
Alfred Bennison Atherton

Alfred Bennison Atherton (January 22, 1843  – March 7, 1921) was an eminent Canadian surgeon, gynaecologist and obstetrician who made historical contributions to the pathology and surgery of hernia. 
Early life.
Atherton was born in Queensbury Parish, New Brunswick, the son of John Atherton (1800-1881) and Charlotte Bennison (1811-1900).
His early education was received at public schools. He chose medicine and pursued his studies under the direction of Hiram Dow of Fredericton. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of New Brunswick in 1862, and subsequently studied in the United States, where he earned his MD from Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1866. 
He travelled to the United Kingdom for further studies Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in Edinburgh. He received a diploma of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in May 1867, also visiting hospitals in London. 
He returned to Canada and became a member of the senate of the University of New Brunswick from 1867 to 1884, and a member of the Medical Council of New Brunswick from 1881 to 1884. 
Career.
He was a medical practitioner in Canada and the United States, initially at Victoria Cottage Hospital in New Brunswick, followed by Ontario in 1887. He became a lecturer on the principles of surgery at the Women's College Hospital, Toronto, and surgeon to St. John's Hospital for Women, Toronto. 
He also held the positions of vice president of the Canadian Medical Association and president of the Toronto Medical Society.
He attended the Medical Faculty of Trinity College, Toronto in 1891.
At the age of 73, he travelled to California, accompanied by his wife in 1916. He settled permanently and received his Californian medical practitioner licence in 1918.
Atherton is listed in the Directory of Deceased American Physicians (1804-1929).
Medical publications and other writing.
In 1903, whilst surgeon at Victoria Public Hospital, Fredericton, he published a report on Retroperitoneal Hernia and acute strangulation of a knuckle of ileum in a pericael pouch.
Atherton was a contributor to American Medical Biographies. Articles on notable and eminent physicians included Le Baron Botsford (1812  – 1888) and William Bayard (1814 – 1907).
Canadian Politics.
He was also a political figure in Fredericton. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1911 Canadian Federal Election, running against Oswald Smith Crockett in the York electoral district.
Personal.
He was born into a Methodist family. His mother was recorded as Native American in the census of 1851 and 1861. 
He married Sarah Wiley (1845  – 1934) in Fredericton on May 20, 1868. In the 1891 census they were both living at St James Ward, Toronto. They had no children.
He continued working into his senior years and is mentioned in the New York Medical Journal having attended a function one month before he died.
He died on March 7, 1921 at the age of 78, in San Diego, California. He was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego. His wife, Sarah continued to reside in San Diego until her death on December 18, 1934.
Ancestry.
He is a direct descendant of James Atherton, one of the First Settlers of New England; who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1630s. His direct ancestor, Benjamin Atherton (1736-1816) was from Colonial Massachusetts and settled in Maugerville, New Brunswick in 1765. His notable relatives include: