Temple University School of Dentistry - Odontolog Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Dr. Guilford remained in Lebanon for seven years and then removed to Phila' delphia where he started to practice in 1872. He joined the faculty of the Philadelphia Dental College as a clinical instructor. This group consisted of such well'known prac-titioners as J. Foster Flagg, C. Ncwlin Pierce, and Henry C. Register, all of Philadelphia, and James McMannus, of Hartford, and C. E. Francis, of New York. At this time the college was located just north of Tenth and Arch Sts., and many members of the original faculty were still living. John Hugh McQuillen was then dean. About 1881, the college was in need of a professor to take the place of Dr. David D. Smith who had resigned. In looking about for a man to fill the vacancy it was found that Dr. Guilford was a constant attendant at Dental Society meetings, a fluent speaker on a variety of dental topics, and a writer for the dental journals. Being held in high esteem he was elected to the chair of Operative and Prosthetic Dentistry, which position he held from 1881 to 1918, establishing an enviable record of thirty' seven years. Dr. Guilford practiced in Paris, France, from January to August, 1880. Seven years later he wrote a monograph on the subject of Nitrous Oxide, and in 1889 his work on Orthodontia was published. This reached and exhausted its fourth edition. He also wrote the section on Orthodontia, Anomalies of the Teeth and Maxillae and Hypercementosis for the American System of Dentistry, and the chapter on cavities for the American Textbook of Operative Dentistry. In 1895 occurred the death of Professor James E. Garretson, the noted oral surgeon and dean of Philadelphia Dental College. Dr. Guilford was elected dean and ably guided the destinies of the school from 1895 to 1906. At this time the college was located on Cherry Street above Seventeenth and was affiliated with the Medico-Chirurgical College. After the merger of the Philadelphia Dental College with Temple University in 1907, Dr. Guilford served as dean from 1908 until 1918 when owing to ill health he was forced to resign his office and chair and was made Dean Emeritus. He made his name as a master craftsman in the dental arts, specializing in Orthodontia. After one year of war, the contending nations found great need of skillful dental services owing to the fact that mobilization did not permit exemption for dentists. Dr. Guilford organized a dental unit and made a personal appeal for equipment and supplies. The dental manufacturing houses responded liberally and on June 15, 1915, the unit, with Simeon at its head, reached Bordeaux. From there they went to Paris and then to the dental department in the high school building at Neuilly where under the supervision of the American Hospital at Paris and the leadership of Drs. George B. Hayes and W. S. Davenport, this unit worked faithfully for three months. After 6

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Simeon Hayden Guilford, son of Simeon Guilford, was born in Lebanon, Penn' sylvania, on April 11, 1841. His father, a celebrated engineer and iron manufacturer, was one of the builders of the Erie Canal of New York and the Union Canal in Pennsylvania. He became an iron master, one of the earliest in the county and built iron furnaces in Schuylkill and Lebanon counties. He resided in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, for nearly seventy years. Simeon Hayden came of good, substantial, intellectual stock, and inherited our best traditions. His grandfather, Simeon Guilford, was an ensign under Washington during the American Revolution. It was his privilege to cross the Delaware with “the father of his country” and to lie present at the execution of Major Andre on October 2, 17S0. Simeon's education had not begun according to the concepts of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes—“A hundred years before he was born.” He received his preliminary education in the public schools and Litiz Academy of Lane County, Pennsylvania. Later he was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Franklin and Marshall College. The same institution granted him the degree of Master of Arts in 1864 and the Ph.D. degree in 1886. The scholar turned teacher in the year of 1861-2. When the War Between the States broke out and he entered the Union Army as a private in Company E 127th Pennsylvania Volunteers, third brigade, second division in the second corps of the Army of the Potomac. Soldier Guilford was actively engaged in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and in May, 1863, he was mustered out of the service. Simeon began the study of dentistry in the fall of 1863, entering the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery from whence he graduated with the Class of 1865. His second degree, the honorary degree of D.D.S., was conferred upon him by the Philadelphia Dental College in 1884 in recognition of his contribution to the profession. After graduating from dental school he began practice in his home town of Lebanon. Often when relating his experiences in Lebanon he would tell that when his preceptor had any undesirable cases he would send them to Simeon. As a result he determined to treat them in such a way as to obtain the best results possible. In this way he gained invaluable experience and created a favorable reputation for himself. His spare time was spent in reading good books, committing poems to memory and in perfecting practicing methods. At this time, 1868, the promising young dentist married Miss Virginia S. Glcim and by this marriage there were two children, Elizabeth, who later became Mrs. William Dalzell, of Pittsburgh, and Dudley, a graduate of the Philadelphia Dental College, a prominent dentist of this city, and guest lecturer of the school. 5

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their return, a complimentary dinner and reception was given in their honor. Dr. George B. Hayes, Chief Dental Surgeon of the American Hospital in Paris, said of Dr. Guilford in a letter to Dr. Russell H. Conwell, “He was an example of regularity and conscientiousness, always ready to do the less glorious, but no less important and tiresome work of regular Dentistry.” Honors almost innumerable had been bestowed upon Dr. Guilford. On the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary of his practice of dentistry he was tendered a joint banquet with Dr. Erwin T. Darby, of Philadelphia, who had also reached this milestone. At this time the most distinguished members of the profession in the country attended, desiring to do honor to their fellow practitioner. He served as president of the National Association of Dental Faculties, Pennsylvania State Dental Society, The Odontological Society of Philadelphia, The Academy of Stomotology, and National Institute of Dental Pedagogics; past vice-president of the National Dental Association. Besides this he was an active member in various dental organizations. He was an honorary member of the First District Dental Society of New York, and of the State Dental Society of New York, a “Fellow” of the American Academy of Dental Science of Massachusetts, and an honorary member of the American Dental Society of Europe. He frequently went abroad to represent the college at International Dental Congresses at considerable expense. On these trips, our alumni abroad honored him with testimonial banquets. Thus he did much to keep alive the reputation of the college and the interest of the alumni. Such honors as he received do not come without the sacrifice of ones self and Dr. Guilford’s indefatigable zeal and labor was the price he paid for the great recognition and respect he gained from his conferees. He had an insatiable capacity for work. His labors were adjusted and in spite of the time occupied by his office, dental societies and social requirements he still found time to apply himself to the study of the French language, a field in which he became interested while practicing in Paris. Dr. Guilford lived a long and happy life and attained most of the high aims for which he strived, and until age weakened him, disease was almost a stranger. Though he was not well in his last few years, he did not suffer much and retained acute mental faculties to the end. This record of achievement, of one so great as Dr. Guilford's seldom falls to the lot of any one man and for this reason it is fitting that the class of 1940 should dedicate its year book to one who has contributed so much to the advancement of the Philadelphia Dental College, and to the profession of dentistry as a whole. 7 Harold L. Faggart.