Notable Annis Physicians



This page last updated December 26, 2020



Dr. Edward R. Annis

Image: Edward R. Annis
Dr. Edward R. Annis
1913 - 2009

Edward Roland Annis, Jr. was born March 27, 1913 at Detroit, MI, the son of Edward and Ethel Annis. He married June 16, 1941, Betty McCue Starck and had eight children. Joseph Payne, Brian Roland, Paul Starck, Barbara Mary, Marjorie Joan, Kathleen Deborah, Timothy John, and Roberta Marie Annis. He died September 14, 2009 at Miami, Florida.

Dr. Edward R. Annis is the author of many articles on modern health care in the United States and his book Code Blue: Health Care in Crisis, published in 1993, caused a major stir among proponents of Medicare and socialized medicine. Outspoken, and a strong believer in values that helped build this country, Dr. Annis has held the position of President of the American Medical Association and the World Medical Association.
Many may remember his famous speech at Madison Square Garden, where to a television audience of 30 million, he delivered the physicians' rebuttal to President Kennedy's proposal to move the nation toward socialized medicine. From 1963, he was a major vocal supporter of the free market health care system. Whether or not one believes in, or agrees with his politics and views on health care, Dr. Annis must be respected for his courage to speak out forcefully on an issue that continues to remain center stage in the national political spotlight.

Image: Code Blue

In his book, Code Blue: Health Care in Crisis, Dr. Annis states:“My mother was a bride at nineteen, a widow at twenty, and a mother at twenty-one; my father died of a ruptured appendix six months before I was born.”

Image: Edward Annis

Dr. Edward R. Annis' lineage is: Edward R. Annis 1891-1912, Everett S. Annis 1864-1947, Stephen W. Annis 1833-1873, Daniel Annis 1806-aft 1870, Stephen Annis 1776-1846, Thomas Annis 1750-1809, Daniel Annis 1711-c.1790, Abraham Annis 1668-1738, Cormac Annis 1638-1717


Edward's sons, Dr. Joseph P. Annis and Dr. Paul S. Annis continue the family legacy in medicine. I qoute:


Dr. Joseph P. Annis

"Through the encouragement of his peers, Joseph P. Annis, MD '69, has continued to climb the rungs of leadership in organized medicine, culminating with his election this summer to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. An anesthesiologist from Austin, Texas, Dr. Annis has been in practice for 31 years and is a former partner with Austin Anesthesiology Group where he still works part time. He also teaches at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth Medical School.

Dr. Annis has been on the AMA delegation from Texas since 1993. Surgical colleagues persuaded him to become a delegate for the county to the Texas Medical Association. He was further encouraged to become a delegate to the AMA, and seven years ago, he ran for an AMA council position. He served on the Council on Medical Service, where he used his background as an economics major to focus on socio-economic issues in medicine, including Medicare and the physician workforce.

"The AMA remains the most credible national voice for physicians and the patients who depend on us every day," he said. "It is my honor and privilege to join the Board of Trustees in the effort to keep this voice strong and America's patients safe."

Toward this end, Dr. Annis plans to concentrate on two major challenges facing the AMA – one external and one internal. The external challenge is the entire way health care is delivered and paid for in America.

Dr. Annis believes the current system is unsustainable, since prices are controlled by large insurers and people have little to no choice. He would like the AMA to push for Medicare to be fashioned more like the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program – a program used by the President and the U.S. Postal Service among others – which is sustainable and gives people a choice, rather than being once size fits all like the current state of Medicare, he said.

Internally, Dr. Annis will focus on strengthening the voluntary membership of the AMA.
"I'd like to convey to the American physician what a tremendous resource and advocacy body the AMA is for physicians," he said. "Most physicians don't realize just what the AMA does for them. Our challenge is to let them know and encourage them to join."

In everything he does, Dr. Annis draws on his history. His most enduring memory from Marquette School of Medicine (the Medical College's predecessor) is the love his professors had for their work and for taking care of patients. That memory inspired him to return to teaching. Faculty member Ernest Henschel, MD, whom Dr. Annis interviewed while working as an editor for the Marquette Medical Review (a journal once produced by the school), influenced him to enter the field of anesthesia.

His family influences are equally strong. His father, Edward R. Annis, MD '38, is a former AMA president, and his brother, Paul S. Annis, MD '71, is also a Medical College alumnus.

