Hoyt, Charles Watson - Dr.

Dr. Charles Watson Hoyt, who has been an active practitioner at Sharon, Mercer county, for thirty-eight years, also has the honor of having established himself in this locality as the first homeopathic member of his profession. Even in the year of his location there was considerable opposition to his school, but his courtesy and ability have enabled him to establish a large and lucrative practice and he is now recognized as one of the leading physicians of the Shenango valley. The Doctor was born in Chautauqua county, New York, June 11, 1839, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah (Boyce) Hoyt. The Hoyts were among the first settlers of Massachusetts, locating in that state as early as 1620. The ancestors of this branch removed from Amesbury, Massachusetts, to New Hampshire, where the father of Charles W. was born March 9, 1809. In early manhood he removed to Chautauqua county, New York, where he died February 28, 1896. The elder Mr. Hoyt was engaged in mercantile pursuits at Panama, New York, for a period of more than forty years and did not retire from active business until he was seventy years of age. He was a Whig in politics and a Methodist in religion—an honest, able man but never an aspirant for public advancement. The Hoyt family is of good English stock, the first relative of Dr. Hoyt's to emigrate to this country being his great-grandfather, Joseph. His grandfather, also of that name, was a native of Manchester, New Hampshire. The mother of Dr. Hoyt was born in 1811 and died February 22, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hoyt were the parents of Arvilla, widow of T. F. Randolph; Charles W., of this sketch; and Herbert H. Hoyt, a lawyer engaged in practice at Duluth. Minnesota.

Dr. Hoyt received his early education in his native town and in the high school and subsequently attended Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania. He began the study of medicine in 1866, under the instruction of Drs. Glidden and Rice, of Panama, New York, receiving his degree from Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College in 1870. Dr. Hoyt began the practice of his chosen profession at Panama, New York, removing to Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1870, where he has since been engaged in active practice. He was married in 1861 to Miss Emeline Policy, of Panama, New York, of which union four children survive: Dr. Frank H., now practicing medicine 3t Sharon, Pennsylvania; Emma E., wife of Charles W. Hyde; Josephine and Myrtle.

Dr. Hoyt took a deep interest in the progress of the Union cause and actively assisted in the raising of home troops. In 1862 he went to the front as second lieutenant in Company F, One Hundred and Twelfth New York Infantry, and served for a period of seven months, when he resigned on account of ill health. He was a stanch Republican in those days and has continued to be a firm supporter of the party. Like other men of broad and active minds, Dr. Hoyt has shown decided talents outside of those which are applied to his profession. He is an ardent lover of nature and has written not a few poems which show that he is inspired with the true spirit. Although the Doctor is a member of no regular church he is a man of high principles and deep feeling and is universally honored by his personal and professional associates.