Philip Minis (physician)

Philip Minis (January 28, 1805 – November 27, 1855) was a 19th-century American physician. He was an assistant surgeon in the United States Army, later promoted to major. Either side of this, he was involved in a notable duel in Savannah, Georgia, where he worked. He was found not guilty in the ensuing murder trial.

Philip Minis
BornJanuary 28, 1805
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
DiedNovember 27, 1855(1855-11-27) (aged 50)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting placeLaurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPhysician
SpouseSarah Augustus Livingston (1836–1855; his death)

Life and career

Minis was born on January 28, 1805, in Savannah, to Isaac Minis and Dinah Cohen. One of his siblings, Abram Minis, became a prominent merchant in Savannah.

He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1824.[1]

Minis was commissioned as an assistant surgeon in the United States Army on April 12, 1826. He was promoted to major in 1836.[2]

On May 16, 1836, Minis married Sarah Augusta Livingston (1807–1892) of New York,[3] daughter of John Swift and Anna M. M. Thompson.[4] They had the following children together: Alice Henrietta (born 1837), Leila (1847), Charles Spalding, Annie, Mary Lela, Philip Henry, John Livingston and Augusta Medora.[5]

Stark–Minis duel
Main article: Stark–Minis duel

A fight between James Jones Stark and Minis that began in the spring of 1832 in Savannah's Luddington's bar ended on August 10 in the bar of the City Hotel by virtue of Minis shooting Stark dead with a pistol.[6] Minis went on trial for murder, and was acquitted.[7][8]

Death

Minis died on November 27, 1855, in Baltimore, Maryland, aged 50. He is interred in Savannah's Laurel Grove Cemetery.

References
  1. Maxwell, W. J. (1922). General Alumni Catalogue of the University of Pennsylvania, 1922. Alumni Association. p. 492.
  2. "The Minis Family". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 1 (1): 45–49. 1917. ISSN 0016-8297. JSTOR 40575523.
  3. Sarah A. Minis lease and appraisal, Georgia Historical Society
  4. Kole, Kaye (1992). The Minis Family of Georgia, 1733-1992. Georgia Historical Society. p. 80. ISBN 9781881682004.
  5. Harden, William (1913). A History of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume 2. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 578.
  6. Malcolm Bell, Jr., "Ease and Elegance, Madeira and Murder: The Social Life of Savannah's City Hotel," The Georgia Historical Quarterly, vol. 76, no. 3 (Fall 1992), p. 552.
  7. Magazine, Savannah (2017-04-26). "Kindred Spirits". Savannah Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  8. HARRIS, MICHAEL. "'I will rip their heads off!': The death and vengeance of Savannah's James Stark". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
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