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	John Bunyan Acken
	<img alt="Acken-JohnB 1944 obit" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120628143420/genealogy/images/thumb/2/2d/Acken-JohnB_1944_obit.png/200px-Acken-JohnB_1944_obit.png" width="200" height="300" data-image-name="Acken-JohnB 1944 obit.png" data-image-key="Acken-JohnB_1944_obit.png" />
Sex:	Male
Birth:	August 13, 1856 (157 years ago); Griggstown, New Jersey
Death:	May 17, 1944 (age 87); Griggstown, New Jersey
Burial:	Ten Mile Run Cemetery; Rocky Hill, New Jersey
Spouse/Partner:	Alice M. Kenny (1856-1941)
Marriage:	1891 (age 35)

John Bunyan Acken (1856-1944) was a physician who graduated from New York University School of Medicine. He practiced medicine at Blackwell's Island Hospital, the Northwestern Dispensary and Bellevue Hospital. The New York Times credits him as an early inventor of a surgical staple. (b. August 13, 1856; Griggstown, Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, USA - d. May 17, 1944; Griggstown, Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, USA)

ParentsEdit

Albert Howell Acken (1831-1901). He died in New York City in 1901.
Mary J. Brown (1842-?)

BirthEdit

He was born on August 13, 1856 in Griggstown, New Jersey.

SiblingsEdit

Albert Howell Acken II (1854-1915) was born in Griggstown, Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, USA on 28 Apr 1854. Albert Howell married Margaret Ellen Potts and had 2 children. He passed away on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1915.
William F. Acken who married Nancy C. Scribner.^[1]
Charles S. Acken (1963-?) on 26 May 1863 at Griggstown, Franklin Township, Somerset, New Jersey.
Babyboy Acken (1865-?) who was born on 22 May 1865 at Franklin Township, Somerset, New Jersey.
Thomas Moore Acken (1867-?) who was born on 27 October 1867 at 10 Mile Run, Somerset, New Jersey.^[2] He was a physician.^[3]
Mary A. Acken (1870-?) who was born on 27 November 1870 at Ten Mile Run, Somerset, New Jersey.

MarriageEdit

He married Alice M. Kenny (1856-1941) of New York in 1891.

EducationEdit

He attended Phillips Exeter Academy then New York University School of Medicine.^[4]

1890 arrestEdit

The New York Times wrote on January 29, 1890: "Dr. John B. Acken of 23 East Twentieth street, was arrested on Sunday afternoon [for] presenting a fraudulent claim to the Government for ..."

1903 lawsuitEdit

In 1903 he tried to overcharge the estate of a wealthy deceased patient by $24,850. That would be $595,000 in 2010 dollars. The American Medical Association in 1903 wrote: "In the suit for $25,250 brought by Dr. John B. Acken against the estate of the late William R. Clarkson, the jury returned a verdict for $400." The defendants presented an unsigned contract in Acken's handwriting where he agreed to charge $5 a day.

NorsevilleEdit

His Griggstown farm became part of Norseville, New Jersey.^[5]

DeathEdit

He died on May 17, 1944 of Griggstown, Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, USA.

ObituaryEdit

The New York Times wrote on May 18, 1944: "Griggstown, May 17. Dr. John B. Acken, a retired physician, who had practiced in New York for more than forty years, died here yesterday in his home after a long illness. His age was 91 [sic]. ...On his farm he gave down-and-outers a chance to rehabilitate themselves through work."^[6]

BiographyEdit

John Bunyan Acken, Physician and Surgeon. He was born August 13, 1856, in Griggstown, N.J. He was educated at Philips Exeter Academy; and in 1884 received the degree of M.D. from the Medical University of the City of New York. For one year he was resident physician to Blackwell's Island Workhouse and Alms House Hospital; and in 1885 served in the New York Dispensary. For more than twenty-eight years he has been resident physician of DeMilt Dispensary and Northwestern Dispensary, and is now surgeon. He is the inventor of the Metal Quick Stitch, in place of silk, catgut, etc.

TimelineEdit

1856 Birth in Griggstown, Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, USA on August 13, 1856.
1860 United States Census (not found)
1870 United States Census living in Montgomery Township, New Jersey and working on a farm.
1880 United States Census living in Exeter, New Hampshire and attending Phillips Exeter Academy and working as a porter while school is out for the summer.
1884 Medical degree from New York University School of Medicine at age 28.
1890 Arrest for overcharging a patient.
1891 Marriage to Alice M. Kenny (1856-1941) of New York.
1900 United States Census living in Manhattan
1903 Lawsuit over an attempt to overcharge a patient by $24,850. That would be $595,000 in 2010 dollars.
1910 United States Census living in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey.
1920 United States Census (not found)
1923 Retirement.
1930 United States Census (not found)
1940 United States Census (not found)
1944 Death in Griggstown, Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey on May 17, 1944.
1944 Burial at Ten Mile Run Cemetery, Rocky Hill, New Jersey.