Over the years, Dr. Annis has made many significant contributions to medicine. He is the past president of the medical staff and past vice chair of the board of directors at St. David's Medical Center in Austin. He currently serves on the board of governors at St. David's HealthCare Partnership. He has been president of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists and a delegate to the American Society of Anesthesiologists' House of Delegates. He also serves on the board of directors of Preferred Physician Medical, a professional liability insurance company focusing on anesthesiology. Dr. Annis is a member of the board of directors of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research and has served as an associate examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology for 25 years.
Impressive to him are the contributions made by the people comprising the AMA.
"It has been very gratifying to see the quality of the leadership at the staff level and their professionalism,"Dr. Annis said. "I knew the AMA was good, but I had no idea of the breadth and depth of talent."



Dr. Eber Leander Annis
1824-1903

Eber was born July 24, 1824 at Thetford, Vermont, the son of Thomas and Martha (McClary) Annis of Londonderry, New Hampshire, Thetfod, Vermont and North Collin, New York. The earliest records of Eber L. Annis are that he appears on the census roll at Onondaga, Michigan, as a married man with no children. He was listed as a painter residing with Nathan J. Stark.
Amazingly, for reasons that we can only speculate upon, Eber went to Chicago and on February 22, 1881, at the age of 57, he graduated from the prestigious Rush Medical College in that city. As a Medical Doctor, Eber began his practice at LaPorte, Indiana, and during his residency at LaPorte he served as Secretary of the City Health Board, Surgeon of the L.E. & W. Railroad, and City Coroner in 1888. In 1896, at age 72, he founded the first hospital at LaPorte, and held many positions of importance in the medical profession in the state of Indiana.

On August 29, 1852 he married Samantha Jane Newton at Shelby, New York, and they had two children; Martha Viola, born July 21, 1858, and Eber Leander Jr., born May 19, 1860. After the senior Eber died on January 2, 1903 at LaPorte, his son, who continued in his father's footsteps as a Medical Doctor, and gained favorable recognition in his own right.

Dr. Eber Leander Annis' lineage is: Thomas Annis 1785-1842, Jesse Annis 1745-1820, John Annis 1700-c.1771, Abraham Annis 1668-1738, Cormac Annis 1638-1717



Dr. Homer Burnham Annis
1882-1954

Homer B. Annis was born August 8, 1882 at Osage, Iowa, the son of Jere Wright and Lucia Sylvia (Hitchcock) Annis of Westfield, Vermont and Osage, Iowa.Homer graduated from Cornell University, and received his medical degree from Rush Medical College at Chicago, Illinois. He interned at St. Barnabas Hospital for one year, and practiced at Minneapolis, Minnesota beginning in 1908. He became a very distinguished Doctor, and was instrumental in the founding of the Shriner’s Crippled Children's Hospital at Minneapolis.
There is an interesting story that was published in The Press-News of Osage, Iowa on April 4, 1968 concerning Homer. As a young boy of seventeen he had stuffed a church bulletin in a pew at the church his family attended with the following message:
"This bulletin was placed in here by Homer B. Annis on January 14, 1900 (Sunday morning)". In 1968, when the church was being renovated, and the old pews were being dismantled, the bulletin was discovered.

His son, Jere Wright Annis, named after his grandfather, also went on to become a prestigious physician. (See Below)

Homer Burnham Annis' lineage is: Jere Wright Annis 1844-?, Dr. Abiathar Wright Annis 1813-1876, Nathaniel Flood Annis 1788-1877, David Annis 1753-1824, Daniel Annis 1711-1790, Abraham Annis 1668-1738, Cormac Annis 1638-1717



Dr. Jere Wright Annis
1909-1989

Dr. Jere Wright Annis

Image: Jere W. Annis

Jere Wright Annis was born April 30, 1909 at Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Dr. Homer Burnham and Katherine A. "Kate" (Bill) Annis.
He married December 27, 1931 at Vinton, Iowa to Margaret Edwina Tinkham (1913-1996) and they had three children: Jere Wright Annis III (1935), Mary Elizabeth "Kay" Annis (1939) and Michael David Annis (1942).

The following is from the History of the Watson Clinic.

