Weller van Hook
From RoyalWeb
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
Copyright 2007, Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved. This page is locked, if you'd like to add or correct anything, please email me. | Copyright 2007, Will Johnson, [mailto:wjhonson@aol.com wjhonson@aol.com], Professional Genealogist, All Rights Reserved. This page is locked, if you'd like to add or correct anything, please email me. | ||
| + | |||
| + | If you enjoy the research done here, consider making a [http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=wjhonson@aol.com&amount=15.00&item_name=Weller_van_Hook_Fund financial contribution] to keep research like this going. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Acknowledgements== | ||
| + | A sizable contribution to the present biography is made by the online manuscript of a biography on him by Chauncey Maher (see Primary sources below), to which I've added details as they are known from other sources and clarified a few unclear sections. | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
| − | Weller van Hook was born | + | ===Early life=== |
| + | Weller van Hook was born 14 May 1862 in Greenville, Indiana, son of William Russell van Hook (b 1837) and Phebe Matilda "Tillie" Weller (1839-1889). | ||
| − | He | + | He attended the University of Michigan, receiving his B.A. in 1884. He then went to Chicago, where he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons (later re-named the Division of Medicine at the University of Illinois) and graduated in 1885. He interned at the Cook County Hospital from July 1885 to Jan 1887. He began practice in 1887. He married Anna Charles Whaley of Saint Louis, Missouri, also a physician, on 16 Jun 1892.[http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=vanhook99&id=I03933][http://www.chilit.org/Papers%20by%20author/Maher%20C%20--%20A%20Man%20of%20Good%20Will.pdf] |
| − | He was the third Chairman in Surgery at Northwestern Medical School.[http://www.medschool.northwestern.edu/depts/urology/history.html] | + | He was in 1897 appointed the third Chairman in Surgery at Northwestern Medical School.[http://www.medschool.northwestern.edu/depts/urology/history.html] He became a very well-known surgeon and is called "one of the three top surgeons of this era". |
| − | The surgical procedure Ureteroureterostomy, which is end-to-end [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/anastomosis anastomosis] of the two portions of a transected [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ureter ureter]; is also ureteroureteral anastomosis or the [[Weller van Hook|van Hook]] operation, named after Weller van Hook. | + | The surgical procedure Ureteroureterostomy, which is end-to-end [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/anastomosis anastomosis] of the two portions of a transected [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ureter ureter]; is also called ureteroureteral anastomosis or the [[Weller van Hook|van Hook]] operation, named after Weller van Hook. |
| − | + | ===Thesophical Society=== | |
| + | One of the leaders of the Theosophical Society, [[Curuppumullage_Jinarajadasa|Jinarajadasa]] was in Chicago about 1904, and it was apparently through him that Dr. Van Hook was introduced to Theosophy. In Jinarajadasa's work ''In His Name'', a work of one hundred pages, he has a "...foreward directed to Dr Van Hook."[http://www.chilit.org/Papers%20by%20author/Maher%20C%20--%20A%20Man%20of%20Good%20Will.pdf] | ||
| − | Anna and Hubert moved in 1909 to Adyar, India | + | Weller and his wife Anna both became very active members of the Theosophical Society. In 1907, Weller became the General Secretary of the Thesophical Society in the United States, and was one of the vocal supporters of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Webster_Leadbeater Leadbeater] during the scandal that eventually forced Leadbeater to temporarily resign. About that time, Leadbeater while on an American lecture tour, met their son Hubert and in the summer of 1907, Hubert and his mother stayed with Leadbeater in Germany where some of Hubert's past-lives were writen out. Leadbeater and [[Annie Besant|Besant]] both believed Hubert was the appropriate vessel for the indwelling of the expected Lord Maitreya. Anna and Hubert moved in 1909 to Adyar, India with high hopes for his future. They must have been disappointed when another vessel, Krishnamurti had already been chosen in the Spring of 1909. Nevertheless, they stayed and Anna taught Hubert, [[Krishnamurti]] and Krishna's brother Nitya for some time. |
