Dr. Clarence Edward Persons was born in Spencerville, IN on Feb. 27, 1847 and passed away in Marshall on Jan. 4, 1938. At the end of the Civil War, Dr. Persons accompanied his parents to Northfield, where he lived until 1877. He graduated from Carleton College. In the spring of 1877, he graduated from medical school at Michigan University in Ann Arbor, and in the same year, he moved to Marshall and engaged in his medical profession. He was the county coroner for many years, the United States pension examiner for more than 30 years, and he was the local physician for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company.

The first office of Dr. Persons was upstairs in a little frame building on the south side of Main Street, where a meat market used to be. Later, he had his office in a frame building where the Olson & Lowe store was located. Later, he office would be located in his family residence, where he, like many of the early physicians, treated their patients. The family residence once stood near W. Lyon and 5th Street.

Dr. Persons married Addie E. Gary on Nov. 27, 1878 in Marshall. Addie was one of the first teachers in Lyon County. She graduated from the Winona Normal School in 1877 and taught in the Marshall schools. They had two children, Harris Edward Persons, former district court clerk for Lyon County, and Robert Wayne Persons.

The photograph featured this week from the Lyon County Museum’s collection is a cabinet photograph of Dr. Persons taken in Marshall, circa 1895.

The Lyon County Historical Society (LCHS) is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. LCHS operates the Lyon County Museum at 301 W Lyon St in Marshall. The Lyon County Museum is open to visitors. To contact us, visit our website: www.lyoncomuseum.org, call: 507-537-6580, email: director@lyoncomuseum.org, or on our Facebook page.