"In the spring of 1938, the two Doctors named Watson entered into an association with Dr. Jere W. Annis, who had just completed his Fellowship in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota. It had been Dr. Herman Watson's idea for some time to supplement the surgical skills of the two men with the ability of someone trained in the field of Internal Medicine. At that time, the group became known as Watson, Watson, and Annis, but the ownership of the equipment, accounts and other assets remained in the hands of Dr. Herman Watson. This economic structure continued to exist until the formation of the partnership in January, 1954."
In 1969, Watson Clinic was the first clinic in the United States to receive accreditation by the American Association of Medical Clinics.
In January of 1941, Dr. Annis entered the military service with the Army of the United States and remained on active duty until early December of 1945. Dr. Jere Annis continued, after the war, to be an influential and progressive member of the Watson Clinic Staff. A former Fellow of the Mayo Clinic, he specialized in Internal Medicine and was a staff member of the aforementioned Watson Clinic. He was Past President of the Florida Medical Association and the Florida Heart Association, and a former Vice president of Florida Blue Shield. He had dabbled in writing since his college days and was a former Associate Editor of the Florida Medical Journal. He described himself as one who dislikes restraint, regimentation and protocol, and enjoyed investigating the improbable and impractical. He had varied hobbies including the collection and shooting of handguns."

In 1960 he had published, in collaboration with Mary Ann Ballard, the short novel entitled "And These Shall See".

In 1970 Dr. Annis was awarded the Cornell University Distinguished Achievment Award, an award presented jointly by the College and the Alumni Association and also awarded the Honorary Alumni Award from the University of Florida.

He died at Lakeland, Florida on July 13, 1989. He is buried at All Saints Episcopal Church Columbarium in Lakeland, Polk County, Florida, USA

Jere Wright Annis' lineage is: Dr. Homer Burnham Annis 1882-1954, Jere Wright Annis 1844-?, Dr. Abiathar Wright Annis 1813-1876, Nathaniel Flood Annis 1788-1877, David Annis 1753-1824, Daniel Annis 1711-1790, Abraham Annis 1668-1738, Charles Cormac Annis 1638-1717



Dr. Floyd Myron Annis
1887-1957

Floyd M. Annis was born November 24, 1887 at Livonia, New York, the son of Myron Harvey and Fannie (Hoyt) Annis.
He went to Michigan as a young man and attended the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1912. In 1914, he moved to Flint, Michigan and on June 24th married Elizabeth Stephenson. Dr. Annis soon became one of the best-known dental practitioners of Genesee County, MI. He was a member of the Lions, Masons, Elks, and all local, state, and national Dental organizations, and was a leader in the art of modern dentistry. In the book "The History of Genesee County", by Ellis, he was described as:
"....intensely interested in professional development and in having modern light cast upon the dental science.”

Elizabeth, Larry and Floyd Annis

Floyd and Elizabeth had one son, Larry Hoyt Annis, born December 20, 1920 at Flint. Floyd died on October 17, 1957 and his obituary appeared in the Flint Journal as follows:

"Dr. Floyd M. Annis, 708 E. Court St., age 69, died Thursday, October 17, 1957, at the residence. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday Oct. 19, 1957, from the Rose Chapel, Algoe Gundry Mortuary, Dr. Fred C. Vosburgh officiating. Body will be at the mortuary. He was born in Livonia, New York, Nov. 24, 1887, son of Myron and Fanny Annis and has been a resident of Flint since 1912. He was a member of the Court St. Methodist Church, Flint Lodge No. 23 F&AM; Genesee County Dental Society; and American Dental Society. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1912 and has practiced dentistry in Flint since that time. Surviviing are: Wife, Elizabeth; son, Larry Annis of Vermillion, S. D.; three grandchildren; brother, Almon Annis of Livonia, N.Y.

Floyd's wife, Elizabeth followed her husband in death on March 1, 1961 and they are buried at Gracelawn Cemetery, Flint, Michigan.

Floyd Myron Annis' lineage is: Myron Harvey Pease Annis 1861-1946, Augustus Annis 1824-1873, Augustus Benjamin Annis 1789-1866, Jacob Annis 1763-1841, Ezra Annis 1726-1818, John Annis 1700-c.1771, Abraham Annis 1668-1738, Cormac Annis 1638-1717

Photographs courtesy of Annis Family Association Member - David L. Annis, grandson of Floyd M. Annis



Image: Ai Stillman Annis

Dr. Ai Stillman Annis
1857-1927

Ai Stillman Annis was born December 29, 1857 at Littleton, New Hampshire, the son of Amasa Scott and Mercy M. (Connor) Annis. He married October 9, 1889, Lucy Miriah Walbridge. Lucy Walbridge was born June 11, 1869 at Waitsville, VT and died January 18, 1926.

