About Dr. Edmund Francis Noyes
Edmund Francis Noyes was born on December 17, 1869 in New York City, N.Y., to Simon and Henrietta Noyes (nee Wheeler). He grew up in Long Branch, N.J., alongside other siblings. His sister, Gertrude Davis corresponded with him most of her/his lives.
His father, Simon, traveled between NY and Kingston, Jamaica, where the Noyes family owned the largest plantation at the time. They were also the largest exporter to England of pineapple, coconut and jute to England. While in his teens, Edmund made the journey to Jamaica and worked on his grandfather’s plantation for about three and half years.
According to family legend, 18-19 year-old Edmund traveled to Denver, Colo., to receive treatment for tuberculosis. The fresh, mountain air was said to “cure the lungs” and soon Edmund was healthy enough to attend medical school at the University of Denver (now part of the University of Colorado system). He even sold newspapers on the corner to help pay for the $75 per year training!
Following graduation in 1897, Dr. Noyes had trouble finding employment. At the ripe age of 27, he was deemed “too young” to be practicing medicine in Denver, Colo. With no clients or better options before him, Dr. Noyes accepted a friend’s invitation to “come out to Wyoming” in 1899, where he became the seventh licensed doctor in the state’s history. He set up practice in the rural town of Rawlins, but still had no clients. Dr. Noyes relocated to the Little Snake River Valley and stayed in the Ida Hayes boarding house in Dixon, Wyo.
The Wyoming move resulted in an “unexpected” adventure for Dr. Noyes. Sometime after the Tipton train robbery on Aug 29, 1900, he was kidnapped by the notorious "Hole in the Wall" Gang. The Gang was comprised of several separate gangs whose members included the infamous Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. Dr. Noyes was taken to the outlaws’ cave hideout--probably Brown's Hole in Utah, where he was kept for five days to treat two wounded men. The men lived … and so did Dr. Noyes! He was returned safely home, with five chickens as payment for his services (one for each day). It was fortunate for the people of "Valley" that he was unharmed as Dr. Noyes was the only doctor in a 200 miles radius!
Dr. Noyes’ medical practice eventually ranged 285 miles east and west and 153 miles north and south, covering nearly 20,000 square miles. It also included about 700 families, comprised of farmers, ranchers and cattlemen, in the rural area. He was noted for his treatment of approximately 75-80 cases of Rocky Mountain Tick fever and pneumonia. Between the years of 1917-1918, Dr. Noyes had 40 influenza patients during the Spanish Flu pandemic and only lost two patients. His extraordinary record caused the U.S. Public Health Service to request his death certificates to which Dr. Noyes cleverly responded, “You demand death reports, please tell me who to kill and how!”
By 1915, Dr. Noyes had an office in the Baggs Hotel, which a young Savilla O’Connie Garrish would clean. She knew of Dr. Noyes, but left for St. Mark’s in Salt Lake City, Utah, to train to be a nurse in 1918. After graduating in 1920, Savilla was in charge of the operating rooms at St. Luke’s in Denver, Colo., for a few years. She eventually relocated to the Rawlins Memorial Hospital to be near her family in Dixon, Wyo., where Dr. Noyes was still the primary doctor. She became his nurse and Dr. Noyes continued his wife’s medical training by teaching her how to do blood pressures. She also assisted him in surgery and recovery. Savilla worked 12 hour days, six days a week, and her top salary was just $50 a month! She even learned how to drive and became the youngest licensed driver so Dr. Noyes could sleep on the way on visits to distant patients.
Perceiving the need for healthcare in their community, they married on August 13, 1923. At that time, he was 53 and she was 29.
In the years that followed, Savilla gave birth to five children. The three boys were lost at birth, but daughters Helen (1924) and Edna (1927) survived. The couple purchased the Reader house in Dixon, Wyo., which was not only the largest home in the area, but also had indoor plumbing. It became both their home and place of practice for the next five decades. Three of the four upstairs bedrooms were often used for labor and delivery. During the course of his career, Dr. Noyes delivered 1,100 babies (a record in state of Wyoming back then) and never lost a mother. He would charge $25 for nine months of prenatal care and delivery. Payment was often made in grains, produce or livestock. The Noyes’ root cellar was always full of carrots, cabbage and onion “payments” from their patients.
Dr. Noyes was so dedicated in his care for expectant mothers that even the harsh Wyoming winters proved no obstacle for him. Clad in a beaver coat and gloves (photo right), he traveled to the mountains in a one-horse sleigh and hiked in snowshoes to tend to the pregnant women in his charge. According to another family legend, Dr. Noyes even ate his lunch one winter afternoon atop a telegraph pole buried 20 feet in snow! Another journey took him 43 miles via sleigh, horseback, toboggan, snowshoes and skis to reach an expectant mother living on the Continental Divide near Dillon, Colo. Dr. Noyes delivered his final baby, Shirley Ann Stocks, in 1947.
Unfortunately, Dr. Noyes suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, which rendered him impaired during the 1950’s. He eventually passed away from complications on December 31, 1958, at the age of 89. Without a medical license, Savilla could not continue the practice on her own. However, that didn’t stop the community from coming to her for emergency first aid as the closest medical help was nearly 50 miles away in Craig, Colo. She also was able to continue making this soothing "burn" salve until 1981, when her own health began to fail. Savilla passed away on September 24, 1983, at the age of 89.
