FINLEY B. WINNETT, M. D. Washington county enjoys the reputation of having in her midst some of the most skillful physicians of the State, and not by any means the least of them is the gentleman whose name here appears. Dr. Winnett was born in Fallowfield township, Washington Co., Penn., August 10, 1848, a son of J. W. Winnett, whose wife was Mary Biddile, and they had four children: Finley B., Hiram (deceased), Margery (deceased wife of S. B. Weir), and Elizabeth (deceased wife of Dr. H. H. McDonough). Finley B. Winnett received his rudimentary education at the academy at Hoges Summit, Penn. In 1867 he commenced to read medicine with Dr. David Shanor, of Beallsville, Penn. After two years he commenced a course of study in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, which was followed by a course at Long Island College, Brooklyn. N. Y., where he graduated in the class of 1870. The Doctor then commenced the practice of his profession at Scenery Hill, a town situated on the National pike, some twelve miles from the borough of Washington, this county. Here he remained eight years, when, his health having become impaired, he moved to Nebraska, where he received the appointment of assistant surgeon for the U. P. P. R. R. Company, a position he held during his sojourn in that State; was also for some time pension examining agent for the U. S. Government. In 1884 he was nominated for the Legislature to represent the counties of Cheyenne, Sioux and Keith, coming within seventeen votes of being elected. In 1875 Dr. Winnett received the "adeundem medicine degree" from Cleveland Medical College. In 1885 he returned to Washington county, to the vicinity of his former home, continuing his practice until 1889, when he moved into the borough of Washington. He enjoys an enviable popularity as a successful physician and general practioner, his ride being a very extensive one, and his practice one of the largest in the county, all his old patients remaining with him. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, and of the I. O. O. F., and vice-president of the U. S. Excelsior Building & Loan Association of Washington. In 1869 Dr. Winnett was married to Miss Isabel Scott, daughter of John D. Scott, of Somerset township, and two children were born to them: John Elmer (who attended college one year at Thiel and one at Washington), and Ray (attending Washington and Jefferson College). John Elmer was for a short time at the head of his father's drug store, which he conducted with an ability seldom attained by men of his age. But the grim monster, death, loves a shining mark, and after a slight exposure and cold, at first trivial or slight, it developed into tuberculosis. He was prescribed for by some of the best physicians of the East, and tried for a while the seashore. Finding no relief, he was taken to Colorado, and Manitou Springs, and from there to Mexico. Finding no panacea there, he was brought home to his father, where he lived only a few weeks. His classmates in both colleges deplore his taking away. He was an honored member of the I. O. Heptasophs, who feel that a brother is gone. His parents feel the loss of a noble son more than mere words can express.

Text taken from page 921 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed January 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project. Published January 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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