Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Thomas G. Moses traveled with his wife Ella to Tacoma, Washington, in 1921. He was primarily there to paint scenery for the Tacoma Scottish Rite. However, Tacoma was one of his favorite places to sketch and do easel painting. After arriving that December, Moses wrote, “I found we needed another room for a studio, which I got, and it is going to be a good asset to my picture painting. The most glorious view of the mountain at sunrise, noon, sunset and an hour after sunset. I have finally got to work and while it is going to be a long job, I will enjoy doing it, and incidentally getting some good sketches of the mountain.” When it was time to head home Moses wrote, “I made several sketches of the famous mountain from my studio window. We met so many nice people that it was a hardship to leave.” He loved painting Mt. Rainier.
While in Tacoma, Moses and Ella became close friends with Fred and Jane Southworth. Of the couple, Moses wrote, “Dr. Southworth and his wife were extremely kind to us. He is a clever painter, besides being a physician. We took an auto ride to Seattle to see a collection of pictures, which we truly enjoyed.” Whenever Moses returned to the area, he would visit the Southworth’s. In 1924, he wrote, “Took a run over to Tacoma and had a very pleasant visit with Dr. Southworth.” In 1923 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I proposed Dr. Southworth for an artist’s membership in the Salmagundi Club, but the Art Jury would not pass his work for which I was very sorry, as I did want him in as a member. It would have meant a lot to him.”
This was Dr. F. W. Southworth, a pioneer Tacoma physician and regional artist. In 1921 Dr. Southworth was practicing at 416 California Building. However, when Dr. Southworth first met Moses, his offices were located in rooms 1, 2, and 3 of the new Tacoma Theatre Building. The two likely met at the theater.
Frederick William Southworth was the son of Nelson E. Southworth and Mary Hubbard. He was one of nine children born to the Canadian couple, arriving on February 7, 1860, in Thedford, Ontario. He emigrated to the United States in May 1876 and was educated at the University of Iowa, graduating with an M.D. in 1887. That fall he began practicing in Tacoma. He was known as one of the primarily physicians for many Chinese in city.
In 1889, he married Jane Walthers on Nov. 18, 1889. Although the wedding was held in St. Paul, Minnesota, the couple lived in Tacoma; Jane being from Minnesota. The couple celebrated the birth of one daughter, Catherin Deane, born on February 14, 1897.
“Fred” Southworth exhibited works in Seattle and Tacoma and is considered part of the Northwest Impressionist movement; a loose group of artists practicing from 1910 to 1935. Any images of his paintings are extremely difficult to track down. Fortunately, a couple were sold at auction, indicating his range from realistic to impressionistic work. During his life, he was quite well known as a Tacoma painter. In 1893, one of Dr. Southworth’s paintings was exhibited in the Washington State building at the World’s Fair in Chicago (Post-Intelligencer, 13 April 1893, page 8). Later he became president of the Tacoma Art League. Several of Dr. Southworth’s paintings were even used as cover illustrations for national magazines, although I have yet to locate any to date (Spokesman-Review, 23 Mar 1934, page 3). In 1916, Dr. Southworth was even a guest speaker at the Tacoma Fine Arts Society, sill lecturing about his artistic passion (Tacoma Times, 25 Oct 1916, page 3).
Dr. Southworth as also a published author. By 1901 he published “True Metaphysical Science and Its Practical Application through the Law of Suggestion,” (2 editions). He was still lecturing on the subject in 1911 when he spoke on “Law of Suggestion” at the Plymouth Congregational Church (Tacoma Times, 9 Feb 1911, page 3). By 1913 he was quite well known and doing extremely well. That year he was even listed in “Who’s Who on the Pacific Coast.”
This is about the time trouble began and never quite left; it was always waiting in the shadows. It may have started as early as 1907 when Dr. Southworth tested on behalf of Chinese-American citizens, particularly the Ah Rook family. It was part of the long-going investigation of Chinese children who claimed citizenship after the Chinese Expulsion Act of 1882. This was the first law restricting immigration, establishing a ten-year moratorium of Chinese Labor immigration. The law continued to be extended until 1943 when the United States became allies China with during World War II, subsequently repealing the ban on Chinese immigration and naturalization.
In 1914, Dr. Southworth’s legal troubles began in earnest. That year Philip and Myrtle Butler filed suit against Dr. Southworth for $15,500, alleging carelessness in medical treatment (Tacoma Times, 20 March 1914, page 1). The malpractice case was settled out of court after the doctor paid the couple $600 (The Tacoma Times, 256 June 1914, page 1).
Two decades later, he faced much more serious allegations. In 1934, Dr. Southworth was arrested and charged with having illegally issued a number of prescriptions for narcotics . He was immediately arraigned before Judge Edward E. Cushman in the federal district court. After entering a plea of not guilty, was released on his own recognizance until the trial date (Spokesman-Review, 23 Mar 1934, page 3). The government charged that Dr. Southworth wrote an excessive number of narcotic prescriptions and for amounts in excess of that needed for the treatment of disease. Dr. Southworth entered a plea of not guilty for each of the fifteen counts of his violating narcotic laws (Spokesman-Review, 19 Sept 1934, page 16). I have had a difficult time tracking down the final outcome of the trial, but the 1930 and 1940 census report suggests that he was found guilty. The 1930 census that listed Dr. Southworth as a physician working in the medical industry. In the 1940 Census, Dr. Southworth was listed as a Diagnostician working in the Drugstore industry. At the time he was 80 yrs. old.
Dr. Southworth passed away in 1946 and is buried in Tacoma.
To be continued…
