Frederick J. Bancroft
Frederick J. Bancroft (May 25, 1834 – January 17, 1903)[1] was a surgeon during the American Civil War before he settled in Colorado,[2][3] where he was considered to be "one of the most prominent physicians", according to a San Francisco Chronicle obituary.
[4] Bancroft advocated for public health measures to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and licensing prostitutes to reduce the prevalence of syphilis.
[10] Bancroft descended from early New England settlers, the earliest arriving in 1660 to East Windsor, Connecticut.
[9][11] He was a surgeon for the Union Army during the Civil War,[4] serving as officer in charge of Harrisburg's Church Hospital.
[12] Bancroft, considered to be "one of the most prominent physicians" in Colorado by the obituary reported by the San Francisco Chronicle,[1] was, for several decades, the "default physician-in-charge" for the city.
Bancroft estimated in 1872 that due to the prevalence of prostitution, "probably every third man who reaches the age of twenty-five has acquired ... syphilis" from the brothels in the city.
Bancroft, with the Denver Medical Association, advocated licensing, stipulation of allowed services, and testing and examinations of the city's prostitutes.
Bancroft continued to advocate a licensing system, as well as making abortion an attempted murder crime.
[13] He stated in a couple of annual reports that the contamination is a significant public health issue and could result in a typhus[13] and tuberculosis epidemic,[16][a] he cautioned the city council.
Because of their limited role in advocated public health issues, members resigned and waited until the end of their terms to leave their posts.
[1] He discussed the healthful benefits of recuperating in the state, which is "said to have been responsible for more people moving to Colorado than any other single factor.
[21] The sanitized milk that was produced at Lambert Dairy was supplied to St. Lukes Hospital, where many of his patients were victims of diphtheria and typhoid.
[22] Herndon Davis made a painting of the farmhouse in 1941; it is displayed in the Western History section of the Denver Public Library.
[19] After having played a key role in 1868 in the development of Denver's Grand Army post, Bancroft became department commander for Colorado and Wyoming.
[10] In 1869, she came to Denver from Brooklyn, traveling on train and stage coach with Bishop George M. Randall and his wife, to cure her tuberculosis.
[25][26][27] (George A. Jarvis had read an article in a Connecticut paper about Bancroft's view of the curative qualities of the Colorado climate.
)[28] Her granddaughter, Caroline Bancroft, tells that her grandmother was quite ill when she exited the train in Denver and "fell... into the arms" of her future husband.
[26] Mary Caroline, an Episcopalian, was involved in important works within the Denver community[25] and played a leadership role in the St. John in the Wilderness church efforts.
[34] A few years after he retired, Bancroft died of heart failure in San Diego, California on January 17, 1903.
[10][1] The Walsenburg World said of him, "Dr. Bancroft was prominent In his profession and foremost as a citizen, and iad been identified with the best in the city's progress for almost forty years.
[8] Noted for his work in public health and the state's history, the summit was named for the doctor, at the request of his son, George Jarvis Bancroft (1873–1945).
The decision by the United States Geological Survey to name the summit Mount Bancroft was made on March 7, 1906.
