Dr. Mark Francis

Dr. Mark Francis was born in Shandon, Ohio on March 19, 1863 to Abner Francis (1829 – 1894) and Martha Ann Vaughn Francis (1832 – 1905). He was the fourth child of eight born to the farming family, likely considered to be a wealthy family at the time. Two of his siblings, John and Edward Francis, became medical doctors.

Mark Francis graduated from New London High School in Ohio. He then went on to earn a degree in veterinary medicine from Ohio State University (the first such DVM degree ever awarded by OSU). He also studied for one year at American Veterinary College in New York, one year at University of Michigan and in Germany. Dr. Francis moved to College Station in 1888 to accept a professorship at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas as headed up the Agricultural Experiment Station.

The college had been established in 1871 by the Texas Legislature. After more than fifteen years, the footprint of the college was still quite small, basically housed in one building, called Old Main, not far from the railroad stop. The Houston and Texas Central Railway had reached the area also around 1871. The university website notes that Dr. Francis’ first appropriation was $2,500 and he began to create his program while operating out of a single 14′ by 16′ room.

Around the time that Dr. Francis came to Texas, research was being done in Missouri by the State Veterinarian, Dr. Paul Paquin, MD and DVM, into the cattle disease known as Tick Fever, or Texas Fever. Dr. Paquin had been directed by the Missouri Governor to go to Texas (San Angelo, Fort Worth and San Antonio) to research the disease and endeavor to develop a vaccination, per the Fort Worth Daily Gazette on August 16, 1900. His findings were published in newspapers including the Austin American-Statesman which published an article on September 11, 1890. It outlined Dr. Paquin’s findings as follows:

• Germs are found in surface soils, grasses and pond waters
• The virus is found in the liver, lymph glands, kidneys, blood, bile, urine and feces of the affected animals
• Ticks and the feet of cattle are capable of carrying the germs
• The incubation period is as short as eight to twelve days
• Thirty days after leaving the soil the cattle are no longer dangerous
• The means to disinfect southern cattle is not currently known
• Inoculation could be beneficial
• Other animals than cattle can be safely shipped to market
• Urine and feces of the affected animals is more virulent in warm weather, less so in cold weather
• Northern cattle spread the disease less than southern cattle because of the relative shortness of warm weather there
• Calves of southern cattle develop immunity

Dr. Francis accompanied a small herd of affected animals to Columbia, Missouri to be studied by Dr. Paquin. Upon his return to Texas, Dr. Francis continued to do research on methods of eradicating the disease. At that point spraying with compounds including arsenic was being tried, using a method developed on the King Ranch. Dr. Francis developed his own spray rig and also experimented with dipping the animals in vats while continuing to collaborate with Dr. Paquin’s successors, Dr. John W. Connaway and others in Missouri. Together with Dr. Connaway, the research led to a vaccine for the disease and the development of a subcutaneous injection to immunize cattle against the disease.

Dr. Francis helped to found the entity now known as Texas Veterinary Medical Association in 1903 and served as its president for three years. The mission statement of this institution is as follows: “…to promote, advocate for and protect the veterinary medical profession and to advance animal health for the well-being of animals and humans.” It works to standardize veterinary medical practice and the licensing of veterinarians in Texas.

Dr. Francis continued to research the disease. In January, 1916 he wrote an article that outlined the economic losses from it, estimating that they could amount to $50,000,000 annually to the Texas cattle industry. He pointed out the successes to date, that 250,000 square miles of infected territory had been successfully cleaned and that at least 750,000 or more still remain to be treated. The Thirty-fourth Texas Legislature responded to the need for an institution to educate interested students in the field by establishing the School of Veterinary Medicine, naming Dr. Francis as its first Dean. He also served as professor of veterinary medicine and surgery.

Only freshmen were to be admitted in the fall of 1916 and $100,000 was appropriated for its first building. As reported in the April 10, 1916 issue of the Bryan-College Station Eagle, College president Bizzell and the faculty received authorization to develop a four year course of study that would satisfy the requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture. At that time, there were five graduate veterinarians on the faculty of the college and the experiment station including Dr. Francis, Dr. R. P. Marsteller, Dr. R. C. Dunn, Dr. B. O. Bethel and Dr. H. Schmidt. Its first graduating class consisted of four students who earned degrees as doctors of veterinary medicine. During those four years, Francis Hall, named for Dr. Francis, was completed in 1918 and housed the veterinary school for a number of years. It still stands today.

Dr. Francis and his wife, the former Anna J. Scott, lived in a residence on Lamar Street, now part of the site of the Memorial Student Center on campus. Around 1942, the residence was sold and moved to a street a few blocks off campus to the south. Dr. and Mrs. Francis had two sons who both attended the university, as did a number of their descendants. Other family members lived in different parts of the country and chose to attend other institutions. Also, for around 100 years, Texas A&M almost exclusively admitted male students.

Dr. Francis continued to serve as dean of the veterinary school and on the teaching faculty until his Sunday morning death from a heart ailment at his home on June 28,1936. He was 73 years old. His obituary called him the “Most Widely Famed of Texas A&M Faculty Members.” Funeral services were held in his home before his remains were shipped to his former hometown in Ohio. There, his burial followed another funeral service attended by his Ohio relatives.

His obituary also included a quote from Dr. W. O. Thompson, president of Ohio State University on the occasion of its seventy-fifth anniversary, stating, “If Ohio State University had trained but one man in the seventy-five years of its existence, and that man was Dr. Mark Francis of Texas, it had given back to its people more than they had expended upon it in three-quarters of a century of its existence.” Dr. Francis was also remembered for his outstanding collection of fossils from prehistoric times. In 1936, it was housed in Francis Hall. Dr. Marsteller succeeded him as Dean.

Dr. Francis is interred in New London Cemetery, Shandon, Ohio. Mrs. Anna Francis survived him until her own death in early 1947. She also is interred at New London Cemetery.

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