Historical note:

            Charles V. Chapin (1856-1941) was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Joshua Bicknell Chapin (1814-1881) and Louise (Value) Chapin (1814-1890). His father was a physician and the Commissioner of Public Schools in Rhode Island. He married Anna Augusta (Balch) (1858-1947) on May 6, 1866 and they had a son Howard M. (1887-1940), who was the director of the RI Historical Society Library from1913 until his death in 1940.

            Chapin obtained his early education at English and Classical High Schools and then entered Brown University and graduated with an A.B. in 1876. After graduation he studied under Dr. George Wilcox and then continued his education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Bellevue Hospital and Medical College. In 1879, upon graduating with his M.D., he worked at Bellevue for a year. In 1880, Chapin returned to Providence and started a private practice. He was also a Professor of Physiology at Brown University from 1883 to 1896.

            1884 was the year in which Chapin was appointed as Superintendent of Health and he served in that capacity until his retirement in 1932. Chapin had tried to retire in the early 1900s due to poor health, however, after taking a hiatus out of the country, he came back and resumed his position. He also held the job of City Registrar from 1889-1932.

            Chapin was well known, nationally and internationally, for his public health work related to contagious diseases, such as diphtheria, scarlet fever, and typhoid. His research showed that contagious diseases were not airborne, but were spread through contact. He was also a prolific writer and lecturer and was a member of many associations and societies. Chapin was the president of the American Public Health Association in 1926 and 1927 and was the first president of the American Epidemiology Society in 1927. He also received the Sedgwick Medal in 1930.

            In 1910, he was instrumental in setting up City Hospital, where people who had contagious diseases could get medical care. Currently this former hospital building is a dormitory for Providence College. Chapin died in 1941 and is buried at the Swan Point Cemetery in Providence.

Bibliography:

Conley, Patrick T. Album of Rhode Island History, 1636-1986, 199. Providence: RI Publications Society, 1986.

Rhode Island Cemetery Database

Williams, Alfred M. and William F. Manding, eds. Men of Progress, 265, Boston: New England Magazine, 1896.

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Scope and content:

            This collection, ranging from 1873-1941, has been divided into six series. Series one contains correspondence. Few personal letters are found in this collection. Most of the letters relate to Chapin's work as the Superintendent of Health and City Registrar.

            Series two contains many handwritten and typed manuscripts on a variety of issues. Some are complete, others are incomplete or just notes. All but a few manuscripts have been identified. Many of the manuscripts are talks or lectures that he gave in front of a variety of groups. These groups include: Exchange Club, Rotary Club, Providence Medical Association, Clinical Club, Brown University, Harvard, Rhode Island Medical Society, Hartford School of Sociology, Brown & Sharpe, and nurses at various hospitals.

            Series three contains miscellaneous material. There is material that is biographical in nature, such as a censors report, list of wedding gifts, a commission given by the American Medical Association, a contract with a private physician for service as a contract surgeon in the U.S. Army, as well as obituaries and tributes. The collection also contains certificates, a ledger

on the sales of municipal sanitation in the United States and index cards indicating date of expected confinement (birth) of several women in 1928.

            Series four contains physician reports on scarlet fever and typhoid sent to the Superintendent of Health. Each report gives names of patients for each address, their ages, and a note on their treatment. For some years the reports also indicate cases in public institutions; deaths; tabulation of results; and reports on patients visited who turned out to have some disease other than scarlet fever. The reports on typhoid also contains "notes on milk supplies."

            Series five contains bound volumes of reports on contagious diseases taken by the Sanitary Inspector and series six contains bound scrapbooks kept by Anna Chapin pertaining to her husband, Charles.

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Provenance:

            This collection was donated by the Rhode Island Medical Society in 1983.

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Processing note:

            The physician reports on scarlet and typhoid fever sent to the Superintendent of Health are filed in alphabetical order by street name and thereunder by building number.

            The numbered manuscript material has been filed according to date and then alphabetically within that certain date, rather than by manuscript number. All folders still carry the manuscript number in the upper right hand corner of the folder. The manuscript number is also indicated in the inventory by parentheses after the title and date of the manuscript material.

             Several of the scrapbooks are in poor condition. The bindings are fragile and the ones with brown pages are starting to crumble.

            The John Hay Library at Brown has four boxes of correspondence and some manuscript material of books and articles and the Harvard School of Public Health has several hundred volumes and thousands of reprints of articles from Chapin's personal library.

