Letter of the day, May 4

We have several exchanges between Mrs. Lyon and the Museum scheduled for November, so check back for them.

This is the same J.E. Ash who made the comment about "bottled monsters," where we got our blog's name.

Noble J. Gregory

Member of Congress
First Kentucky District

Home Address:
Mayfield, Kentucky

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.

May 4, 1939

Colonel James E. Ash,
Curator, Army Medical Museum,
Washington, D.C.

Dear Colonel Ash:

On display in your museum you have the bodies of five babies, and the placard by these bodies merely gives the date of their birth.

For your information, these babies were born in my home town of Mayfield, Kentucky, on April 29, 1896, to Mrs. Elizabeth Lyon, who is now a resident of Kevil, Kentucky, and who is eighty-two years of age. These boys were named Matthew, Mark, Luke, James and John. It strikes me that proper recognition should be given in this instance, and it is my suggestion that a placard be placed with these bodies giving the facts which I have above outlined.

I am sending you herewith two newspaper clippings recently appearing in the Mayfield, Kentucky, Messenger giving additional facts pertinent to this case.

I will appreciate your reaction to my suggestion, and if you desire further or more complete information before giving recognition as is due, I will be glad to secure the information for you.

Sincerely yours,
N.J. Gregory

NJC-cl


And the reply:

War Department
Office of the Surgeon General
Washington

May 8, 1939

Honorable Noble J. Gregory
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Gregory:

My assistant, Lt. Col. J.E. Ash, Curator of the Army Medical Museum, has furnished me with the enclosed photostat copy of the caption that is at present in the case with the “Mayfield Quintuplets” and a photostat copy of a letter from the then Curator of the Museum to Mrs. Lyon, in which you will note it was promised the specimen would simply be numbered. It is contrary to the policy to use names on specimens at the Museum, particularly when they are from persons still alive. The effort is made to maintain as high a scientific atmosphere as possible at the Museum and to keep the exhibits as impersonal as practicable.

I appreciate your interest in this particular “specimen” and thank you for the recent clippings. We are particularly glad to learn that Mrs. Lyon is still living. You might be interested to know that she visited the Museum during her trip to Canada in 1934 to see the Dionne Quintuplets.

In response to your suggestions, Colonel Ash has prepared a new caption, a copy of which is also enclosed, in which you will note that the name of the town has been added and also the interesting point about the babies’ names. According to our file, the fifth name was Paul instead of James. We still feel it would be well to adhere to our policy of omitting Mrs. Lyon’s name.

Sincerely,

C.R. Reynolds,
Major General, U.S. Army,
The Surgeon General.

Encls:
1. Present caption.
2. Ltr 2/25/16 from A.M.M. to Mrs. Lyon.
3. New caption.