Veterinary Hospital 1882-1926 by Peter Jablonski

Dr. Claris ease Buffalo office (Image courtesy of Mike Smith)

The Great Horse Healer: Dr. John T. Claris

East Buffalo Veterinary Hospital 1882-1926

By Peter Jablonski

When I was a young boy growing up on the East Side of Buffalo, known as the meatpacking district, my friends and I would roam and explore the fields behind the odd-numbered houses of Metcalfe street bordering from William to Howard Street. There was a whole new world to be discovered for the inquisitive minds.

Praying mantis that camouflage themselves amidst the tall goldenrod and woe to the unwary grasshopper who crossed its path as they faced immediate decapitation. Some rocks and minerals needed to be studied and kites that needed to test their wings.

On one of the many excursions, I came across a horse hoof and treasured it in an old cigar box from my Uncle Bronislaus who enjoyed a good cigar after a tiring day in the press room at Polish, Everybody’s Daily Newspaper and later the Courier Express. It would be years later when my dad, Fred Francis Jablonski, wrote his book Dynamics of East Buffalo Ethnic Neighborhood that I learned our little Eden in the city was once the site of the Crandall Horse Barns. Aha, that’s where my horse hoof came from. Crandall was the largest horse auction house in the world according to Dr. Claris’s book The Diseases of the Horse.

Mr. A.D. Cronk, along with A. B. Crandall, formed the Crandall Horse Co. and could accommodate 2,000 horses, having sold 1184 in one week averaging 100 horses a day for the year. In a single year 100,812 horses were shipped from East Buffalo and 7,596 had been purchased here and shipped to Europe. There were many injured animals on transit and much sickness due to inclement weather. This provided Dr. Claris with a lucrative client for his business.

When my dad lectured to local WNY historical societies he told the story of a great conflagration in 1943 of the Crandall Horse Barns, on the birth of my cousin Sue Rozak, which caused an evacuation of the houses on that block of Metcalfe Street. I have

Two images of Dr. John T. Claris and as potentate of the Buffalo Shrine.

memories of tractor-trailer trucks carrying live pigs down my street with their snouts sticking out the holes headed towards the end of the street where Gerber Meats, the former Danahy Packing Company awaited their arrival. A block away on Howard Street was Christian Klinck Meatpacking with red trucks bearing an image of a healthy robust steers head. Perhaps most vivid was the sight of my neighbor Henry Kuzinarek in his blood-stained apron walking at lunch to the local corner tavern with his cigarette aglow in his mouth.

This past summer I eagerly attended the week-long Madison Bouckville Antique show south of Syracuse excited about the thrill of the hunt for antiques for my collection as well as for resale. There’s stiff competition as there are many pickers all looking for that elusive find.

I was tickled pink to be the first to spot a wood veterinary cabinet marked Dr. Claris Veterinary Medicines Buffalo NY. I had a few Dr. Claris stenciled stoneware jugs (one marked White Liniment Dr. Claris Veterinary Hospital Buffalo, N.Y.), another Dr. Claris Liniment, Buffalo, N.Y. and one labeled Kronkine bottle featuring the famous Dr. Claris Horse ambulance drawn by his horses Forepaugh & Barnum. The Claris’ remedies were led by the medicine he called Kronkine. This was billed as the great fever cure. It would stimulate the heart and nourish a sick horse. One tablespoon would stop a chill, relieve congestion, and prevent inflammation. Kronkine was available in powder or liquid and in quantities up to five gallons.

It wasn’t until an avid Dr. Claris collector Dr. Michael Smith DVM of North Carolina emailed me a picture of the East Buffalo Branch Dr. Claris Veterinary Hospital featuring a man with a mustache and derby hat sitting in a sleigh pulled by two horses and two beautiful Dr. Claris advertising signs hanging in the background that I became enamored with discovering who was Dr. Claris. I found out this photo featuring the East Buffalo Branch hospital was located on Newell Street, one block from where I grew up.