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Inventory:

Series 1: Correspondence

Box 1, folder 1. 1873-1899

Box 1, folder 2. Management of milk outbreak of typhoid fever, 1908-1909

Box 1, folder 3. 1911-1936

Box 1, folder 4. Concerning health care of the sick and poor, 1912-1913

Box 1, folder 5. Chapin's work as registrar of vital statistics, 1913-1914

Box 1, folder 6. City boards of health, 1923-1924

Series 2: Manuscript Material

Numbered Manuscripts

Box 1, folder 7. Bibliography of manuscript material, undated

Box 1, folder 8. "Scarlet fever charts in various american cities, 1880-1920 (109)

Box 1, folder 9. "Medical effects of alcohol," c. 1880s (95)

Box 1, folder 10. "Malaria," 1884-1885 (117)

Box 1, folder 11. "Origin and progress of the malarial fever now prevalent in New England, 1884 (103)

Box 1, folder 12. "Progress in anatomy and physiology," 1886, written for the Providence Medical Association (1)

Box 1, folder 13. "Treatment and diagnosis of malaria," 1886, written for the Clinical Club (2)

Box 1, folder 14. "Medical delusions," 1887, written for the Clinical Club (3)

Box 1, folder 15. "Methods for the prevention of scarlet fever," June 1888, written for the RI Medical Society (102)

Box 1, folder 16. "Consumption," 1888, written for the Clinical Club (4)

Box 1, folder 17. "Scarlet fever:" pencil and pen notes and reading references for a paper, 1888 (110)

Box 1, folder 18. "Tuberculosis: notes and card references for a paper," 1888 (112)

Box 1, folder 19. "In lower animals," 1889 (5)

Box 1, folder 20. "Etiology of typhoid fever: notes for a paper," 1889 (101)

Box 1, folder 21. "Septic poisoning," 1889, written for the Clinical Club (6)

Box 1, folder 22. "Sanitary administration of cities," 1889, written for Brown University (7)

Box 1, folder 23. "Diphtheria charts of U.S. cities," 1890-1910 (108)

Box 1, folder 24. "Food," 1890 (48)

Box 1, folder 25. "The relation of our college to the community," c. 1890 (8)

Box 1, folder 26. "The opening of the Brown University gymnasium," 1891, written for Brown University (9)

Box 1, folder 27. "Recent progress in physiology," 1891, written for the Providence Medical Association (10)

Box 1, folder 28. "The limitations of births," 1891, written for the Clinical Club (11)

Box 1, folder 29. "Some birth statistics of Providence," 1892, written for the RI Medical Society (12)

Box 1, folder 30. Ten lectures on physiology, 1892, written for Brown University Extension (97)

Box 1, folder 31. "Vital Statistics," 1892 (13)

Box 1, folder 32. "Progress in anatomy and hygiene," 1893, written for the Providence Medical Association (14)

Box 1, folder 33. "Purification of water supplies," 1893 (113)

Box 1, folder 34. "Prevention of venereal disease,"1894, written for the Clinical Club (15)

Box 1, folder 35. "Memoranda concerning vaccination," 1894 (20)

Box 1, folder 36. "The family biologically considered: part 1-5," April 1-6, 1895, written for Hartford School of Sociology (63)

Box 1, folder 37. "The family biologically considered: part 6-12," April 1-6, 1895, written for Hartford School of Sociology (63)

Box 1, folder 38. "Marriage," 1895, written for "Club" (16)

Box 1, folder 39. "Municipal sanitation in Providence," 1895, written for the Society for Municipal Prof. (18)

Box 1, folder 40. "Pig's tails," 1895, written for the "Club" (19)

Box 1, folder 41. "Pneumonia," 1895, written for the Clinical Club (17)

Box 1, folder 42. "Personal Hygiene for happier living," 1896, written for Brown & Sharpe (92)

Box 1, folder 43. "Resume on typhoid, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, and diphtheria," January 12, 1897, written for nurses at Butler Hospital (91)

Box 1, folder 44. "Epicurean notions," 1897, written for the "Club" (23)

Box 1, folder 45. "Science," 1897, written for the "Club" (22)

Box 1, folder 46. "On the definition of epidemic," c. 1898-1899 (24)

