Monadnock Moment No. 120

Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation - 1763 to 1820

The Thomsonian System

Samuel Thomson was born in Alstead, New Hampshire in 1769. He worked on his father's farm and attended local schools. He married in 1790 and soon thereafter purchased the family farm, which included land in Alstead and Surry, from his father.

Thomson and his wife Susanna soon began a family. Frequent illnesses within the family caused Thomson to convince a retired physician to move into a vacant house on the Thomson farm. In this way the doctor was nearby to attend to the family. Thomson became displeased with the doctor's treatment of one of his sons and dismissed him. Thomson then became his own family doctor, using herbal medicines that he made himself. He was so successful that he soon began to treat his neighbors as well. In 1806 Thomson left Cheshire County and eventually settled in Boston, where his fame grew.

He was one of the first men in America to oppose the methods used by the doctors of his day, such as bleeding and the use of what he called "poisonous medicines," such as mercury. He believed that all diseases resulted from improper body temperature. To maintain a proper temperature, he felt that all obstructions must be removed from the body's systems and that the process of digestion and natural perspiration must be working properly. His medical system was based on a simple cure of steambaths and herbal medicines to keep bodily functions working properly. He was ridiculed and called a quack by the doctors of his day, but he gained many followers. He patented his medicines and his medical system and sold rights for their use at $20 each. Despite the controversy over his methods, and the fact that he had no medical training, Samuel Thomson of Alstead gained fame and fortune from his "Thomsonian System of Medicine."