Biography:

Dr. Francis Henry Pope was born near Boston, Massachusetts on the 29th of September, 1829.  Dr. Pope’s father, Thomas Pope was born in Massachusetts and his mother was the former Emily Brown and was born in Providence, Rhode Island.  His parents farmed and Dr. Pope was raised and educated in the United States.  Dr. Pope had at least 4 siblings; William Greenleaf Eliot Pope (born 1815) Thomas Pope (born in 1821), John Francis Pope (born in 1823), and Charles E. Pope (born 1824).

Dr. Pope attended medical school at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He was listed in the catalogue of students between 1852 and 1853.  He graduated M.D. from the Western Reserve College in Ohio in 1854.

Dr. Pope married Mary Lutz on the 25th of April, 1858 in Saline, Michigan.  At the time of their marriage, Mrs. Pope was living in Freedom, Michigan.  She was born on the 16th of February, 1839 in Wurttemburg, Germany.  She immigrated to Canada when she was 8 years old with her parents, John and Margaret Lutz and 2 younger brothers, Christian and Gotlieb.

Dr. and Mrs. Pope had a daughter Elizabeth Choules Pope who was born on the 29th of June, 1859 in Illinois.  According to the 1860 United States census, Dr. and Mrs. Pope and their daughter Elizabeth were living with his parents in Saline, Michigan and he was practicing medicine.  Their son George Overton Pope was born on the 16th of April, 1862, in Michigan.

Dr. Pope enlisted in the United States Civil War on the 15th of August, 1862 in Saline, Michigan and served with the 5th Calvary Regiment.  According to his Record of Service he “mustered out” on the 4th of September, 1862.

Dr. Pope formalized his education in Canada and he graduated M.D. from The University of Toronto Faculty of  Medicine in 1868.  Dr. Pope joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons on the 26th of July, 1869.  Upon his graduation, the family settled in Bothwell. Dr. Pope advertised his medical practice in the 1869 Province of Ontario Gazetteer and Directory under the subtitle of Dresden.  He joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons on the 26th of July, 1869.

The Pope family was listed in the 1871 census in Bothwell.  It is recognized that Dr. Pope opened the first drug store on Main Street in Bothwell in 1872.  Dr. and Mrs. Pope had 5 more children born to them while they lived in Bothwell: William Greenleaf Eliot Pope was born on the 12th of July, 1869, Francis Henry Pope Jr was born on the 23rd of October, 1871, Mary Ritchie Pope was born on the 3rd of March, 1874, Roy Pope was born on the 10th of May, 1876 and Wayne Pope was born on the 2nd of February, 1882. (Wayne died in 1892.)

Dr. Pope cared for the citizens of Bothwell, through the oil boom years and in the slumping years afterwards.  He was listed in the 1885 Ontario Business Directory as practicing in Bothwell.  His home was located on West Bothwell Road (see photograph below).

Mrs. Pope died in Bothwell on the 28th of October, 1910.

According to the 1911 census Dr. Pope was listed as a retired M.D.  Dr. Pope’s son Dr. George Overton Pope and his wife, moved from Niantic, Illinois to Bothwell in 1911 and cared for Dr. Pope and patients in Bothwell and the surrounding area.

Dr. Pope was walking back to his residence from the village when he was found dead on the 30th of July, 1912.   According to the obituary that appeared in the September edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the suspected cause of death was epilepsy.  Dr. and Mrs. Pope were buried at the West Bothwell Cemetery.

*Dr. Pope’s son Dr. George Overton Pope also appears on the Chatham-Kent Physician Tribute website.  

**Dr. Pope’s son Dr. Roy C. Pope practiced medicine in Illinois.  He served with the United States Military during WWI.  He died in 1943 and was buried at the Fairlawn Cemetery in Decatur, Illinois.

***Dr. Pope’s grandson, Dr. Harry Overton Pope (son of William Greenleaf Elliott Pope) is also featured on the Chatham-Kent Physician Tribute website.

The photo of Dr. Pope was provided by the Pope Family.