Dr. Claris was born in London, Ontario, in 1862 and moved to Buffalo when he was 10 years old. He attended school and Bryant & Stratton Business school. He graduated from Toronto Veterinary College in 1882 with a Veterinary Surgeons degree with honors. He immediately established practice at 670 Clinton Street near Watson. In 1884, the tide of prosperity was magnified and he built a larger practice at 625-629 Clinton Corner of Adams a few blocks west of the William Simon Brewery and four blocks north of Larkin Soap. His new establishment was state of the art with horse stalls heated by steam and well ventilated to keep the horses cool in the summer. It was three times the size of his original and the largest of its kind in the US with accommodations for 100 horses on the first floor. The second floor contained a comparative anatomy museum, surgical suites, and doctor’s offices.

The museum contained many odd and interesting freaks of nature designed to show anatomy and pathology demonstrating the growth and location of many diseases of the lower animals. There were complete articulated skeletons of a cow, dog deer, man, and horse. The latter can be seen in the upper window in illustrations of the Claris Hospital. The museum contained a rare collection of exostoses showing the growth of many forms of the disease in the bones which interferes with movement leading to lameness in horses. Another eclectic collection featured calculi found in the horse’s digestive tract. The largest specimen weighed eighty pounds. One freak of nature was a colt with one large eye instead of two. This eye contained two pupils located in the center of the forehead. The mouth and nostril were completely covDr. Claris Veterinary Hospital 1882 ered with skin and would inflate

like a bladder each time the colt breathed. Another noticeable anomaly was a two-headed calf which the hospital was willing to show clients at any time. The third floor was dedicated to the manufacture of veterinary medicines and horse elixirs managed by his brother-in-law William Twitty M.D. who was married to Dr. John T. Claris’ sister. The rest of his staff included three other veterinary surgeons: Robert Twitty VS, son of William, William Brown V.S.E, Burdick V.S. John Selbert, Senior Asst. and M. Ginnae Secretary and treasurer. John W. Claris, son of John T., would join the staff around 1922. Additionally, the third floor contained two laboratories and rooms for shipping and labeling. Despite this larger hospital Dr. Claris couldn't handle the demand and started his East Buffalo Branch hospital, in 1893 near the stockyards on 11 Newell St to accommodate the overflow.

Here were thirty box stalls with hot water apparatus for regulating temperature in cold weather and essential in the treatment of lung and throat so prevalent among horses exposed to storms in shipping from distant points. By 1899 he had further expanded his second facility. The Buffalo newspapers of the day include many stories of horses rushed to his hospital for care. On June 7, 1890, a Polish man by the name of Thomas Goretski wantonly stabbed a horse owned by Frank Brzyicki at 691 Fillmore Ave. The gash was two inches deep and four inches long. He was quickly arrested by the Precinct 8 Patrol wagon and reported to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. On November 17th of 1890, Dr. John T Claris was appointed Chief Veterinary Inspector of the Bureau of Animal Industry for Buffalo & Suspension Bridge (now part of Niagara Falls) His duty was to prevent the introduction and spread of contagious diseases by quarantine of infected or euthanizing. His headquarters were at the custom-house. In 1891, Dr. Claris inspected a case of Texas Fever at the Jacob Dold Meatpacking Company which employed 1000 people and was several city blocks long, with its ice pond famous for its Niagara Ham. During the civil war, they had a contract

