Dr. John Eoff

Dr John Eoff was born in Shepherdstown, WVA on Oct 2, 1751. He was the son of John Eoff and Susannah Shepherd. John was educated at Jefferson College in Philadephia under the He first practiced medicine in Charleston, WVA, and moved to Wheeling, about 1817. He was the first doctor in that area, and was much loved. He married Helen Starke Quarrier, of Richmond, VA, and together they had ten children.
Dr John was a big believer in the benefits of fresh fruit. He had a large orchard, from which he kindly let the local children gather whatever fruit happened to fall from the trees. Not all fell naturally. John died on January 28, 1859 in Wheeling and was buried in the Greenwood Cemetary there.

From The Shepherd Genealogy
John Eoff was a famous physician of Wheeling, VA; educated at Jefferson College, Philadelphia under the supervision of the celebrated Dr Benjamin Rush and graduated in 1809. Dr Eoff soon became an authority in medicine and acquired an extensive reputation and practice.
He had an inventive faculty in his own domain as a physician, as well as in the general field of physics, fomulating prescriptions and remedies which were found in every house hold, and the knowledge and use of these formulas extended far beyond his native state.
In the realm of physics he was equally at home. In 1855 he built the first cement houses; they are still standing. His most famous experiment was his attempt to manufacture sugar from the juices of sorghum cane, but it proved an utter failure because he could not granulate the juices by the various processes he devised. The problem remains unsolved to the present day.
It was about 1849 he placed Black Bass, taken from the Ohio River and it's tributaries in the tank of a locomotive and sent them to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington,DC where they were used to stock the Potomoc. He was a close observer and student of the habits of fishes. As an authority in piscatorial sport, his advice was sought by all classes. His passion for hunting was keen and his excursion frequent through his native streams and forests in quest of their inhabitants. He owned, practically, the lower half of all the city of Wheeling, and had control of the waterfront of the Ohio on the Virginia side. He built mills, warehouses, houses, tenements, and a theatre.
He lived, as did the gentlemen of his day, without ostentation but in a large and commodious mansion, with slaves, horses and equipages at his command. In habits and manners he was a simple, kindly gentleman, easily approached and greatly beloved by his neighbors and citizens in general.

Use of the portraits for John and Helen courtesy of Margaret Dakin

Tombstones for Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Eoff