William Watson Ely was a revered physician, intellect, and early leader at Rochester City Hospital, where he was Chief of Medicine From 1869-1879.
A native of Connecticut, A Yale medical graduate, and a student under the renowned Benjamin Silliman, he practiced a short time in Manlius, New York and then moved to Rochester, where he spent the rest of his life.
He was famous as an Adirondack pioneer because he constructed the most useful Adirondack map of its time, which went through many editions. He received an LL.D. from the University of Rochester for his collaboration with Lewis Henry Morgan on the American beaver. Dr. Ely died, probably from cardiac disease, in 1879. (Courtesy Paul Weld, M.D.)