Dr. Claris stenciled stoneware jugs one marked White Liniment Dr. Claris Veterinary Hospital, Buffalo N.Y. and another Dr. Claris Liniment Buffalo, N.Y. to feed the union army. Two cattle had died, and three more were infected. Dr. Claris stated a normal temperature for cattle was 98 while the one examined was 107. The infected were sent to Buffalo Fertilizer Works. As a boy, I played at Dold Park where the industrial-sized abattoir once stood. The Broadway Market was also inspected for contaminated meat and 200 lbs. of bob veal was taken from a wholesaler’s wagon to be inspected by Dr. Claris. Meat inspection and disease control were not limited to the city of Buffalo. Dr. Claris went to Salamanca to investigate cases of rabies and to Little Valley to investigate hoof and mouth disease. Disease prevention was a great concern, and when there were cases of a granular disease in New York city the spread was linked to shared watering troughs. Dr. Claris highly recommended separate water pails for horses to prevent the spread of the disease in Buffalo. Searching google images, I found an image of a brass Dr. Claris Buffalo NY tag with a hole in it. I assumed it was like a RR baggage tag that a customer received as a receipt when they brought their horse into Dr. Claris for treatment. A June 7th, 1900, the article quickly dispelled that myth. A setter dog was rescued from the NYC harbor by a seaman Captain Williams aboard his schooner A. Denike, and Captain Williams found a numbered Dr. Claris advertisemnt for Gall Salve

Dr. Claris advertisemnt for "Largest Veterinary Hospital in the United States" shown carring a horse in his ambulance, used on a book for Disease

Dr. Claris tag around the dog’s neck. Calling Dr. Claris' office to inform them he had rescued one of his canine patients DR Claris quickly dispelled that thought and informed Captain Williams the tag was a tuberculosis inspection tag that was once attached on cattle sent to a butcher in NYC. The butcher placed it around his dog’s neck instead of a dog license tag.

On April 3rd, 1901, Frank Brusso, a 25-year-old hostler for a butcher, attempted to cross Clinton Street when he was struck by Dr. Claris horse ambulance and died almost instantly with a fractured skull. The following day William Pruishaw, known as Scotty to all, was crossing the street when he stopped abruptly to call a dog in the center of the street at the intersection of South Division and Pine. Robert H Twitty ambulance driver for Dr. Claris was on his way to call at a fair rate of speed when he struck Scotty. The ambulance weighed several tons and was impossible to bring to an immediate stop. Scotty was knocked over and died immediately. He was blind in one eye and partially deaf. He did odd jobs at saloons and no one knew where he lived. Perhaps Dr. Claris’s ambulance driver was a tad too enthusiastic when rushing to rescue an injured horse. Dr. Claris prided himself in his ambulance service and a newspaper article stated, "One feature of the institution that commends itself to lovers of horses and humane people, in general, is its ambulance service which conveys to the hospital at all possible speed horses that are stricken with illness or that fall victim of an accident. Very often this service results in the saving of valuable horses as it permits them to receive proper treatment without delay.”

In August of 1901, a horse epidemic hit the city of Buffalo infecting 2000 horses. It was known as the grip and corresponds to influenza in humans but horses cough instead of sneezing. Steeds of the fire and police departments were infected along with horses at Silver Lake Ice Co, Magnus Beck Brewing, and Schreiber Brewing.

Dr. Claris was the one-stop-shop for all your horse needs, so part of his business included a horseshoe shop at 624 Clinton St. He first opened it in 1891 after noticing the great amount of foot disease caused by poor and careless shoeing. No horseman questions the truth of the aphorism “No foot no horse.” His original shop contained one fire and two ferries but his expanding business forced him to expand in 1893 to twice its original size putting in three fires. Business continued to expand, so in 1896

Dr. Claris new building as it looked in 1884

Dr. Claris expanding his building,here is how it looked in 1889

he expanded with four fires. In the summer of 1902, the National Horse shoer’s Protective Association held their annual picnic at Crystal Beach with baseball games and running and jumping events. After the games, the horseshoers were entertained at Dr. Claris’s summer cottage.

Dr. Claris’s horses that pulled his ambulance were purchased from the Adam Forepaugh and Barnum Bailey circuses and were appropriately named Forepaugh and Barnum. Occasionally Forepaugh would be overcome with a desire to do old-time circus tricks to amuse his grass-eating fellows. If the herd of horses wasn't amused some passing farmers were and stated “That gol durn huss is possessed of the devil. Col Brandish rode him in many parades and skyrockets, roman candles nor bursting bombs could ruffle Forepaugh’s equanimity. So beloved was Forepaugh by Buffalonians that when the horse passed the Buffalo Enquirer declared” Famous circus horse goes to equine heaven, performs now in Pearl and Jasper Ring” Dr. Claris owned another famous horse appropriately named Elixir that he raced as a member of the South Buffalo Road Drivers Association. Substantial purses were awarded to the winners. Races included a race for world record mile heats and mule races. Following the races, the Electric City Band performed a concert.

