Arrowsmith Timeline

Dr. William Lamb Arrowsmith was for many years thought to be a man of mystery by those at Goodwood.  However, through much research, a clearer picture of him has emerged.  There are still some questions, but we are closer to the answers today.  What follows is a basic timeline of Dr. Arrowsmith's life:

• April 10, 1821--William Lamb Arrowsmith (hereafter WLA)  is born, perhaps in London
• 1821--Annie Esther Eedes, WLA's 1st wife is born in London to Henry & Sarah Isabella Eedes
• 1836--Elizabeth Harris (hereafter EHA), WLA's 2nd wife, is born in England.
• 1839--WLA & Annie Esther Eedes are married in London
• 1841--WLA became an associate of institution of civil engineers in London
• 1841--WLA's 1st child, Caroline Annie, is born in London
• 1841--Queen Victoria appoints WLA superintendent of government works and affairs in Malta.  He is a civil engineer.
• August 8, 1842--WLA's 2nd child is born, Blanch Isabel Harriet in Malta.  She died February 5, 1847.
• March 26, 1846--WLA's 3rd child is born, Horace Reginald, in Malta.
• March 19, 1847--WLA's 4th child is born, Blanche Mabel.  She died May 9, 1851.
• September 19, 1849--WLA's 5th child is born, Alice Harriette.
• 1849-1854--WLA serves as the Collector of Customs in Malta.
• 1850--In Malta, the Korbin Corrective Facility is built by WLA, who is recognized as an "internationally renowned architect".
• 1854-1958--WLA and wife Annie Esther Eedes are involved in a very messy divorce (more on that in a later post).
• c 1859--WLA marries Elizabeth Harris.  

This is where things get a bit fuzzy.  He is rumoured to have been one of Giuseppe Garibaldi's personal doctors (he had 23).   While this does fit into his timeline very neatly, there are no facts to back this rumour up.  He also seems to have been trained as a doctor in Nova Scotia, but again, we have not been able to verify this.  His daughter Lucy Anne Ellinor was born during this window as well, but her date of birth has not been confirmed.  From here on, things become clearer:

• 1865--WLA is listed as a graduate of the Homeopathic Medical College of Philadelphia.  
• 1865-1868--WLA practices medicine in Philadelphia with three other doctors.
• 1867-1868--WLA serves as the Chair of Psysiology, Anatomy at the Homeopathic Medical College of Philadelphia.
• 1868--WLA is Professor of Physiology & General Pathology at the Homeopathic Medical College of Philadelphia.  This is also the year that his future daughter-in-law Rosanna Scott Richards graduates from the same institution. 
• 1868--WLA retires and goes abroad
• 1871--by this year, WLA is practicing medicine in St. Heliers, Isle of Jersey.  
• 1877--by this year, WLA is living in London on Gordon Street.  Lucy Anne Ellinor marries Frederick Molison Burke.  A ship captain, Burke will later be knighted.
• 1881--by this year, WLA is living in Wateringbury, Kent, England with fourty-one-year-old Elizabeth and 28-year-old Martha Dykes.  He is still in Wateringbury in 1883.
• 1885--WLA purchases Goodwood.  He dies about 8 months later and is buried in the City Cemetery.  The funeral takes place at Goodwood and the services are conducted by Dr. Carter.
• 1902--daughter Lucy dies in England. 
• 1911--EHA and Martha Dykes move from Goodwood to 534 N. Monroe, near the corner of N. Monroe and Georgia streets.
• October 10, 1915--EHA dies of a stroke on a train just before Jacksonville.  She had been visiting friends in Hague, NY, where, according to her obituary, "she had spent a pleasant summer with Miss Dykes and several friends.  The end came just before reaching Jacksonville, and her many friends were at the train here to escort the body to the city cemetery where the funeral service was conducted by the Rev. D. Garnell of St. Johns Episcopal Chuch."
• February 2, 1916--Miss Dykes dies in Tallahassee.  The obituary describes her as "a well known and popular young woman." (She was 63!) She died of a stroke while attending a social gathering at the home of Mr. & Mrs. John W. Henderson. 

To sum it up, Dr. Arrowsmith began his career as a civil engineer in London.  He was then sent to Malta to become Superintendent of Works and Affairs and later as the Collector of Customs.  He fathered three children who survived to adulthood and was in a messy divorce.  He left Malta for London after the death of his ex-wife.  He then married Elizabeth Harris and fathered another child, Lucy Anne Ellinor.  After who knows how many adventures (or maybe no adventures), he became a Homeopathic doctor in Philadelphia.  He both taught and served as a department chair before moving to the Isle of Jersey.  He then moved back to London, then left London for Wateringbury.  In 1858, he moved to Tallahassee and purchased Goodwood and transformed it from a working plantation to a country estate.  He died eight months later.  Elizabeth stayed on, with Martha Dykes, until 1911, when she sold to Mrs. Tiers.  Elizabeth died four years after the sale of Goodwood and Martha died the year after that.