Dr. Walter Booker England, Sr.


 Medical Doctor

Born:November 9, 1882, Lincoln County, TN
Died:October 12, 1918, Huntsville, AL
Buried:Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, AL
Office:201 East Side Square - Source of information: Goldsmith & Fulton
Residence:709 Holmes Avenue NE - Source of information: Goldsmith & Fulton, Note: Numbering may have changed and we are not certain this is the correct house.

Notes:

•  Dr. England is included on Record's list of "Madison Countians of Distinction" with the following notation: Began Medical practice in Madison County in 1905; gave his life in helping the public during 1918 epidemic of Flu. - Record

•  "During the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918, when there were no miracle drugs, many of Huntsville's brilliant young physicians lost their lives while fighting valiantly to save their patients."
     Within one week in October four doctors succumbed to the virus. "Both Dr. Thomas and Dr. England were only thirty-six years old, and died five days apart. They are buried just a few yards from each other in Maple Hill Cemetery." - Goldsmith & Fulton

•  Married Pearl (Pearlie) Mae Baites from Toney, Alabama, on December 24, 1905 - Goldsmith & Fulton

•  Father of Dr. Walter Booker England, Jr., and Charles Ezell England - Goldsmith & Fulton

•  "Dr. England must have been an excellent diagnostician for it was he who diagnosed the first case of Spanish Flu in Hazel Green, Alabama, in the fall) of 1918. Dr. England called Dr. Carl Grote, Sr., the county health officer at that time, to see his patient to confirm his diagnosis. The patient's brother was a soldier who had come for a visit from Philadelphia, where the virus was raging at the time. Both Dr. England and Dr. Grote felt the young soldier brought the dreaded virus to Madison County. The patient had peddled beef all over Lincoln Village the day before he became ill. The flu spread like sage fire burning." - Goldsmith & Fulton

•  "Dr. England was not only a fine physician but he was a good man, kind neighbor and friend. In his death, the community has lost another of its best men. One who enjoyed the love and respect not only of his profession but of the whole community. We shall miss him." copied from the Huntsville Times Obituary. - Goldsmith & Fulton

•  Mason - Goldsmith & Fulton


Related Links:

•  Five Points Historic District - Article titled "Our Streets and Avenues" tells of the naming progression for England Street. First known as 8th Street, then Percy Street, and finally England. They offer a short bio for Dr. England and then tell of the possible influence of Mr. Gilbert England, "Supt. of Mails"

•  Goldsmith & Fulton - Medicine Bags and Bumpy Roads, by Jewell Shelton Goldsmith and Helen Davis Fulton, © 1985, pp. 22-3, 49-50

•  Record - A Dream Come True: The Story of Madison County and Incidentally of Alabama and the United States, Volume 2, by James Record, © 1978, pp. 199, 670.


The Following Pages Link to this Page:
•  201 East Side Square
•  709 Holmes Avenue NE
•  Record