Dr. William Henry Falls
Dr. William Henry Falls, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Cincinnati for almost forty years, was born in this city November 24, 1849, his parents being Henry and Elizabeth (Clendenin) Falls. The family is of Irish lineage, having been founded in America by the great-grandfather of Dr. Falls, who came from Enneskillen, Ireland, and settled in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Clendenin was of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania and members of the maternal side of her family came from Dumfries, Scotland. An aunt of her mother was the mother of John C. Calhoun. Henry Falls, father of Dr. Falls, came to Cincinnati about 1846, which was subsequent to his marriage. Here he established a carpet store on Fourth street on the site of the Sinton Hotel. This remained the leading carpet store of Cincinnati and from this establishment were secured the furnishings for Pike’s Opera House and many other of the leading public buildings and private residences. As the years passed his business grew along satisfactory lines as the result of well directed energy and thrift and he continued an active factor in the trade circles of the city until 1873, when he passed away at the age of fifty-five years. In politics he was a republican but was never active in the work of the party aside from supporting his views at the polls.
The public schools of Cincinnati afforded Dr. Falls early educational privileges. He attended the public schools of his native city and was also a high school student in New Castle. Thinking to find the practice of medicine a congenial pursuit, he began reading under the direction of his uncle, Dr. William Clendenin, a very prominent physician and the first health officer of Cincinnati, who also was at one time dean of Miami Medical College, from which Dr. Falls graduated. This was in the year 1873 and during his senior year he also served as interne in Cincinnati Hospital. He began practice as assistant to Dr. William H. Mussey and was afterward admitted to a partnership, their relation continuing uninterruptedly until the death of Dr. Mussey, since which time Dr. Falls has practiced alone. For two years he was physician to the Branch Hospital. His work has grown in volume and importance as the years have gone by and he now has a large clientage among some of the best families of the city. He is ever careful in the diagnosis of his cases and his judgement is seldom if ever at fault. Reading and investigation keep him thoroughly informed concerning the latest discoveries of the medical profession and at the prompting of sound judgement he utilizes every new idea that he believes will prove of practical benefit in his chosen life work.
Dr. Falls holds membership with the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine, the Ohio State Medial Society and the American Medical Association. He takes a deep interest in church work, holding membership in the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, in which he is serving as elder. Formerly he was for years a member of the First Presbyterian church. Those who know him—and his friends are many—find him a refined and cultivated gentleman, modest in bearing and deportment, yet of that genuine worth which ever manifests itself upon a community.
From Cincinnati, The Queen City, Volume III, by Rev. Charles Frederic Goss, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912