| − | Weller van Hook died | + | With his own funds, Weller built "...a printing establishment on his own property for the production of free propaganda material." He had wanted to establish the National Headquarters in Chicago, but it was instead established in Los Angeles, California. |
| + | |||
| + | ===End days=== | ||
| + | He was forced out of Northwestern, and by 1911 "...his practise had suffered so severely that he resigned from officership of the Society, to rehabilitate his economy."[http://www.chilit.org/Papers%20by%20author/Maher%20C%20--%20A%20Man%20of%20Good%20Will.pdf] | ||
| + | |||
| + | He carried on a rather limited surgical practice at the South Shore Hospital until at least 1925. He still maintained his faith and interest in the Theosophical Society. "He felt that he had the occult power of being able to communicate with other adept leaders of the faith, and told me he conversed frequently with Annie Besant, then in India."[http://www.chilit.org/Papers%20by%20author/Maher%20C%20--%20A%20Man%20of%20Good%20Will.pdf] | ||
| + | |||
| + | At the end, he was estranged from his family. His wife was still in England, and his son had renounced Theosophy many years before. [http://www.chilit.org/Papers%20by%20author/Maher%20C%20--%20A%20Man%20of%20Good%20Will.pdf (see image 25 which is page 23)] About 1931, he left Chicago and went to a farm near Coopersville, Illinois, where he spent the remaining two years of his life. Weller van Hook died June 30, 1933 of a stroke, in or near Chicago, Illinois where a brief death notice appeared in the ''Chicago Tribune'' (Jul 2, and Jul 5). His body was cremated, and his funeral supervised by the Masonic Lodge. | ||
==Works== | ==Works== | ||
| Line 22: | Line 36: | ||
*[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1424910 A New Operation for Hypospadias], read before the Chicago Medical Society, ''Annals of Surgery'', Feb 3, 1896 | *[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1424910 A New Operation for Hypospadias], read before the Chicago Medical Society, ''Annals of Surgery'', Feb 3, 1896 | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=view&dbid=8018&iid=NEWS-OH-LI_TI_DE.1904_07_30_0010&r=an&rc=4639,6029,4752,6062;4770,6029,4902,6062&fn=weller&ln=vanhook&st=d&ssrc=&pid=474216458 ''Lima Times Democrat (Lima, Ohio)'', Jul 30, 1904], "To Guard Against Sunstroke", Dr Weller VanHook in Chicago Inter-Ocean | ||
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/Correspondences.htm Correspondences Between the Planes and some Lessons to be drawn from Them], Adyar Phamplet No 28, June 1913. Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, India | *[http://www.theosophical.ca/Correspondences.htm Correspondences Between the Planes and some Lessons to be drawn from Them], Adyar Phamplet No 28, June 1913. Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, India | ||
| Line 28: | Line 44: | ||
==Primary documents== | ==Primary documents== | ||
| − | *[http://www.chilit.org/Papers%20by%20author/Maher%20C%20--%20A%20Man%20of%20Good%20Will.pdf A Biography of Weller van Hook | + | *[http://www.chilit.org/Papers%20by%20author/Maher%20C%20--%20A%20Man%20of%20Good%20Will.pdf ''A Man of Good Will''], by Chauncey C Maher. A Biography of Weller van Hook. This is a photographic image of a typed manuscript, with hand-writen corrections. Presumably the corrections are also by Chauncey. The manuscript is hosted on the website of the [http://www.chilit.org/ Chicago Literary Club]. |
| + | |||
*[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6742&iid=ILT9_249-0070&fn=Weller&ln=Van+Hook&st=r&ssrc=&pid=30730974 1880 Census of Illiopolis, Sangamon County, Illinois] showing "William Van Hook, age 42, Physician, born Indiana (parents Kentucky/Virginia); P M, age 39, wife, born Kentucky [and several children including] Weller, age 18, son, born Indiana, At School" | *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6742&iid=ILT9_249-0070&fn=Weller&ln=Van+Hook&st=r&ssrc=&pid=30730974 1880 Census of Illiopolis, Sangamon County, Illinois] showing "William Van Hook, age 42, Physician, born Indiana (parents Kentucky/Virginia); P M, age 39, wife, born Kentucky [and several children including] Weller, age 18, son, born Indiana, At School" | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=nypl&so=2&rank=0&tips=0&=%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c%2c&gsfn=Weller&gsln=van+hook&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&db=&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-b ''New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957''], online at www.ancestry.com "Weller Van Hook, arriving 11 Dec 1913, born 1862, out of Southampton, Ship Olympic" | ||
