Posted March 27, 1999
Leslie Reunion 1999 home page | Start of family tree
Note: Joe Foster of Toronto sent me a copy of two
articles, one from "Dental Radiography and Photography"
(Vol 43, No. 3, 1970) and one that could not be
identified. Below is
an edited version of the articles.
Leslie Foster
The father of Andrew Leslie was a straw bonnet maker in Edinburgh, Scotland, when Andrew was born in 1815. Andrew's parents were natives of the village of Stromness in the Orkney Islands, which are off the northern tip of Scotland. Andrew and his younger brother James were educated in Edinburgh. Although the date is not known, Andrew's father died when Andrew was still a youth.
In 1834, the boys came to America with their mother and located in New York City. Soon after, Andrew became an apprentice of Joseph Haynes, a pioneer "gold beater" of New York City, and began working at this trade to support the family. Within a short time they became acquainted with the Parmley family, who were all prominent pioneer dentists. Dr. Elzear Parmley was their special friend and Sunday school teacher, and he greatly encouraged them, not only by using their gold exclusively, but also by giving encouraging advice.
In 1837, when he was 22 years of age, Andrew began his own business in New York City, and taught the goldbeater trade to his brother James. In 1838, the Leslie boys moved to Cincinnati and became the pioneer goldbeaters of the entire western country, their foils being recognised as the best obtainable and very 'cohesive'. Prior to this there were only two standard foils on the market--the products of Joseph Hayes of New York and Marcus Bull of Philadelphia. James Leslie claimed to be the first to discover the cohesive properties of gold foil in 1839.
In 1842, Andrew entered actively into the study of dentistry and in 1847 he received the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. After he graduated, he immediately opened an office in Cincinnati and gained a reputation as a skilful dentist. Following his graduation, he joined the college faculty and was appointed Demonstrator of Mechanical Dentistry and Metallurgy in recognition of his skill and knowledge in that subject. He held that appointment until 1850, when he was appointed Professor of Mechanical Dentistry and Metallurgy.
In 1853, he became subject to attacks of severe headaches so that he had to give up practice for several weeks. As a result of the headaches, he decided that he must change his occupation for something more active. He made a visit to St. Louis and met with a group of eminent dentists. They took an interest in him and, since he desired some change, suggested that he come to St. Louis and open a dental supply business, which in those times was called a dental depot.
He finally located in St. Louis in 1856, where he established the first dental supply business west of the Mississippi River and named it the Mississippi Valley Dental Depot. The business later became the St. Louis Dental Manufacturing Company. Dr. Leslie was instrumental in materially developing and advancing dentistry in that section. He was active in the organisation of the St. Louis Dental Society and was elected its first secretary.
Dr. Leslie was also active in the organisation of the Missouri State Dental Association in July 31, 1865, and was elected its first treasurer. Upon Dr. Leslie's motion at the second meeting, a committee was appointed to organise a dental college which eventually resulted in the organisation of the Missouri Dental College September 24, 1866. He was listed as one of the incorporators to whom the charter was granted. Besides being active in the St. Louis Society and Missouri State Dental Association, Dr. Leslie, before coming to St. Louis, was one of the organisers of the Mississippi Valley Association of Dental Surgeons in 1844.
Prior to his coming to St. Louis, he had some editorial experience. He was appointed a member of the editing committee of the Dental Register of the West, succeeding Dr. B. B. Brown of St. Louis. The Journal at that time was published by the Mississippi Valley Association of Dental Surgeons. After locating to St. Louis, Dr. Leslie took upon himself the responsibility of publisher and editor of the American Dental Review, issued quarterly. Owing to the trying times of war in 1860, he discontinued the publication but issued a paper occasionally.
Andrew M. Leslie was married to Miss Mary Andrews of New York City on May 17, 1838. To them were born 9 children -- 3 died in infancy, but 3 boys and 3 girls survived. One of the children, Mary Scott, married Charles Knower, a dental practitioner in St. Louis.
In November of 1865, he went to Memphis, Tennessee, to close up a branch of his dental supply business. While there, he contracted cholera and did November 30, 1865, at the age of 50 years. He was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.