External linksEdit

John B. Acken (1856-1944) at Findagrave

ImagesEdit

ReferencesEdit

^ ^a ^b Family Group Sheet for Albert Acken and Mary Brown, Westfield, New Jersey History, http://www.westfieldnjhistory.com/greavesfiles/fam00545.htm, retrieved 2012-06-29
^ Acken, Familysearch, 27 Oct 1867, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FC2X-7QJ, retrieved 2012-06-29, "Birth date: 27 Oct 1867. Birthplace: 10 Mile Run, Somerset, New Jersey"
^ Henry Mitchell MacCracken, Ernest Gottlieb Sihler and Willis Fletcher Johnson (1903), New York University: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni, http://books.google.com/books?id=lV1NAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA424&lpg=PA424&dq=%22Albert+Howell+Acken%22&source=bl&ots=lnSQnB1BoS&sig=3wklzx721bPXWntn2Dj4xJfWFNk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BwDuT9OnFJCe6gGXwc2cCg&ved=0CEYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Albert%20Howell%20Acken%22&f=false, retrieved 2012-06-29, "... His father was Albert Howell Acken, the son of John and Rebecca Clarkson Acken, and great- grandson of Randolph Clarkson, an officer in the Revolutionary ..."
^ General Alumni Catalogue of New York University, 1833-1907: Medical Alumni, 1914, http://books.google.com/books?id=PTxMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA356&lpg=PA356&dq=%22John+Bunyan+Acken%22&source=bl&ots=J3Njq-HYZy&sig=MsGsY9FZ33bLoQeozcFWIew0g-U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7mfuT9voJILe0QGG4_T6Ag&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22John%20Bunyan%20Acken%22&f=false, retrieved 2012-06-28, "1885 University Medical College. John Bunyan Acken, b. Griggstown, N.J., 1856; Phillips Exeter Acad.; surg. N. W. Disp. New York City."
^ Somerset's 'Song of Norway'; 'Song of Norway' In Griggstown‎, December 12, 1976, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B12FF395812718DDDAB0994DA415B868BF1D3, retrieved 2012-06-28, "Griggstown‎. It began on a wilting summer evening as wishful thinking by a handful of men who attended the Norwegian Seaman's Church in Brooklyn Heights. Somewhere beyond the New York skyline, somewhere within 50 miles' driving distance, there must be a small "Norway" where they could build bungalows and pass the summers. ... A Dr. John B. Acken, with an unused 55-acre farm in Griggstown, responded. The rest is history. Norseville Inc., now comprising 60 homes, is marking its 50th ..."
^ Dr. John B. Acken, New York Times, May 18, 1944, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0A17FB3855157B93CAA8178ED85F408485F9, retrieved 2012-06-28, "Dr. John B. Acken, a retired physician, who had practiced in New York for more than forty years, died here yesterday in his home ..."

[family-0] Family Group Sheet for Albert Acken and Mary Brown, Westfield, New Jersey History, http://www.westfieldnjhistory.com/greavesfiles/fam00545.htm, retrieved 2012-06-29

[1] Acken, Familysearch, 27 Oct 1867, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FC2X-7QJ, retrieved 2012-06-29, "Birth date: 27 Oct 1867. Birthplace: 10 Mile Run, Somerset, New Jersey"

[biography-2] Henry Mitchell MacCracken, Ernest Gottlieb Sihler and Willis Fletcher Johnson (1903), New York University: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics, with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni, http://books.google.com/books?id=lV1NAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA424&lpg=PA424&dq=%22Albert+Howell+Acken%22&source=bl&ots=lnSQnB1BoS&sig=3wklzx721bPXWntn2Dj4xJfWFNk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BwDuT9OnFJCe6gGXwc2cCg&ved=0CEYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Albert%20Howell%20Acken%22&f=false, retrieved 2012-06-29, "... His father was Albert Howell Acken, the son of John and Rebecca Clarkson Acken, and great- grandson of Randolph Clarkson, an officer in the Revolutionary ..."

[3] General Alumni Catalogue of New York University, 1833-1907: Medical Alumni, 1914, http://books.google.com/books?id=PTxMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA356&lpg=PA356&dq=%22John+Bunyan+Acken%22&source=bl&ots=J3Njq-HYZy&sig=MsGsY9FZ33bLoQeozcFWIew0g-U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7mfuT9voJILe0QGG4_T6Ag&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22John%20Bunyan%20Acken%22&f=false, retrieved 2012-06-28, "1885 University Medical College. John Bunyan Acken, b. Griggstown, N.J., 1856; Phillips Exeter Acad.; surg. N. W. Disp. New York City."

[4] Somerset's 'Song of Norway'; 'Song of Norway' In Griggstown‎, December 12, 1976, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B12FF395812718DDDAB0994DA415B868BF1D3, retrieved 2012-06-28, "Griggstown‎. It began on a wilting summer evening as wishful thinking by a handful of men who attended the Norwegian Seaman's Church in Brooklyn Heights. Somewhere beyond the New York skyline, somewhere within 50 miles' driving distance, there must be a small "Norway" where they could build bungalows and pass the summers. ... A Dr. John B. Acken, with an unused 55-acre farm in Griggstown, responded. The rest is history. Norseville Inc., now comprising 60 homes, is marking its 50th ..."

[5] Dr. John B. Acken, New York Times, May 18, 1944, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0A17FB3855157B93CAA8178ED85F408485F9, retrieved 2012-06-28, "Dr. John B. Acken, a retired physician, who had practiced in New York for more than forty years, died here yesterday in his home ..."

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