Claris was a great outdoorsman who frequently hunted and fished. He was a member of two fishing clubs named the Battersea and Mamawee. Prominent businessmen such as Fire chief Simon Seibert and manager of Magnus Beck Brewing Co, Col John Schwartz President & Treasurer of Schwartz Brewery, Conrad Hammer owner of Germania Brewing, John Grimm a prominent member of the Republican party were his fishing mates. Naturally, they had to tell fish stories and Doc Claris exclaimed that one of its members' bass “weighed over six pounds” On one of their duck hunting expeditions to Cayuga Lake Dr. Claris, a member of The Hit & Miss Club used live ducks with clipped wings as decoys. He came in second place. On one expedition to the Smooth & Slick Clubhouse on Grand Island a reporter spotted 15 decks of cards, 2 wagon loads of liquid goods, and nothing to eat. They are expected to kill a couple of bears and a dozen or so rabbits. Ten deer secured was another headline from a return trip in the wilds of Canada which they then displayed at a North Main Street Restaurant.

Dr. Claris was on his way to attend a sick horse when he was notified his friend Simon Seibert Fire Commissioner had swallowed a Union label from a loaf of bread. Claris pumped epizootic medicine (medicine for diseases widespread amongst animals) into his friend and Seibert promptly coughed up the label. For a long time, Dr. Claris had been endeavoring to prove his horse medicine was good for man or beast. Dr. Claris now joined the ranks of other proprietary medicine dealers such as Merchants Gargling Oil of Lockport NY capitalizing on the market by selling his product as For Man or Beast. As cars were becoming more prevalent he started to advertise his Dr. Claris Family Liniment “penetrates quickly relieves painful neuralgia, lumbago, rheumatism and all kinds of muscular soreness. It has few equals among like preparations and practically no superiors. A well-known physician when speaking of it said “I find it invaluable in a climate like Buffalo where the cold raw air from the lake and humidity caused by the presence of the great body of water at certain times of year make the residents susceptible to rheumatism. I always advise my patients to use this liniment as soon as the first twinge of pain appears. When they do this, they often ward off severe attacks and save themselves a great deal of suffering and money.“

Claris was a man who wore many hats. He was inspector of livestock at the East Buffalo Stockyards, Inspector of garbage disposal plants, and a Republican candidate for sheriff. He was constantly in the public spotlight. In October 1908 when he at-

Dr. Claris great Remedy for coughs called Kronkine

tended the Republican National Convention while collecting his $7 a day-inspectors pay the media flagged his behavior headlining an article “$7 a day snap of Dr. Claris pays while he has fun.” He was also criticized for being born in Canada. Although Claris was nominated three times he lost all elections for sheriff.

George Funk, a milk dealer, was driving his milk wagon on Grey Street when his horse became frightened by an automobile and ran away. Billeb Bros who ran a grocery at Grey & Broadway had his horse tied in front. When the runaway turned the corner one of the milk wagon shafts penetrated the horse’s neck and broke off leaving a section of it embedded in the flesh. The injured horse bled profusely and died before Dr. Claris arrived at the scene. Streetcar accidents became commonplace with horses.

