Wooten, Thomas Dudley (1829–1906)

Thomas Dudley Wooten, physician, son of Joseph W. and Sarah Wooten, was born on March 6, 1829, in Barren County, Kentucky. Following the death of his father, Thomas took over the primary responsibilities at the family farm. He entered the medical department of the University of Louisville in 1851 and graduated with his M.D. two years later. In 1853 he married Henrietta C. Goodall, and their family grew to at least seven children. Wooten received his M.D. from the University of Louisville in 1853. He practiced medicine in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, and Springfield, Missouri, where he specialized in surgery, gynecology, and the treatment of eye diseases. During the Civil War he was a surgeon in the Confederate Army. In June 1861 Wooten enlisted in Foster’s Regiment of the Missouri State Troops. He was promoted to Chief Surgeon of the Seventh Division on August 10, 1861, following the battle of Wilson’s Creek. Wooten earned another promotion to Surgeon General of all the Missouri Confederate forces after the battle of Pea Ridge. He became medical director of the First Army Corps of the West with a rank of major. After the war Wooten practiced in Paris, Texas, and by 1876 established a large practice in Austin. He became one of the original regents of the University of Texas in 1881 and served as president of the board of regents from 1885 until his death at Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on August 1, 1906. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Austin.