Box 1, folder 47. "Notice of RI Hospital lectures," October 7 and 14, 1901 (93)

Box 1, folder 48. "Medical aspects of social evil," October 9, 1901, written for Brown University (90)

Box 2, folder 1. "Relation of physical environment on health - dust, ventilation, air, and water," October 14, 1901, written for nurses at RI Hospital (89)

Box 2, folder 2. "Municipal sanitation, " 1903, written for Brown University-Domestic Economy Class (47)

Box 2, folder 3. "Battle of Salamis," 1906 (30)

Box 2, folder 4. "History of garbage collection in Providence," 1906 (31)

Box 2, folder 5. "Sanitary science," 1906, written for the "Club" (29)

Box 2, folder 6. "In praise of folly," 1907, written for the "Club" (32)

Box 2, folder 7. "The value of life," 1908, written for the "Club" (33)

Box 2, folder 8. "Importance of contact infection," February 6, 1909, written for a group of nurses (85)

Box 2, folder 9. "Persistence of superstition," 1909, written for the "Club" (34)

Box 2, folder 10. "The aseptic technique in hospitals: its history, theory and practice," February 25, 1910, written for nurses at City Hospital (88)

Box 2, folder 11. "Sanitation inspection: facts and principles in control of contagious diseases," December 15, 1910, written for the Massachusetts State Board of Health (99)

Box 2, folder 12. "Anti-TB management and its value," 1910, written for the city of East Providence (98)

Box 2, folder 13. "Modes of infection," 1910, written for the Normal School (83)

Box 2, folder 14. "New hygiene facts," March 26, 1911, written for Harvard Pop. Medical Lecture (82)

Box 2, folder 15. "Evaluation of Fall River's city betterment act," September 30, 1913, written for the city of Fall River (87)

Box 2, folder 16. "Efficiency of public health measures" and "Science and sanitation," 1914, written for Harvard (39/40)

Box 2, folder 17. "Organizations of boards of health" and "Public health education," 1914, written for Harvard (41/42)

Box 2, folder 18. "Contagious disease problems" and "Nuisances," 1914, written for Harvard (43/44)

Box 2, folder 19. "Education (P.H.)" and "Garbage," 1914, written for Harvard (45/46)

Box 2, folder 20. "Sources and modes of infection," 1915, written for nurses at RI Hospital (86)

Box 2, folder 21. "Personal hygiene," April 3, 1916, written for the Harvard Sunday Lecture (77)

Box 2, folder 22. "Public health nursing," December 13, 1916, written for nurses at Butler Hospital (78)

Box 2, folder 23. "Control of acute contagious diseases," c. 1917-1919

Box 2, folder 24. Resume and comment on Chapin's survey of state health work, February 28, 1917, written for the N.Y. Bureau of Municipal Research (80)

Box 2, folder 25. "Health insurance," April 2, 1917, written for the Providence Medical Association (75)

Box 2, folder 26. "Three stages of public health work," December 1917, written for the Reciprocity Club (81)

Box 2, folder 27. "Remarks on proposed reorganization of the state health authority," March 1918, written for a RI legislature hearing (79)

Box 2, folder 28. "Scope and organization of public health work," February 2, 1919, written for the First Baptist Church (84)

Box 2, folder 29. "Contagious disease hospitals," May 12, 1919, written for the N.Y. Bureau of Municipal Research (76)

Box 2, folder 30. "Infant mortality," 1919 (36)

Box 2, folder 31. "American contributions to bacteriology, medicine, and modern sanitation," 1920, written for the Rotary Club (55)

Box 2, folder 31a. [Address to the North Carolina Health Officers Association], 1920

Box 2, folder 32. "Changing health problems," May 2, 1921, written for Washington Park (51)

Box 2, folder 33. "Contagious disease control in Providence, " 1921, written for the Women's Republican Club (70)

Box 2, folder 34. "Control of contagious diseases," 1921, written for Harvard (62)

Box 2, folder 35. "Influenza," "Pneumonia," and "Principles of contagious disease control," 1922, written for Newark (68/69/71)

Box 2, folder 36. "Principles of contagious disease control," 1922 (58)

Box 2, folder 37. "False vs. real duties of the H.O.," 1923, written for the Rotary Club (52)

Box 2, folder 38. "The filth theory," March 20, 1923, written for Harvard (72)

Box 2, folder 39. "Personal responsibility for health," December 5, 1923, written for the City Club (50)

