Biographical Update of Dr. William Worrall Mayo

Historical ProJifes of%ayo Biographical Update of Dr. William Worrall Mayo The story ofDr. Willi am Worrall Mayo , father ofthe famous Mayo brothers, is a colorful, inspiring tale about an English immigrant who came to the United States during the mid-l 840s and by the 1870s had become a prominent pioneer leader in Minnesota medicine. His accomplishments extended into the 1880s, when his two sons joined him in practice in Rochester, Minnesota. Their successful Mayo family practice evolved into today's Mayo Clinic. The elder Mayo was born in Salford, England, on May 31, 1819, and died in Rochester on Mar. 6, 1911. Almost 92 years old, Dr. Mayo lived to observe the emergence of scientific medicine. By using a microscope, promoting public health, and applying improved surgical treatment, he personally helped accelerate advancements in medicine in Minnesota. Unfortunately, biographers have found that his eventful career lacks documentation about his youth in England and his arrival in the United States. A forward-looking man, Dr. Mayo was not prone to prepare written recollections. As a result , only a few, sometimes differing, oral accounts by others have been handed down. Recently, however, additional biographical data have been uncovered by several researchers working in various archival and historical repositories in the United States and England that explain some aspects ofDr. Mayo's remarkable career. Research has shown that his father, James, was a "joiner" at the time of Dr. Mayo's birth in England. As a skilled craftsman, James joined and finished wood products in his own shop , which was listed in the Salford and Manchester directories. Dr. Mayo's mother, Anne Bonsall, was the daughter of a successful farmer. The Worrall side of her family established one of the largest dye works in Salford. During this period, England was in the midst of the industrial revolution, and Manchester was the center of the textile industry, which contributed substantially to the economic growth of the British Empire. At the time ofDr. Mayo's birth , his parents were living on the corner of Oldfield Road and Fleet Street in east Salford, a suburb of Manchester, England. William Worrall was the second son in a family of at least four daughters. His brother James was 2 years older. Unfortunately, their father died in 1826 at age 50 years, and two of their sisters died in the following 4 years . Certainly, these deaths emotionally affected the family and may have influenced William Worrall to become interested in medicine. In an 1842 study, the average age of death for workers in Manchester was 17 years, whereas it was 38 for those in the country. The professionals and gentry in the city also died earlier in comparison with those in the country, 38 years versus 52. After the death of the father, the family moved to Regent Road at the bottom of Oldfield Road in Salford. James became involved in the weaving industry as a cloth dyer and was knowledgeable in chemistry. He would later be described as a "chemist" in the United States. The two remaining sisters worked as dressmakers before their marriages in England during the 1850s. William Worrall was listed as a taylor [sic] in the 1841 census. Whether he completed a full apprenticeship is unknown. Customarily, an apprentice started at 14 years of age and worked with a master until age 21. Then , he was a journeyman. In the 1845 city directory, the entry for William Worrall is as follows : Mayo, William Worrall, tailor and draper, 41 Regent Road , Salford. This entry suggests that he was a master tailor and economically advanced. It also helps explain why he opened a "Hall of Fashion" in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1848 with another tailor. Subsequently, he became acquainted with Dr. Elizur H. Deming, who stimulated his interest in and helped advance his knowledge of medicine. It is hoped that additional documentary research will eventually identify Dr. Mayo's early interest in science. Clark W. Nelson, B.S. Emeritus Mayo Archivist

Mayo Clin Proc 1995; 70:616

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© 1995 Mayo Foundation fo r Medical Education and Research

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