Dr. Kennedy’s Medical Discovery Bottle

Q: One of our sons found an interesting bottle in the woods near our cabin. It’s a lovely green-blue color and is embossed “Dr. Kennedy’s/Medical Discovery/Roxbury, Mass.” We would like to know who Dr. Kennedy was, what the “medical discovery” was and when this bottle was made.

A: Donald Kennedy (1812-1889) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1833. Kennedy apprenticed with a currier, a person who works with leather, and studied medicine in his spare time. He began selling his “Medical Discovery” in 1848. A newspaper ad in 1854 claimed it was “the greatest medical discovery of the age” and that it was “warranted to cure every kind of humor [related to body fluids]” except “thunder humor.” It sold for $1 a bottle and probably contained a mixture of herbs and alcohol. Dr. Kennedy made several other patent medicines and became very wealthy. His son, Dr. David Kennedy, took over the business when Donald died and he continued to sell the Medical Discovery until 1928. Value of your bottle in good condition with no stains is $100.