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The Wigton Family

 

Omaha Medical College provided private medical education from 1880-1902. In 1902, it joined the university system as the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. The year 1968 marked the transition to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. For clarity, “UNMC” refers to all iterations of the campus in this exhibit.

Alonzo L. Wigton, c. 1914

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Mary Hunt Wigton, c. 1930

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Alonzo L. Wigton

1841–1914


Born January 19, 1841, in Delaware County, Ohio, Alonzo “A. L.” or “Lon” Wigton was the founder of one of the many prestigious medical lineages at UNMC. One of eight siblings, A. L. was a teacher prior to serving in the 88th Ohio Volunteers during the American Civil War. He married Mary Hunt on December 5, 1866, and within a year they moved to Poweshiek County, Iowa. In 1873, they moved again to Hastings, Nebraska. A. L. became editor of the Hastings Gazette-Journal until 1885, when he joined the Union Life Insurance Company. He contributed to the Hastings community in many ways, including as the “originator” of Hastings College. He served in the Nebraska State Legislature from 1879 to 1880. In 1891, the offices of the Union Life Insurance Company relocated to Omaha, and A. L. and Mary did as well. In 1898, the company combined with Royal Union Mutual Life of Des Moines, Iowa, and A. L. was named vice-president of the Nebraska branch. He remained in Omaha until his death in 1914.

 

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Harrison Alonzo Wigton, MD, c. 1905

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Harrison Alonzo Wigton, MD

1878–1951

Harrison A. Wigton, MD, second son of Alonzo and Mary Hunt Wigton and graduate of Omaha High School and Hastings College, completed his medical education at UNMC in 1904. After practicing at the Nebraska State Hospital in Lincoln until 1907, Dr. Wigton established a general practice in Omaha at 18th and Vinton Streets. After studying psychiatry in Vienna in 1920, he joined George A. Young, Sr., MD, in private practice. He and Dr. Young later joined the faculty of the College of Medicine’s Department of Neurology and Psychiatry. He and his wife, Jessie Mosher Wigton, raised three children, Robert Spencer, Margaret, and Betty.

 

 

 

Learn More About the Wigton-Aita-Young Clinic

 

 

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Robert Spencer Wigton, MD, c. 1937

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

 

Robert Spencer Wigton, MD, as an intern at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. He was the first resident at Penn in neurology and then served as a resident in psychiatry.

Robert Spencer Wigton, MD

1911–1998

Robert Spencer Wigton, MD, son of Harrison A. Wigton, MD, followed his father’s journey through Omaha Central High School, Hastings College, and UNMC. He graduated from UNMC in 1935, where he met Marcia Catherine Swift, a medical technologist. Following their marriage on July 27, 1937, Dr. Wigton completed an internship and sequential residencies in neurology and psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

 

Following the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, he was drafted into the Naval Reserve and served for two years on the hospital ship USS Solace. During World War II, he was stationed in the South Pacific and later at the Bethesda Naval Hospital. While there he met Cecil Wittson, MD. It was Dr. Wigton who recruited Dr. Wittson to join him in Omaha in 1955. This friendship had a profound effect on the history of UNMC.

 

In 1945, Dr. Wigton and his family came home to Omaha and lived at 52nd and Cass Streets. They later moved to a custom-built home at 66th and Cuming Streets. He joined his father, Harrison A. Wigton, MD, in private practice and eventually as a faculty member in the UNMC Department of Neurology and Psychiatry.

 

 

 

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Robert Swift Wigton, MS, MD, c. 2013

Courtesy of the UNMC Department of Strategic Communications

Robert Swift Wigton, MS, MD

1942– 2022

Robert Swift “Bob” Wigton, MS, MD, built a career on innovative thinking with appreciation for legacy and history. A third generation Nebraskan on both sides, Dr. Wigton attended Omaha Central High School, Harvard College, and UNMC, graduating in the class of 1969.

 

In July 1971, Dr. Wigton met a resident newly arrived at UNMC. Deborah Adkins, a specialist in otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), was starting her first rotation in the Emergency Department of University Hospital. She and Dr. Wigton married on January 9, 1976.

 

Interested in the process of medical decision making, Dr. Wigton developed a “programmed learning” curriculum that encouraged students to reason through standardized patient diagnoses. This allowed them to see their effect on a particular situation—a “choose your own adventure” exercise in medical decision making. He also published over 160 scientific papers and book chapters on medical decision making and computer teaching programs. He served the College of Medicine as associate dean for graduate education and chief, section of general internal medicine.

 

Dr. Wigton’s investigative curiosity related to health care in Nebraska made him the unofficial historian of the UNMC College of Medicine.

Stethoscopes

Invented in 1816 by French physician René Laënnec, the first stethoscope was a long, rolled paper tube. Up to the 21st century, there have been many improvements to the stethoscope, including this electric version used by Robert Swift Wigton, MS, MD, until 2005. It serves the dual purpose of amplifying sound for physicians with hearing loss and recording what a physician hears from a patient. Instructors can then play back the recording for medical students as part of clinical instruction in diagnosing ailments.

 

Stethoscope, 2015

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Stethoscope, c. 1910

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Dr. Wigton's Art

During residency and later as a faculty member at UNMC, Robert Swift Wigton, MS, MD, spent what little free time he had drawing. Much of his art turned into pieces he used to lighten up trainings and creatively announce presentations happening on campus. Peruse selections from Dr. Wigton’s sketch collection below.

 

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

 

 

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James Harrison Wigton, MD, and Robert Spencer Wigton, MD, at the Hastings College Centennial celebration, 1982

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

James Harrison Wigton, MD

1948–

James Harrison “Jim” Wigton, MD, second son of Robert Spencer, MD, and Marcia Catherine Swift Wigton, attended Omaha Central High School, Harvard College, and UNMC, graduating in the class of 1981. He and his wife Judy married May 24, 1973. Following residency in internal medicine, Dr. Wigton entered private practice in Omaha. He joined the faculty in the College of Medicine and served from 1991 to 1996.

 

 

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Family Album

Donated by the Wigton Family, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

 

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Learn more about the Swift Family.