Love Letters, Chapter 5

Dr. John Van Duyn – third in a line of prominent Syracuse physicians

Posted by joy.the.curious on Dec 28, 2010 in Love Letters | 0 comments

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, filled with family, friends, peace and celebration. We had a great Christmas and are looking forward to New Year’s Eve when my husband and I will attempt to prepare our first-ever Crown Roast for a small group of friends. (Seriously, how hard can it be?) More on that next time.

Since I blogged last, I have attempted to contact Ruth Ives’ niece who currently lives in California. So far, no luck, but I’ll keep trying. In the meantime, here’s some more background on the recipient of Ruth’s love letters, Dr. John Van Duyn of Duluth, Minnesota.

As it turns out, our Dr. John Van Duyn seems to have been just “passing through” Duluth in 1949. He is actually a third generation physician from the prominent Van Duyn family of Syracuse, New York. Like his father, and his grandfather before him, he attended Princeton University and went on to serve as a physician and faculty member at Syracuse University. Today in Syracuse, there is a skilled nursing facility named after the family: Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing.

The Van Duyns of Syracuse, New York included three generations of physicians: Dr. John S. Van Duyn (1843-1934), Dr. Edward S. Van Duyn (1872-1955), and Dr. John J. Van Duyn (1905-1986). The set of love letters that I purchased on ebay were addressed to the youngest of the Dr. Van Duyns, a well known surgeon who was living and practicing in Duluth, Minnesota at the time. (Why? I’ll get to that in a bit.)

For a colorful history of the first Dr. John Van Duyn, check out this short 28-page biography which details stories of his ancestry, his boyhood, his family’s immigration to the U.S. from the Netherlands, and the start of his medical career when he enlisted in the Union Army in 1862. It was written in 1966 by two former sixth grade students at John Van Duyn School, which was named in his honor.

"Dr. John" — A Life Story of John Van Duyn

1.37MB ∙ PDF file

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By Catharine Popso and Kurt Hallock, Copyright April 20, 1966

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Next time

Love Letters, Chapter 6: Author Janet Dunning’s extraordinary glimpse into “the life Van Duyn”