Tull, John Graham

20 Nov. 1816–28 Apr. 1870

John Graham Tull, physician and surgeon, the son of Isaac and Eliza Graham Tull, was born in Lenoir County, near Kinston. He was graduated from The University of North Carolina in 1836 and from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1839. Dr. Tull then spent several years studying in Paris hospitals before establishing a practice in New Bern. He participated in the reorganization of the Medical Society of North Carolina in 1849 and later served on the first State Board of Medical Examiners, which was appointed in 1859. Tull continued his successful practice in New Bern until the town was captured by Federal troops in 1862. Subsequently he moved to Philadelphia, where, in 1864, he became an acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army, serving until the military hospital closed in 1865. For the rest of his life he practiced in Philadelphia, where he was buried.

On 9 Mar. 1845 Tull married Julia West Hollister, and they had sixteen children, twelve boys and four girls. Among his surviving children were John Tull, who became a pharmacist in Waynesville, and Dr. Montrose Graham Tull, who practiced in Philadelphia.