James Still

James Still (April 9, 1812 – March 9, 1882) was an African-American physician, herbalist, and author. He was known as "The Black Doctor of the Pines", referring to the New Jersey Pine Barrens region. His parents were slaves and he was born into poverty, yet with a minimum of formal education and much hard work and self-education, Still became a successful and much-respected doctor in the southern New Jersey and Philadelphia areas. He chronicled his life in an autobiography, Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still, printed by J.B. Lippincott and Co. in 1877.

Early life Still was one of 18 children of Levin and Sidney Steel, who were born into slavery in Maryland. Levin purchased his freedom in 1798 and relocated to New Jersey. Sidney escaped from bondage around 1805 and was reunited with Levin. To avoid capture, Sidney's name was changed to Charity, and the family name was modified to Still.

James Still was born in 1812 in Washington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey (now called Shamong Township, New Jersey). Still's parents were religious, and their spiritual guidance remained with Still his entire life. "My mother was a stanch Methodist," he wrote, "but my father was not, although a great reader of the Scriptures and a believer in them."

Still married Angelina Willow in 1836, and they had a daughter, Beulah, born that same year. For $100, Still purchased a plot of brush land near the town of Cross-Roads. Angelina died of tuberculosis in August 1838. One year later, Still married Henrietta Thomas of Vincentown. Three days after their marriage, Still's daughter Beulah died. James and Henrietta eventually had seven children of their own.

In 1843, Still purchased a distilling device from William Jones of Mt. Holly, and from Jones learned the process of extracting oils from roots and herbs, particularly sassafras and peppermint. He began earning a modest income by regularly selling his homemade oils, tinctures, and essences to Philadelphia druggists Charles and William Ellis.

On one trip to Philadelphia, Still purchased a book on medical botany from Dr. Thomas Cook. He became so fascinated by the subject that he returned to Dr. Cook's shop two weeks later to purchase a second volume, which he said gave "instructions for making pills, powders, tinctures, salves, and liniments."

Still disdained many then-popular medical treatments, including the use of mercury and calomel. He exclusively used preparations made from roots, herbs, and vegetables. "It seems to me that vegetable medicine is all that is needed for the restoration of health," he wrote, "the voice of the medical faculty to the contrary notwithstanding."

Legacy Still's life was chronicled in Henry Charlton Beck's 1936 book, Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey, in a chapter entitled "The Doctor of the Pines." Much of Beck's knowledge of Still's life originated with Still's little-known 1877 self-published autobiography (which was identified on the title page as having been "Printed for the author by J.B. Lippincott"). According to Beck, this book was largely overlooked and forgotten and might have remained lost. However, a surviving copy was discovered in the personal effects of Still's only daughter, Lucretia, upon her death in 1930. The work is now in the public domain and has been reprinted by several independent publishers.

Dr. Still's stately home in Medford, New Jersey, was torn down in 1932, but his modest next-door office building was purchased for preservation by the State of New Jersey in 2006. Today it is the Dr. James Still Historic Office Site and Education Center.

His brother, William Still, was an abolitionist writer, activist, historian, and conductor on the Underground Railroad, which helped fugitive slaves reach states where slavery had been outlawed.

Following his father's footsteps, James Thomas Still was the third African-American to graduate from Harvard Medical School in 1871.