J.M. Lemar, that is James Madison Lemar, was a farmer from Union County, Tennessee. He was not a doctor but was considered one of the state’s best farmers. But circa August 1877 he was asked by Commissioner Killebrew to provide a remedy for inclusion in an article that appeared in “The Daily American”, a Nashville, Tennessee based newspaper. The article was published on 11 August 1877 on page 4 and included the remedy courtesy of the famer.
” J.M. Lemar, of Union: A good remedy for cholera is a sour soap, turpentine, copperas and Sulphur mixed in and given every two weeks.”
Sounds tasty – well not really – asking the question as to whether this was really a good remedy, the following response was given:
“The mixture of sour soap, turpentine, copperas (likely iron sulfate, a chemical) and sulfur is an outdated and potentially dangerous historical folk remedy. None of those ingredients are recommended for treating cholera, and some of them, especially turpentine and copperas, are toxic.”
Hopefully Mr. Lemar never had to treat anyone for cholera!
