General Content
Dr. Charles Sumner was born in Otsego County on February 15, 1821 to Cyril and Mary Bronson Sumner.
His medical education was attained from the New York Medical College and the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, PA. from which he later graduated and established his practice in Gilbertsville, N.Y.
After ten years of practice and having established an excellent reputation, Dr. Sumner relocated to Rochester in 1856.
In the following decades after having established his successful Rochester practice, Dr. Sumner was a leading voice in the debate between the two schools of medicine: Allopathic vs. Homeopathic. He was a member of the committee of homeopathic physicians tasked with deciding the matter of establishing the Homeopathic Hospital.
Although Dr. Sumner died on May 5, 1888 and didn’t live to see the opening of the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital in 1889, his respected voice in the debate of its creation was instrumental in its success.
Dr. Sumner was a member of the Monroe County, Western New York, Central New York Homeopathic Medical Societies, the New York State Homeopathic Medical Society and the American Institute of Homeopathy. Dr. Sumner was married twice; first to Mary J. White, who died in 1880 and to Helen Rowe in 1884. Dr. Sumner’s son is Dr. Charles R. Sumner, M.D. and grandson is Dr. Cyril Sumner, M.D.