Box 2, folder 40. "Relation of hospitals to public health," May 21, 1924, written for New England Hospital Superintendents (64)

Box 2, folder 41. "Relative values in public health," 1924, written for Harvard (61)

Box 2, folder 42. "What club women can do for public health," January 21, 1924, written for the Federation of Women's Clubs (56)

Box 2, folder 43. "American contributions to bacteriology, medicine, and modern sanitation," December 28, 1925, written for the Town Criers (57)

Box 2, folder 44. "Changes in type of contagious diseases, etc.," c. 1925 (107)

Box 2, folder 45. "Control of contagious diseases," 1926, written for Harvard (67)

Box 2, folder 46. "Health of the family," 1926, written for the Junior League (73)

Box 2, folder 47. "History of diphtheria immunization," 1926, written for the Rolph Street School (53)

Box 2, folder 47a. "What Good is the Health Department?", 1926

Box 2, folder 48. "American contributions to bacteriology, medicine, and modern sanitation," December 15, 1927, written for the Exchange Club (54)

Box 2, folder 49. "Contagious disease hospitals and the community," 1927, written for Providence Health Institution (74)

Box 2, folder 50. "Health reports," 1927, written for Harvard (49)

Box 2, folder 51. "Contagious disease control," 1928, written for Harvard (59)

Box 2, folder 52. "History and scope of public health. work, " June 18, 1928 (60)

Box 2, folder 53. "State health administration" and "Animal diseases," 1928, written for Yale School of Hygiene (65/66)

Box 2, folder 54. "Air infection of minor importance," undated (111)

Box 2, folder 55. "Child health," undated (prior to 1920?) (100)

Box 2, folder 56. "Deaths among taxpayers and non-taxpayers in Providence," notes, statistical computations and partial early draft, undated (106)

Box 2, folder 57. "Diphtheria," undated (116)

Box 2, folder 58. "Filtration of public water supplies," undated (105)

Box 2, folder 59. Five lectures on biology for Professor Packard, undated, written for Brown University (96)

Box 2, folder 60. "Hints for education reform," undated, written for the Education Club (21)

Box 2, folder 61. "History of state and municipal control of disease," incomplete typed draft, sources notes, etc., undated (114)

Box 2, folder 62. "Incidence of the different causes of mortality in Providence during 55 years," incomplete with statistical tabulations, undated (115)

Box 2, folder 63. "Justifiable measures for the prevention of contagious disease, undated (94)

Box 2, folder 64. "Medical and sanitary science," undated (28)

Box 2, folder 65. "Medical supervision of school children," undated (35)

Box 2, folder 66. "Public hygiene," undated (27B)

Box 2, folder 67. "Role, functions, and extent of government," undated, written for the "Club" (26)

Box 2, folder 68. "The bay in winter," undated (25)

Box 2, folder 69. "Truth in publicity," undated (104)

Box 2, folder 70. "Tuberculosis," undated (37)

Unnumbered Manuscripts

Box 2, folder 71. "Medical facts and theories with index," 1917-1918, #1-40

Box 2, folder 72. "Medical facts and theories with index," 1917-1918, #41-80

Box 2, folder 73. "Medical facts and theories with index," 1917-1918, #81-100 and various other numbers

Box 2, folder 74. "Some achievements in medicine, complete, undated

Box 2, folder 75. "Some achievements in medicine, incomplete, working notes, undated

Box 2, folder 76. Notes, handwritten for a book on contagions, undated

Box 2, folder 77. Unidentified, undated

Series 3: Miscellaneous

Box 2, folder 78. Biographical information, 1880-1941

            Censors report, 1880

            List of wedding gifts, 1886

            American Medical Association commission, 1914

            Contract with a private physician for service as a contract surgeon, U.S. Army, 1917

            Selected papers, 1881-1932

            Obituaries and tributes, 1941

Box 2, folder 79. Certificates, 1884-1966

Box 2, folder 80. Index cards indicating date of expected confinement (birth), 1928

Box 2, folder 81. Ledger on the sales of municipal sanitation in the United States, 1901-1915

