Figure 1. Microscope slides that were made by S.E. Stiles. He advertised slides of “crystalline deposits from urine” in 1881 (see Figure 2).
Samuel Edward Stiles, 1844 – 1901
by Brian Stevenson
last updated July, 2023
S.E. Stiles, M.D., was an active amateur microscopist in Brooklyn, New York, during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. He is known to have actively exchanged microscope slides in 1881. Entries in The Scientists’ International Directory through the 1890s state that he desired to exchange “slides or good material”. A colleague wrote that Stiles’ “cabinet of microscopical specimens (beautifully prepared and mounted by himself), was a constant source of pleasure to his friends and himself.”
That memorial to Stiles continued, “Microscopy in all its branches, had long been a favorite study with him, and upon the reorganization, some years ago of the old Brooklyn Institute, into its present commanding position as an intellectual centre of that borough, he identified himself enthusiastically with its Microscopical Section, of which at one time he was President.”
Figure 1.
Microscope slides that were made by S.E. Stiles. He advertised slides of “crystalline deposits from urine” in 1881 (see Figure 2).
Figure 2.
An 1881 exchange offer from Samuel Edward Stiles, from “The American Monthly Microscopical Journal”.
Figure 3.
Illustration from “Scientific American” that accompanied an 1888 report on Stiles’ method of cutting microscope slide cells from wax, “At a recent meeting of the microscopical section of the Brooklyn Institute, Dr. S. E. Stiles, of Brooklyn, New York, exhibited samples of a new wax cell, and demonstrated the method of constructing the cell and mounting of objects therein. The cell is so simple in construction, so beautiful in appearance, and so effective, that we illustrate the method, and give a brief description of it for the benefit of our readers. Sheet wax, such as is used by the makers of artificial flowers, is the material employed in the construction of this cell. Three or four sheets of different colors are pressed together by the thumb and finger to cause them to adhere, and a square of the combined sheet thus formed of sufficient size for a cell is cut out and pressed upon a glass slide. The slide is then placed upon a turn-table, when, by the use of an ordinary penknife, the wax is cut into a circular form, and the center is cut out to the required depth. If the cell is to contain a transparent or translucent object, the entire central portion of the wax is removed; but if a ground is required for the object, one or more layers of wax are allowed to remain. A portion of the upper layer of wax is removed to form a rim for the reception of the cover glass. Where a black ground is required, a small disk of black paper is pressed upon the lower layer of wax. The final finish is given to the cell by a coating of shellac varnish, applied while the slide is on the turn-table. These cells are very quickly made and have the finished appearance of cells formed of different colored cements.”
Figure 4.
S.E. Stiles, from his memorial that appeared in “The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.”
Samuel Edward Stiles was born on August 26, 1844 in New York City, to Samuel and Charlotte Stiles. He was initially educated at private schools in Connecticut. After the family moved to Brooklyn in 1855, he attended a public school in that city.
Upon leaving school in 1860, Stiles took work as a clerk in a dry good store. In 1862, he moved to the financial office of the Erie Railroad. A career as a librarian attracted him, working as assistant librarian of the Long Island Historical Society in Brooklyn during 1864 to 1865, assistant librarian of the Mercantile Library Association of New York City in 1866, librarian of the Toledo (Ohio) Library Association from 1866 to 1867, then back to the Mercantile Library Association of New York City.
Stiles decided to instead pursue a career in medicine. He studied at the University of the City of New York and the Long Island College Hospital, graduating with his M.D. in 1870. He served as House Physician at the Brooklyn Homeopathic Dispensary. In 1873, he became Attending Physician, then Resident Physician at the Brooklyn Homeopathic Hospital. That institution was located at 109 Cumberland Street, which is the address listed in Stiles’ 1881 exchange advertisements (see Figure 2). He reverted to Attending Physician status in 1882, then entered private practice.
Also in 1882, Stiles married Mary Maud Liddell. He was then 37, she was 19. The pair had seven children.
Stiles was an original member of the Microscopy Department of the Brooklyn Institute, which formed in 1888. The department was also known as the Brooklyn Microscopical Society. He served as that group’s President and in other offices. He was also a member of the Department of Mineralogy.
Those interests were reflected in entries in The Scientists’ International Directory, where he asked to exchange microscopical and mineralogical items. That source incidentally demonstrated that Stiles was known as both “Samuel E.” and “S. Edward”, providing separate listings under each name. Other sources variously gave either name.
Samuel E. Stiles died on October 9, 1901. A memorial included this description:
“So modest and unobtrusive was he in all the relations of life, and with so little of self-seeking, that it required some length of acquaintance to estimate him at his real value. Intellectually, he was of a refined and sensitive nature, keenly alive to all that was best in art, literature and music, in all of which by careful reading and close observation, he was unusually well versed. In artistic matters he inherited a degree of taste and a deftness of technical execution with pen, pencil, brush and mechanical tools, which enabled him frequently to relieve the tenseness of his professional life by the production of decorative articles which added to the comfort and beauty of his home, or to the pleasure of his friends. His sketches in ‘black and white’, his heraldic blazonings and illuminations, and his quaint carvings will ever be regarded as valued souvenirs of him by those into whose hands they have fallen. His little home, though plainly furnished, was rich in good books, in carefully selected Japanese and oriental ceramics and bric-abrac, and his cabinet of microscopical specimens (beautifully prepared and mounted by himself), was a constant source of pleasure to his friends and himself. Microscopy in all its branches, had long been a favorite study with him, and upon the reorganization, some years ago of the old Brooklyn Institute, into its present commanding position as an intellectual centre of that borough, he identified himself enthusiastically with its Microscopical Section, of which at one time he was President."
"In a line with this love of Art was his great love of Nature especially in floriculture, botany, mineralogy and geology. Nothing so much seemed to refresh his weariness of body as a jaunt into the country, or even the city's suburbs, to spend a few hours in gathering botanical or mineralogical specimens. In these expeditions he always enjoyed being accompanied by his children, whose powers of observation he thus sought to develop. For his love of and attention to his children, their education and the development and direction of their tastes and abilities in the right direction, was one of the most delightful features of his character.”
The Brooklyn Institute acquired “The Stiles Collection” in 1902, described as “the very valuable microscopical outfit of the late S.E. Stiles, M.D., formerly President and for many years an active and very useful and much honored Member of the Department. The collection comprises some 1,100 very excellent microscopical preparations and a compound microscope with many attachments, including a fine polariscope.”
Resources
The American Monthly Microscopical Journal (1881) Exchange offers from S.E. Stiles, Vol. 2, numerous issues
The American Monthly Microscopical Journal (1889) A new wax cell, Vol. 10, page 136
Medical Record (1901) Note on the death of Samuel Edward Stiles, page 623
The Microscope (1893) Brooklyn Microscopical Society, page 37
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (1902) Samuel Edward Stiles, M.D., Vol. 33, pages 1-3
Scientific American (1888) Microscopical notes, page 281
The Scientists’ International Directory (1892) “Stiles, S. Edward, M.D., 51 Greene Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. Min., Mic. C. Ex. slides or good material.” and “Stiles, Samuel E., M.D., 51 Greene Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. Min., Mic. C. Ex.”, page 211
US census and other records, accessed through ancestry.com
Yearbook of the Brooklyn Institute (1888-1889) pages 32 and 34
Yearbook of the Brooklyn Institute (1900-1901) Department of Microscopy, pages 193-196
Yearbook of the Brooklyn Institute (1911) The Stiles Collection, page 164