Dr. Henry Kirke Cushing

Dr. Henry Kirke Cushing received the degree of A.B. from Union College, Schenectady, New York in 1848, and that of M.D. from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1851. L.L.D. of Albert College of Western Reserve University, 1854. He practiced his profession in Cleveland, Ohio. Henry went into the military service in 1861, as surgeon major of the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Henry Kirke Cushing (1827-1910), known as Kirke, was the eldest son of Erastus and Mary Ann Platt Cushing. After graduating from Union College in Schenectady, he studied medicine with his father and at the Cleveland Medical College. He then attended another course at the University of Pennsylvania, obtaining his M.D. Though he would have liked to stay in Philadelphia longer, he returned to Cleveland to practice with his father. An unremitting worker, his medical practice became quite prosperous. As a father himself, he was stern and strict and yet had wide-ranging interests and a good sense of humor.

1880 US Census: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
Henry K. CUSHING1 Self M Male W 52 MA Physician MA MA
Bessie M. CUSHING2 Wife M Female W 52 NY Keeping House CT OH
William E. CUSHING3 Son S Male W 26 OH Lawyer MA NY
Alice K. CUSHING4 Dau S Female W 21 OH At Home MA NY
Henry CUSHING5 Son S Male W 19 OH At College MA NY
Eden S. CUSHING6 Son S Male W 17 OH At College MA NY
Geo. B. CUSHING7 Son S Male W 16 OH At Farm School MA NY
Allyne M. CUSHING8 Son S Male W 12 OH At School MA NY
Harvey W. CUSHING9 Son S Male W 11 OH At School MA NY

Father: Dr. Erastus Cushing b: 15 Jul 1802 in Stafford's Hill, Cheshire, Berkshire, Massachusetts; d: 4 Apr 1893 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
Mother: Mary Ann Platt b: Abt 1806 in Lanesboro, Berkshire, Massachusetts; d: 9 Jul 1868

Bessie Williams Cushing
Betsey Maria Williams (Bessie) Cushing (1828-1903) was also from a New England Puritan family that moved west to Connecticut's Western Reserve. She married Kirke Cushing in 1851. Michael Bliss writes of her: "Bessie's mother love was as boundless as her belief in reading, education, music, family loyalty, cleanliness, temperance, and regular attendance at the Presbyterians' Old Stone Church.None of the Cushing children ever recorded a word of criticism about their perfectly wonderful mother."

Marriage 1: Elizabeth Maria (Betsey, Bessie) Williams b: 3 Mar 1828 in Buffalo, Erie, New York; d: 21 Oct 1903 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
Married: 17 Jun 1852 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio

The family moved to this comfortable home at 786 Prospect Street, Cleveland, when Harvey was four years old. The Cushings were part of a close-knit community of Cleveland relatives on both sides of the family

Children:
1. William Erastus Cushing b: 23 Sep 1853 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 19 Dec 1917 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
2. Charlotte (Charlene) Cushing b: 20 Jan 1855 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 8 Feb 1855 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
3. Julia Cushing b: 9 Mar 1856 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 12 Apr 1856 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
4. Cornelia Briggs Cushing b: 26 Sep 1857 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 15 Sep 1858 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
5. Alice Kirke Cushing b: 23 Feb 1859 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 26 Apr 1918 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
6. Henry Platt Cushing b: 10 Oct 1860 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 14 Apr 1921 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
7. Dr. Edward Fitch (Eden S) Cushing b: 24 Jun 1862 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 24 Mar 1911 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
8. George Briggs Cushing b: 26 Apr 1864 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 1903
9. Allyne Maynard Cushing b: 5 Aug 1867 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 26 Apr 1903 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
10. Dr. Harvey Williams Cushing b: 8 Apr 1869 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; d: 8 Oct 1939 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut

Harvey Cushing was born in Cleveland on April 8, 1869, the last of ten children (seven of whom lived to maturity) of Henry Kirke and Betsey Maria Cushing.

Harvey and His Brother Alleyne

Boating expedition, Summer of 1884
Harvey Cushing's high school physics teacher, Newton Anderson, took Harvey and three cousins on a fishing expedition up the Great Lakes in 1884. Anderson later bought an island where he set up an informal boys camp, known as Camp Maskenoza, where Harvey spent summers.
Front row: A. F. Harvey, E.M. Williams, Harvey Cushing Back row: Newton Anderson, Perry W. Harvey (Cushing's roommate at Yale)