Joel Shew

Joel Shew
Joel Shew
Born	November 13, 1816; Providence, New York
Died	October 6, 1855; Oyster Bay, Long Island
Occupation(s)	Hydrotherapist, writer

Joel Shew (November 13, 1816 – October 6, 1855)^[1] was an American physician, hydrotherapist, and natural hygiene advocate.

Biography

Shew was born in Providence, Saratoga County. He initially worked in a daguerreotype shop in Philadelphia before obtaining his medical degree in 1843.^[2] Shew developed an interest in hydrotherapy and traveled to Gräfenberg to study Vincenz Priessnitz's techniques.^[3]^[4] His wife, Marie Louise Shew, was also a hydrotherapist. They were friends with Mary Gove Nichols, who had temporarily lodged at their home. The Shews operated a hydrotherapy "water-cure" house and welcomed patients.^[2]

In 1844, Shew established the first water-cure institution in New York City.^[3] In May 1845, he opened the New Lebanon Springs Water-Cure Establishment, an institution costing approximately US$3,000.^[5] He served as the co-owner and advising physician, while David Campbell managed the institution for ten years.^[5] Shew was influenced by Sylvester Graham's dietary principles and promoted natural hygiene practices, including regular bathing, exercise, massage, and abstention from alcohol and tobacco.^[3] Historian Stephen Nissenbaum noted that "it is clear that Shew was a Grahamite before he discovered the water-cure".^[6] Both Shew and his wife were vegetarians.^[7]

In 1850, Shew contributed notes and additions to the American edition of William Lambe's Water and Vegetable Diet.^[8] He died in Oyster Bay, Long Island.^[1] An autopsy revealed that he had an enlarged liver and internal lesions, possibly due to chemical exposure from his earlier career as a photographer.^[9]

The Water-Cure Journal

In 1845, Shew launched The Water-Cure Journal, which gained significant popularity and, by 1850, had a subscription list of 50,000.^[3] Russell Trall took over as editor in 1849, and the journal was later renamed The Herald of Health.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Selected publications

Facts in Hydropathy or Water Cure (1844)
Water-Cure for Ladies (Marie Louise Shew, revised by Joel Shew, 1844)
Hydropathy, Or, The Water-Cure (1845)
The Water-Cure Manual (1847)
Tobacco: Its History, Nature, and Effects on the Body and Mind (1849)
Water and Vegetable Diet (William Lambe, notes and additions by Joel Shew, 1850)
Consumption: Its Prevention and Cure by the Water Treatment (1851)
The Hydropathic Family Physician (1854)

References

^ ^a ^b Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (1920). American Medical Biographies. Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company. p. 1045
^ ^a ^b Silver-Isenstadt, Jean L. (2002). Shameless: The Visionary Life of Mary Gove Nichols. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 76. ISBN 0-8018-6848-3
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Engs, Ruth Clifford. (2000). Clean Living Movements: American Cycles of Health Reform. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 96. ISBN 0-275-97541-X
^ Schwarz, Richard W. (2006). John Harvey Kellogg, M.D.: Pioneering Health Reformer. Review and Herald Publishing Association. pp. 25-26. ISBN 0-8280-1039-8, 0-8280-1939-8
^ ^a ^b Marchese, Allison Guertin. (2014). Hidden History of Columbia County, New York. The History Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1626193956
^ Nissenbaum, Stephen. (1980). Sex, Diet, and Debility in Jacksonian America: Sylvester Graham and Health Reform. Greenwood Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0313214158
^ Shprintzen, Adam D. (2013). The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817-1921. University of North Carolina Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4696-0891-4
^ Hoolihan, Christopher. (2001). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 1. University of Rochester Press. p. 603. ISBN 1-58046-098-4
^ Wrobel, Arthur. (1987). Pseudo-Science and Society in 19th-Century America. University Press of Kentucky. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8131-5544-9
^ Whorton, James C. (2002). Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America. Oxford University Press. pp. 90-91. ISBN 0-19-514071-0
^ Hoolihan, Christopher. (2008). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 3. University of Rochester Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-58046-284-6
^ Smith, Andrew F. (2009). Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. Columbia University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-231-14092-8

External links

[Medical-1] Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (1920). American Medical Biographies. Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company. p. 1045

[Silver-Isenstadt_2002-2] Silver-Isenstadt, Jean L. (2002). Shameless: The Visionary Life of Mary Gove Nichols. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 76. ISBN 0-8018-6848-3

[Engs_2000-3] Engs, Ruth Clifford. (2000). Clean Living Movements: American Cycles of Health Reform. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 96. ISBN 0-275-97541-X

[4] Schwarz, Richard W. (2006). John Harvey Kellogg, M.D.: Pioneering Health Reformer. Review and Herald Publishing Association. pp. 25-26. ISBN 0-8280-1039-8, 0-8280-1939-8

[Marchese_2014-5] Marchese, Allison Guertin. (2014). Hidden History of Columbia County, New York. The History Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1626193956

[6] Nissenbaum, Stephen. (1980). Sex, Diet, and Debility in Jacksonian America: Sylvester Graham and Health Reform. Greenwood Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0313214158

[7] Shprintzen, Adam D. (2013). The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817-1921. University of North Carolina Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4696-0891-4

[8] Hoolihan, Christopher. (2001). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 1. University of Rochester Press. p. 603. ISBN 1-58046-098-4

[9] Wrobel, Arthur. (1987). Pseudo-Science and Society in 19th-Century America. University Press of Kentucky. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8131-5544-9

[10] Whorton, James C. (2002). Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America. Oxford University Press. pp. 90-91. ISBN 0-19-514071-0

[11] Hoolihan, Christopher. (2008). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 3. University of Rochester Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-58046-284-6

[12] Smith, Andrew F. (2009). Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. Columbia University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-231-14092-8

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