Photos of Lucy Walbridge Annis

Lucy Walbridge Annis Lucy W. Annis

Ai was at first a schoolteacher, but later attended Boston University Medical School. He set up his practice at Rochester, New Hampshire, and soon became a well-known and successful medical doctor. However, he later became embroiled in an abortion scandal and lost his license. It is recorded that a young lady came to him with a request to perform the illegal procedure, but in front of a witness, Doctor Annis refused to perform the abortion on grounds that it was illegal. The woman died from complications as a result of an abortion, the good Doctor Annis was implicated, and as bad luck would have it, the witness failed to show up at the court hearing. It was rumored that the family of the dead girl had paid the witness not to testify. After the resultant loss of his medical license, Ai and his wife than purchased a small store, which he operated with his wife.

Ai S. Annis with his granddaughters, Louise A. Vachon (1915-1928) and Fannie E. Vachon (1917- )


Ai was a deacon of the Unitarian Church and both he and his wife, who was once his student, died from Bright's disease. He died in February 1927 and is buried at Rochester, New Hampshire.

Ai's lineage is: Amasa Scott Annis 1811-1894, Asa Solomon Annis 1786-1858, David Annis 1754-1824, Daniel Annis 1711-1790, Abraham Annis 1668-1736, Cormac Annis 1638-1717



Dr. Thomas Emerson Annis
1836-1902

Thomas Emerson Annis was born January 15, 1836 at Hamburg, New York; died April 5, 1902 at National City, California; married August 29, 1865, Sarah Baum at Tipton, Iowa. Thomas graduated from Northeastern University at Evanston, Illinois in 1859, and from Rush Medical College (Chicago) in 1866. Thomas practiced medicine at Holland, Michigan for 17 years, and removed to National City, California (near San Diego) in 1883, where he resided until his death.

Thomas' lineage is: Ezra Emerson Annis 1807-1895, Thomas Annis 1785-1842, Jesse Annis 1745-1820, John Annis 1700-c.1771, Abraham Annis 1668-1736, Cormac Annis 1638-1717



Image: Dr. Levi Clark Annis

Levi Clark Annis
18
64-1940

Levi C. Annis was born January 27, 1864 at Woodville, Mariposa Township, Ontario, Canada, the son of David Mark and Julia (Clark) Annis.
The eldest son of a large family of ten children, his early life was spent on the farm. But he sought learning and his early avenue came through teaching in the state of Washington. Thriftily saving his earnings, he then entered the Detroit (Michigan) College of Medicine where he received his M.D. degree. He married first about 1888 to Frances Beatrice Scott and in 1896 removed to the small town of Cedar Springs, Michigan. It is not known why he chose the small town of Cedar Springs (near Grand Rapids) to set up residence, "hang out his shingle", and raise his family, but in the next 50 years he would have a large, but subtle impact in this community. Levi and Frances had five children

Frances died soon after the birth of baby Ethel, and Levi married 2nd, Ethel Louise Scott about 1911 at Cedar Springs (no issue).
In an article written about Dr. Levi Annis, by a citizen of Cedar Springs, (date and author unknown) it is easy to see the legacy of love and caring that he left to this community.

"He came to Cedar Springs in 1896 as the young doctor, became a vital part of the community, built up an enviable practice, prospered and gained the love of all. To Cedar Springs and the surrounding area, Dr. Annis was a familiar figure. Years ago his horse and buggy braved weather, bad roads, distance, epidemics, as he drove to the sick, his own energy seeming limitless, hours meaning nothing. Then came the "gasoline buggy", the automobile, and Dr. Annis was one of the first here to own one. Often, though on foot, his medicine satchel swinging in quick tempo to his alert step, he was seen hurrying to the bedside of the sick in town, passing his friends with a cherry word, a friendly greeting, a bit of a story. Evelyn Cox's mother, Florence Austin Cain, said of Dr. Annis "If you were very sick, he was a wonderful doctor and if not too sick, his jokes would cure you." About 1938 he gave up his office practice, but at his home the sick still came, the older ones, those in middle life whom he had ushered into the world, their children, and grandchildren, clinging to their faith in the healing of Dr. Annis." Dr. Levi Clark Annis spent his last day, Easter Sunday, March 24, 1940, happily with his family celebrating his son, Charles' birthday. He gave no sign of being ill. A heart attack about 10:30 p.m. brought to a close the colorful life of the country doctor. He passed away at 11:00 p.m., leaving the community richer for having been a part of it.”

