History of Wexford County, MI. Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 112 - 113

AUSTIN W. MITCHELL

 

The popular physician and surgeon whose life story is briefly outlined in this review has attained an enviable position in the medical world, gaining the distinguished reputation which comes as the legitimate reward of rigid mental discipline through professional training and skill and persistent, painstaking endeavor. Progressive in the broadest sense of the term and keeping in close touch with all matters relating to his chosen calling, his understanding, advanced methods and efficient practice have brought him not only eminent professional success, but liberal financial remuneration as well. During a residence of over thirty years in the city of Cadillac he has witnessed the remarkable growth and development of Wexford county along all lines of industrial, commercial and professional activity and to the extent of his ability he has contributed to bring about the results that are now obtained. His character has ever been above reproach, his conduct in every relation of life has been that of the faithful healer, the upright man, the honorable citizen and today there are few as well known and none stand higher than he in the confidence and esteem of the people. In point of residence and continuous service, he is the oldest physician in Cadillac, as well as one of the most successful. Dr. Wardell is a native of Ontario, Canada, and was born on a farm near St. Thomas, Elgin county, July 26, 1855. When seven years of age his parents, Edward and Melissa (McDween) Wardell, moved to the above village and there the future physician received his literary education, completing the high school course in 1867, immediately after which he made choice of medicine as his life work, and began his preliminary study of the same under the direction of his uncle, Dr. J. M. Penwarden, while clerking in the latter's drug store in St. Thomas. Dr. Penwarden was a physician of considerable note, who practiced for some years in partnership with Dr. John Fulton, at that time professor of surgery in Trinity College, Toronto, and dean of the faculty. While attending to his duties in the store young Wardell devoted all his leisure time to study and under the efficient instruction of his uncle he made rapid and substantial progress, his advantages being far superior to those of the majority of students at the beginning of their career. After two years behind the counter his entire time was given to his medical reading, and at the end of one year of painstaking research he entered the medical department of Michigan University, where he remained until the fall of 1870, returning to Canada at the end of the session and again taking up his work with his former preceptor. He continued his studies at home and in Toronto until the fall of 1872, when he returned to Ann Arbor, and on the 26th day of the ensuing March was graduated at the early age of eighteen, being one of the youngest persons to receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Michigan. On the 7th of September following his graduation Dr. Wardell opened an office in Cadillac and at once engaged actively in the practice of his profession, encountering at the outset many of the obstacles and embarrassments which usually beset the pathway of young physicians ambitious for professional honors. In due time, however, his abilities were recognized and he soon succeeded in building up a lucrative practice which, taking a wide range and covering every branch of the profession, has steadily grown in magnitude to the present day. In 1876 he was appointed division surgeon of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, which position he still holds, and he also served four years as a member of the board of pension examiners at Reed City, Michigan, performing capable and satisfactory service in both capacities. As a physician and surgeon Dr. Wardell has few equals and no superior in the Grand Traverse region. He is thoroughly informed in all branches of his profession, makes diagnosis readily, has had a long, varied and remarkably successful experience and the extensive practice he now commands affords the best evidence of the high esteem in which he is held by the public. In his professional duties and in social life he sustains an admirable character and in his business affairs have demonstrated shrewdness and capability, having by close attention to his chosen calling accumulated a sufficiency of this world's goods to place him in independent circumstances. In the language of another, "The Doctor is a broad-gauged, liberal-minded man, conversant with life in all its bearings and thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the present progressive age." "Since boyhood he has had to depend entirely upon his own exertions, but, with a determination to succeed, he worked earnestly and constantly and now, while yet in the prime of life, he can rest free from care and anxiety with the consciousness that his present prosperity is due to industry and ability." Dr. Wardell is a close and diligent student, a critical reader of the world's best literature and his acquaintance with the same is general and profound. For a number of years he has made a special study of Shakespeare, and his deep research into the writings of that immortal genius has made him one of the best Shakespearian scholars in this country. He has examined critically every thing relating to the subject, is familiar with the ideas of Shakespearian scholars the world over and his own observations, opinions and conclusions have elicited the attention and praise of some of the best writers and critics of the day. Fraternally the Doctor is a thirty-second degree Mason and his political views are in accord with the Republican party, of which he has for years been an earnest and enthusiastic supporter. His domestic life dates from 1890, on July 21st of which year he was happily married to Miss Aristae M. Montgomery, a native of Oberlin. Ohio, and a lady of refined tastes and liberal culture, who has borne him two children, a son by the name of Montgomery Meaure, and a daughter, Margaret. The Doctor is peculiarly blessed in his domestic relations and in his beautiful home, one of the finest residences in the city of Cadillac, finds in the bosom of his family or in the company of the wise and great of all ages through the medium of his well-stocked library the social relaxation and mental stimulus which only men of his tastes and inclinations fully appreciate. His life has been lived to useful ends and his high ideals, professional and otherwise, have made him in no small degree a leader of thought in the community. He maintains a lively interest in Cadillac, has taken an active part inpromoting its material development, and, having faith in the city's future, is doing all within his power to make that future come up to his high expectations.