Michigan’s fight against tuberculosis
By Leslie S. Edwards, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The Michigan Tuberculosis Association toured the state with its Health Education Car, pictured here around 1926.
Photo Credit: Archives of Michigan
Archivists at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Michigan History Center process and preserve state and local government records. While processing public records from offices like the Department of Public Health (now the Department of Health and Human Services), staff members often uncover fascinating stories from our state’s past.
The following article chronicles the state’s response to the tuberculosis public health crisis in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is adapted from a longer article originally published in TRACE, the Archives of Michigan’s official magazine. TRACE is available digitally and in print for free to members of the Michigan History Center.
Famous American architect OâNeil Ford, who grew up in Denton, admired Dentonâs Courthouse on the Square. He once said: âI was in Denton the other day, and I went over to look at the courthouse again, and I still donât know how they got that blessed thing up.â
Little has been said about Tom Lovell, who built the courthouse. He was born in West Kilbride, Scotland, in 1852. Scottish census records show 18-year-old Tom working as a servant on a farm in 1900. Tom married Theresa Begley in County Armaugh, Ireland, in 1877. They had two sons, Ed and Tom Jr., while they lived in Ireland. Mary, their daughter, was born in 1881 after they moved to Scotland, just before immigrating to the United States. The Lovells moved to Brownwood, Texas, where daughters Sadie, Anne and Teresa were born.