John C Riehle, a farmer living in Armour, was painfully injured when the wagon he was seated on was struck by the Abbott South Park Trolley car. Riehle was thrown to the pavement injuring his head and back. The wagon was demolished and one of the horses cut about the leg and removed to Dr. Claris Veterinary Hospital. The newspaper consistently praised Dr. Claris stating “If Claris can't save your horse None Probably Can '' The year 1910 opens with Claris maintaining the most up-to-date and complete institution of its kind in the country. His reputation grew beyond the local confines of Buffalo and now he has branches in Jersey City NJ, New Bedford MA, Cleveland OH, and Chicago IL. While stating these claims it's possible this was advertising hype as the only other Claris products with another address are those from Jersey City NJ.” Dr. Claris is the proprietor of some very efficacious horse remedies which he sells to the trade as well. The formulas are used by Dr. Claris and his partners and are registered under the recent pure food and drug act. Many a valuable animal now eating oats in its owner’s stable owes its life to the treatment accorded by Dr. Claris Veterinary Hospital. It is an axiom among horsemen “if Dr. Claris cannot save a horse no one can. Modern research in therapeutics has benefited the horse as well as man. Contagious diseases are isolated, immunizing serums given to protect against contagion, and up-to-date methods are employed in every department of Dr. Claris Veterinary Hospital. A canine department is growing rapidly with the same care bestowed upon horses. Dr. Claris is the author of the book Diseases of The horse and the proper treatment of various forms of equine ailments.

Dr. Claris White Liniment was a cure-all for fevers of horse and cattle lung and throat ailments. One reader wrote to the Buffalo paper requesting the ingredients. The paper responded as follows: Camphor, tincture of capsicum, (ingredient in hot peppers) aromatic spirits of ammonia, tincture of opium, oil of turpentine, alcohol, mix well and add turpentine last. Claris was a shrewd businessman and capitalized on the name of his product naming his baseball team White Liniment. In a game in 1910 they defeated the Bread Peddlers 18 to 10 at Urban Liberty Park.

Dr. Claris has a great many different bottles, salves and other ailment treating solution packages which make for a great collection (Image courtesy of Terry McMurray Auctions Civically Claris was a very active man being a member of the Ismailia Shriners Temple, the Buffalo Elks, Free Masons, Mayor Schwab’s advisory committee, and the Republican GOP. Due to his large size 6’7” 300lbs he was frequently the grand marshal of parades and dressed as Uncle Sam. He was often the brunt of cartoons due to his large size. In 1916 when the Ismailia Shriners held their convention he was the shrine chief and wore his garments looking like an exotic high priest from a far-away land.

In 1915 he was appointed State Veterinarian of the East Buffalo Stockyards which were 100 acres of land located where the current William ST post office is. The stockyards were the second largest in the US after Chicago and dealt in the largest number of sheep. There is now a Historical marker designating the site. Dr. Claris’s book on the horse contains testimonials from many companies. It’s not surprising that there are lengthy testimonials from Magnus Beck Brewing Co of which Claris was a large stockholder and the Crandall Horse Barns of which he was a part-owner as well. It's not surprising that during a time of prohibition Mayor Schwab who was involved in the liquor business had Frank X Bernhardt a saloon keeper and John Claris a shareholder for Beck's Brewery as part of his team. State Department of Farms & Markets in Albany Dr. Claris suffered a heart attack and died. His pallbearers included mayor FX Schwab, former mayor, and meatpacker Louis Fuhrmann, James Smith Sheriff and cattle dealer, Dr. Wende, A.S.Cronk of Crandall Horse Co . Dr. Claris is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery along with his wife Ottlie and his son John W Claris who was also a veterinarian who helped with his practice. The last ad appearing in the Buffalo Times for Dr. Claris' family liniment was April 25th, 1926. Actual newspaper articles stating closure of the business have not been found as of yet. It is assumed with the death of John T Claris his son’s job as a federal inspector, the rising number of automobiles and truck use by business led to the demise of Dr. John T Claris East Buffalo Veterinary hospital. The hospital and his early home on Adams Street are demolished. His later house on Duane Place in North Buffalo and the business location in Jersey City still stand. While his book advertised 19 different medications using the most colorful labels of all Veterinary medicines they remain very elusive to the collector. We don’t need a tangible artifact to remember him. Dr. Claris left an indelible mark on the citizens of Buffalo not just due to his gigantic size and the horses he rescued but his gentle spirit which he shared with all those whose paths he crossed. Dr. John T. Claris embodied the very spirit of wholesome good fellowship.