Pliny Earle II, MD ( American physician/psychiatrist)
Let’s start with the white business card in the middle: This printed slip was used by the estate of Dr. Pliny Earle to distribute copies of his memoirs. The handwriting shows that this particular copy was given to Hannah M. Earle Voorhies, the mother of Amos Earle Voorhies. Jeanie Lea Southwick acted as executor distributing the book, and this slip formalized that transfer. The handwriting is hers.
There is a family connection between Hannah
Maria Earle Voorhies and Dr Pliny Earle; she was descended from the same
overarching Earle family as Dr. Pliny Earle.
Dr. Pliny Earle was a foundational figure in American psychiatry—renowned for leading major asylums, advancing education in mental health, reforming patient care, and helping professionalise the field.
He was born December 31, 1809, in Leicester, Massachusetts; died May 17, 1892, in Northampton, Massachusetts. He was a prolific writer on mental health and reform; notable works include The Curability of Insanity (1860), A Visit to Thirteen Asylums for the Insane in Europe (1841), and statistical studies for a U.S. Census chapter on insanity
This copy of his Memoirs was published
posthumously in 1898 and was edited by sociologist F.
B. Sanborn, it includes diary excerpts (1830–92) and professional writings
(1839–91).
Jeanie Lea Southwick was Dr Pliny Earle’s
great niece. As executor of Dr. Earle’s estate, she was responsible for
distributing his memoirs after his passing. She was a dedicated custodian of
her family's intellectual and cultural heritage—well-educated, civically
active, and entrusted with the legacy of a renowned psychiatrist. She not only
oversaw the distribution of her great-uncle Dr. Earle’s memoirs but also
ensured the preservation of his personal documents for scholarly access.
Hannah Maria Earle Voorhies (1841–1912) born 1841. Married John Nelson Voorhies on January 8, 1865, in Orion Township, Oakland Co., Michigan. She was the mother of at least at least two sons: Chester Richard (b. 1866) and Amos Earle (b. 1869) She died in 1912.
The golden sticker at the top left-hand side reads:
Private Library of
Amos Earle Voorhies
Grants Fall Oregon
Amos Earle Voorhies (1869–1960) born June 6, 1869 was the son of John Nelson Voorhies and Hannah Maria Earle in Michigan moved to Oregon in 1891. Became a newspaper man: worked at the Portland Sun and then in Grants Pass as foreman at the Oregon Observer, earning the nickname “Boss”
Later partnered to purchase and ran the Rogue River Courier (later the Grants Pass Daily Courier), becoming the state's first to adopt typesetting machine (circa 1910) and leasing a newswire service. He expanded into broadcast media: part-owner of KAGI‑AM (radio station) and TV station KBES in Medford.
He had a long career spanning ~55 years; died October 27, 1960 in Grants Pass, and was posthumously inducted into the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame (1979)
Finally at the bottom right, the metallic gold sticker with blue print is a commemorative sticker from the Daily Courier, a newspaper in Grants Pass, Oregon, celebrating its 50th anniversary on April 3, 1935. As previously stated Amos Earle Voorhies was a partner in the purchase of this newspaper.