Series 4: Physician Reports on Scarlet and Typhoid Fever

Scarlet Fever

Box 3, folder 1. 1888

Box 3, folder 2. 1889

Box 3, folder 3. 1890

Box 3, folder 4. 1891

Box 3, folder 5. 1892

Box 3, folder 6. 1893, A-L

Box 3, folder 7. 1893, M-Z

Box 3, folder 8. 1894, A-L

Box 3, folder 9. 1894, M-Z

Box 3, folder 10. 1895, A-L

Box 3, folder 11. 1895, M-Z

Box 3, folder 12. 1896, A-L

Box 3, folder 13. 1896, M-L

Box 4, folder 1. 1897

Box 4, folder 2. 1898

Box 4, folder 3. 1899, A-J

Box 4, folder 4. 1899, K-Y

Box 5, folder 1. 1900, A-H

Box 5, folder 2. 1900, I-W

Box 5, folder 3. 1901, A-G

Box 5, folder 4. 1901, H-W

Box 5, folder 5. 1902

Box 6, folder 1. 1903, A-G

Box 6, folder 2. 1903, H-P

Box 6, folder 3. 1903, R-W

Box 6, folder 4. 1904, A-B

Box 6, folder 5. 1904, C-D

Box 7, folder 1. 1904, E-G

Box 7, folder 2. 1904, H-J

Box 7, folder 3. 1904, K-N

Box 7, folder 4. 1904, O-R

Box 7, folder 5. 1904, S-Y

Box 7, folder 6. 1905, A-G

Box 7, folder 7. 1905, H-Z

Box 7, folder 8. 1906, A-C

Box 7, folder 9. 1906, D-O

Box 7, folder 10. 1906, P-W

Box 7, folder 11. 1907, A-B

Box 7, folder 12. 1907, C-F

Box 7, folder 13. 1907, G-P

Box 7, folder 14. 1907, P-Z

Box 7, folder 15. 1908, A-C

Box 7, folder 16. 1908, D-O

Box 8, folder 1. 1908, P-Z

Box 8, folder 2. 1909, A-B

Box 8, folder 3. 1909, C-G

Box 8, folder 4. 1909, G-N

Box 8, folder 5. 1909, P-Y

Box 8, folder 6. 1910, A-C

Box 8, folder 7. 1910, D-O

Box 8, folder 8. 1910, P-W

Typhoid Fever

Box 8, folder 9. 1895

Box 8, folder 10. 1897

Box 8, folder 11. 1898

Box 8, folder 12. 1899

Box 8, folder 13. 1900

Box 8, folder 14. 1901

Box 8, folder 15. 1902

Box 8, folder 16. 1903

Box 8, folder 17. 1904

Box 8, folder 18. 1905

Series 5: Sanitary Inspector Reports on Contagious Diseases: Bound Volumes

Box 9. Scarlet fever, diphtheria, and typhoid fever, 1883-1885

Box 9. Scarlet fever and typhoid fever, 1887

Box 9. Scarlet fever and typhoid fever, 1888

Box 9. Scarlet fever, diphtheria, and typhoid fever, 1889

Box 9. Scarlet fever, 1894

Box 9. Diphtheria and typhoid fever, 1894

Series 6: Scrapbooks: correspondence, programs, newspaper clippings, journal articles, lecture lists, reviews

Box 10, folder 1. 1883-1884

Box 10. "Municipal Sanitation and Hygiene", 1901-1909

Box 10. 1902-1904

Box 10. 1910-1917

Box 10, folder 2. Loose papers, 1925-1929 found at the back of the 1910-1917 scrapbook

Box 10. 1912-1913

Box 10. 1914-1916

Box 10. 1917-1918

Box 11. 1919-1920

Box 11. 1921-1922

Box 11. 1923-1924

Box 11. Dinner to honor Dr. Chapin, 1924

Box 11. 1925-1926

Box 12. 1927-1928

Box 12. 1929-1930

Box 12. 1931-1932

Box 12. 1933-1935

Box 12. 1936-1939

Oversized volumes

Box 13: 1885-1894

Box 13: 1896-1897

Box 13: 1897-1902

Box 13: 1904-1906

Box 13: 1907-1908

Box 13: 1909

Box 13: 1910

Box 13: 1911

Box 13: Rhode Island ferries, 1925

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Subjects:

Communicable diseases

Epidemiology

Diphtheria

Hygiene

Influenza

Malaria

Mortality

Physicians, Rhode Island

Pneumonia

Public Health

Sanitation

Scarlet Fever(Scarlatina)

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Tuberculosis

Typhoid fever

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RIHS1822