| + | |||
*[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=1920usfedcen%2c&rank=0&gsfn=Weller&gsln=vanHook&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&ufr=0&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&o_it=21416&fh=0&recid=16210572&recoff=1+2 1920 Census of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois] showing "Weller Vanhook, age 57, born Indiana, Medical Physician; wife Anna 53" | *[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=1920usfedcen%2c&rank=0&gsfn=Weller&gsln=vanHook&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=0&ufr=0&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21416&o_lid=21416&o_it=21416&fh=0&recid=16210572&recoff=1+2 1920 Census of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois] showing "Weller Vanhook, age 57, born Indiana, Medical Physician; wife Anna 53" | ||
| + | |||
*[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6224&iid=ILT626_425-0137&fn=Weller&ln=Van+Hook&st=r&ssrc=&pid=85534146 1930 Census of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois] showing "Weller Van Hook, age 68, born Indiana, Independent Surgeon; Anna W wife, age 66, born Missouri" | *[http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=6224&iid=ILT626_425-0137&fn=Weller&ln=Van+Hook&st=r&ssrc=&pid=85534146 1930 Census of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois] showing "Weller Van Hook, age 68, born Indiana, Independent Surgeon; Anna W wife, age 66, born Missouri" | ||
| + | |||
| + | *''New York Times'', [http://content.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=View&r=an&dbid=50000&iid=99311617&fn=hubert&ln=van+hook&st=d&ssrc=&pid=764242 Obituary, Weller Van Hook], 3 Jul 1933. Survived by son Hubert, three sisters Martha Van Hook and Mary Lee Van Hook both of Pasadena, and Mrs Phoebe Anderson of Durham, NC, and two brothers, Professor Larue Van Hook of New York and Russel Van Hook of Rensselaer, Ind. | ||
==Secondary sources== | ==Secondary sources== | ||
| − | |||
*[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/bookview.aspx?dbid=24640&iid=dvm_LocHist009768-00190-0&desc=Weller+Van+Hook&rc= His picture] with some biographical details | *[http://content.ancestry.com/browse/bookview.aspx?dbid=24640&iid=dvm_LocHist009768-00190-0&desc=Weller+Van+Hook&rc= His picture] with some biographical details | ||
| + | |||
| + | *[http://books.google.com/books?id=xlQDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA686&dq=hubert+van+hook&lr= The Book of Chicagoans] | ||
*[http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=vanhook99&id=I03916 An Ancestry World Tree Project entry] citing 'The Van Hooks and Allied Families'', Bernice Keister | *[http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=vanhook99&id=I03916 An Ancestry World Tree Project entry] citing 'The Van Hooks and Allied Families'', Bernice Keister | ||
| Line 44: | Line 68: | ||
*Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1917-1966. A continuation of Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1816-1916, and containing additional names from the earlier period. Compiled by Donald E. Thompson. Crawfordsville, IN: Wabash College, 1974. (IndAu 1974) | *Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1917-1966. A continuation of Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1816-1916, and containing additional names from the earlier period. Compiled by Donald E. Thompson. Crawfordsville, IN: Wabash College, 1974. (IndAu 1974) | ||
*Who Was Who in America. A component volume of Who's Who in American History. Volume 1, 1897-1942. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co., 1943. (WhAm 1) | *Who Was Who in America. A component volume of Who's Who in American History. Volume 1, 1897-1942. Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co., 1943. (WhAm 1) | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==External links== | ||
| + | [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weller_van_Hook Weller van Hook] on Wikipedia (not yet in existence as of Mar 8, 2007 when I created the above biography). So anything there is probably copied from me. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:Theosophists]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Biographies]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Illinois]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Indiana]] | ||
