down Brady Street hill from the Palmer School, in Davenport.
In the Spring of 1911, D. D. and his wife Mary took up new residence, an apartment at 42nd. Street and Grand in Los Angeles. There he continued to lecture and write.
D.D.’s last journey to the Tri-Cities was in the Summer of 1913 at the time of the Palmer Lyceum Parade down Brady Street hill. An argument about D.D.’s desire to walk at the lead of the parade gave an opportunity for bitter adversaries from the Universal Chiropractic College to allege that B.J. Palmer’s automobile bumped into D.D. during the parade, causing fatal injuries. Prior to the parade, D.D., had visited the Palmer School campus and posed for a photo which included the three generations of Palmers, D.D., B.J. and grandson, Dave. This was the first and only photo of all three together.
Several months later, Daniel David Palmer, died at 8am., Monday, October 20, 1913, at his home, 420 West Vernon Avenue, Los Angeles. The cause of death was typhoid fever of which he had taken ill for twenty-eight days. He was 68 years, 7 months and 14 days old. He was survived by his widow, Mary; two daughters, Mrs. May Brownell, of Yankton, South Dakota, and Mrs. Jessie Wall, Bellingham, of Washington; and a son B.J. Palmer, of Davenport, Iowa.
There were several individuals that spoke at his Memorial Service held Wednesday, October 23, 1913, at the Palmer School of chiropractic. First, Reverend Samuel H. Weed, secondly, L. Howard Nutting, relative of Dr. Willard Carver and friend to B.J. Palmer in 1902 and the final speaker was Cornelius H. Murphy, D.C., attorney, patient and friend. D.D. Palmer’s ashes were place in an urn and mounted in the large bust on the Palmer School of chiropractic campus.
References:
Dave Palmer, D.C., Ph.C., The Palmers
Vern Gielow, Old Dad Chiro
B.J. Palmer, D.C., Ph.C., Chiropractic Philosophy Science And Art
Gary R. Street, D.C., Ph.C., F.I.C.A., F.P.A.C., L.C.P., D.Ph.C.S., D.D. Palmer’s Early Years-His Path To The Discovery Of Chiropractic
Merwyn V. Zarbuck, D.C., Nature of Disease-Chiropractically
Cyrus Lerner, Lerner Report
D.D. Palmer, The Chiropractor’s Adjustor
Joseph C. Keating Jr., B.J. Of Davenport
Dennis Peterson/Glenda Weise, Chiropractic An Illustrated History