Lydays Led Early Medical Movement

When Andrew Jackson Lyday attended medical school at the Medical College of Charleston in the mid-1840s he had no idea that the Lyday name would be associated with more than 100 years of medicine in a place that hadn’t even been established as Transylvania County yet.  Andrew Jackson Lyday was born May 13, 1824.  At the time the Lyday home and farm was located in Buncombe County, later it became a part of Henderson County (1839) and finally Transylvania County (1861). 

Front: Dr. A.J. Lyday, Elizabeth Lyday, Alice Blythe, Jerusha Surrette, 

Donna Owenby, Elizabeth Allison.  

Back:  Leon “Faid” Lyday, Rosa Morgan, Elzie Lyday, Andrew Lyday, 

Dr. Elliott Lyday, Dr. William Lyday, George Lyday.

Following medical school Lyday returned home and married Elizabeth Clayton in 1847.  They built a log cabin on Lyday family land west of present day Penrose.  The Lyday’s had a large farm and a large family of 12 children.  The soon built a larger frame home which stood until the early 1990s.

Dr. A.J. Lyday was the only doctor for miles around.  He made house calls on horseback and had an office beside his home.  Dr. Lyday practiced medicine in the community for more than 40 years.  He died September 1, 1890 and is buried in the Davidson River Cemetery.

Painting of Dr. A.J. Lyday’s office on the family farm.

Two of the Lyday’s sons also became doctors.

 

William Monroe “Dr. Bill” attended medical school in Baltimore, Maryland.  He practiced medicine in Transylvania County from 1886-1932.  Dr. Bill died on August 15, 1932.  His obituary tells of his joy just 10 weeks earlier at the opening of the Lyday Memorial Hospital, named for his father.  All three of Dr. Bill’s sons, two grandsons and two great-grandsons were also doctors.

Abraham Elliott “Dr. L” was both a medical doctor and a dentist.  Like his father, he attended the Medical College of Charleston.  Dr. L served the Little River community from 1891 until his death in 1929.

A.J. and Elizabeth Lyday’s youngest son, Leon, was a teacher and farmer in Transylvania County.  Two of Leon Lyday’s sons followed in the family tradition and became doctors as well.  Like his grandfather and uncles, Dr. Wilson Lyday practiced medicine in Transylvania County for more than 40 years.  Dr. John Lyday’s career took him to other places.

John Lyday, who had attended Western Carolina, was a chemist at Ecusta before serving as a gunner and radio operator in WWII.  After the war he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and medical school at the University of Pennsylvania.  He was a Captain and surgeon with the 8055^th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M*A*S*H*) unit in Korea.

While in Korea, Lyday worked with Dr. Richard Hornberger who later wrote about life with a mobile military hospital unit using the pen name Richard Hooker.  The 1970 movie and 1972-1983 television series M*A*S*H* was based on Hornberger's novel.  Although Hornberger’s stories wove together many people and events he encountered, he loosely based the character of Trapper John on Dr. John Lyday

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Following the Korean Conflict, Dr. John Lyday continued his medical training then joined his cousin, Dr. Russell Lyday, in practice in Greensboro in 1958.  He served was Chief of Surgery at Moses Cone Hospital (1973-75) and retired in 1989.

Although the home, farm buildings and Dr. Lyday’s office are all gone Lyday family descendants still own the property.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.