The 1930 "Cedar Bough", Cedar Springs High School annual, was dedicated to Dr. Annis, member of the local School Board for twenty-two years. The dedication reads:

To a life of service

To a mind of fairness,

To a heart of kindness

the staff of 1930 dedicates this book

Levi's lineage is: David Mark 1844-?; William 1813-1905, Levi 1781-1855, Charles 1737/38-1804, John 1700-c.1771, Abraham 1668-1736, Cormac Annis 1638-1717



Dr. Elwin Richard Annis
1872-1924

Dr. Elwin R. Annis in his office

Dr. Elwin R. Annis

Elwin Richard Annis was born 12 May 1872 at Mapleton, Blue Earth Co., Minnesota, the son of Richard Stephen Annis (1846-1910) and Melissa M. Foster (1847-1915). This photo is one of Elwin's dental office in Winnebago City, MN and is unique because he has a patient in the chair! Evidentally an advertising shot for his practice and the good doctor can be seen (center) with his assistant to the right.

Elwin attended and graduated from the Dental College at Minnesota State University. He married 28 Dec 1898 at Winnebago Co., Minnesota to Beatrice Merrill and they had two children; Ruth E. Annis (1900-?) and Merrill Richard Annis (1905-1974).
Elwin died at a rather young 52 years on October 17, 1924 at Fairbault, MN.

You can read more about Elwin's pioneering father at Annis Pioneers

Lineage: Richard S. Annis (1846-1910); Ira Annis (1816-1882), James Annis (1792-1849); Solomon Annis (1765-1830); Daniel Annis (1735-1801), Daniel Annis (1711-1790); Abraham Annis (1668-1738); Cormac Annis (1638-1717)



Dr. David Annis 1921-2003

Former consultant surgeon Liverpool (b 28 February 1921; q Liverpool 1942; ChM, MD, FRCS), d 3 February 2003.

David Annis had an unusual family background. His father was a Polish Jew who emigrated from England to Canada, served with distinction in the Canadian army (the MM for bravery at Vimy Ridge in the 14-18 war), and returned to set up a pharmaceutical company in Manchester. His grandparents held a funeral service when his father married a Protestant Christian but it was a very successful marriage.

From Manchester Grammar School, David started medicine at Liverpool in 1937, took his primary FRCS after 2nd MB in 1939, and always wanted to be a surgeon. He was in the Liverpool Royal Infirmary in 1943 when a strenuous forceps delivery by him produced a prolapsed disc leading to temporary urinary retention, and a wheelchair—so military service was forbidden.

He soon got his FRCS, and was appointed a research fellow in experimental surgery at the Mayo Clinic from 1949 to 1951, but refused a further year and returned to Liverpool University as a senior lecturer in the department of surgery, from which he was appointed a junior consultant surgeon at the Liverpool Royal Infirmary in 1954.

For the next 25 years he had a distinguished academic career in the university department of surgery, becoming director of studies in surgical science and director of their bioengineering unit. He was an examiner in surgery in many British universities as well as in Lagos and Riga, and a member of the court of examiners of the RCS, examining overseas for them in India, Ceylon, Burma, and Singapore. He was a member of the editorial committee of the Bioengineering Journal and the British Journal of Surgery, and of the physiological systems and disorders board of the Medical Research Council. During this time he is best described (by a physician!) as a physician/physiologist who operated, and his great diagnostic skills and compassionate care of patients (to whom he listened carefully) were exemplary. He examined and treated my grandfather, my father, me, and my daughter—getting the confidence of four generations.

In 1981 he left the hospital to help set up the new department of clinical engineering at Liverpool University. Working with a polymer scientist at ICI, he used electrostatic spinning to produce elastic polyurethane grafts, and made pulsatile vessels of this material for implanting into pigs and sheep. The whole procedure was acquired by a large US company, which spent millions of dollars, only to stop when a few macrophages were found in the walls of a few grafted vessels.

He was a popular member and onetime president of the exclusive Moynihan Chirurgical Club, and he and his wife Nesta gave superb hospitality in their big house (with old furniture, pictures, and clocks ) and garden in Bromborough. As a young man he had enjoyed playing the clarinet, and writing imaginative verses about ghosts of former night nurses or matrons transformed into witches. Who’s Who gives his recreation as "the countryside," and his family enjoyed this with many holidays at home and abroad in his series of large Land Rovers, the last one being around for over 20 years.

It is remarkable that no colleague ever questioned his total integrity or his enormous intellect: he got the best out of his juniors, acting as a role model for some future distinguished professors of surgery. He was shy, diffident, kind, amusing, talented, and one of the most courageous men you could meet. It was very sad that for the last two years increasing Alzheimer’s disease destroyed him, despite the outstanding help of his devoted wife, Nesta, who survives him, together with their four children, three of whom work in the NHS.
[ A John Robertson ]



Annis Family Association

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