Genealogy and the History of Diabetes Treatments

I recently wrote a couple of articles related to the history of diabetes treatments; at first they don’t seem to have much to do with genealogy. But they do, because of the way I look at genealogy.

A lot of people still think that genealogists just dig up names and dates, and are focused on connecting themselves to long-dead monarchy or present-day celebrities. Unfortunately, the current crop of television shows such as Who Do You Think You Are? and Faces of America does little to change that view. The many hours of research and the expertise of the genealogists is pretty much glossed over while the celebrities explore picturesque ancestral villages and exclaim over their royal ancestors.

On the positive side, these shows do try to portray the ancestors as real people, and that’s what I think is the most interesting thing about genealogy. It’s not the dates and names that are important, it’s the people and their lives, and that’s what leads me back to diabetes treatments.

I was filling in some gaps in my genealogy database when I decided to work on a second cousin (now deceased) who I had met several times as a child. My mother had admired her as a dedicated career woman, recognized in her chosen scientific field. I realized that although I knew how she and her mother were related to me, I knew nothing about her father other than his last name. It was that search that led me to Dr. Frederick Madison Allen. Once I had a name, I wanted to know more about him, and that led to a fascinating excursion into his research and experimentation in the field of diabetes and its potential treatments.

In the process of learning about Dr. Allen, I discovered that a recent book, Breakthrough, included much of his story. One of these days I’ll know enough about his daughter to write her story, but that will have to wait a little longer. In the mean time, I’ve learned a lot about the development of insulin and the fate of diabetics before 1922. It’s easy to take such things for granted, since millions of people are living successfully with diabetes today, and yet not long ago the situation was very different. That’s history, and it’s genealogy.

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