Doctor Joseph Watson Comissiong was born in 1831 in Grenada in the West Indies and was Peterborough's first black doctor. He travelled to England from Grenada with his friend John and studied medicine at King's College in London, as the 1851 census recorded. By 1861 he was living on Lincoln Road in Peterborough and was married with three children, the youngest being born in Peterborough in 1860. He described himself as a 'Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of London' and as a General Practitioner.
He worked as a GP in Peterborough and often worked as a coroner on suspicious and unusual deaths in the city. He was connected to Peterborough Infirmary and was one of the stewards at the infirmary ball in 1864, which was run to raise money for the institution. He was also chosen as the public vaccinator for Werrington and Walton in the same year.
In his spare time he was a keen musician, a member of a local brass band and the Amateur Dramatic Society. He was also a member of the Freemasons from 1862 in St Peter's Lodge and a member of the local Engineers Volunteer Corp, as was Dr Thomas Walker.
He died on 12th April 1894 and local papers marked the occasion by stating 'he was almost the idol of the New England people, who went so far as to propose buying him a horse and carriage. He was most generous in his disposition and he was greatly respected by the poor.' A statement on his funeral read:
'Mr J W Commissiong, surgeon of Peterboro', died at Millfield, Peterboro', on Thursday week. he had practised in the city for many years. He held the commission of surgeon to the Peterboro' Enginner Volunteer Corps, was also medical officer for the Railway Men's Club, and was an accomplished musician. The funeral took place in the cemetery on Tuesday, and was attended by a large number of spectators. Many of the members of the N. E. V. Corps, including Major Deacon and Dr Cane, attended in uniform as a mark of respect to their late officer, and a great many of the deceased gentleman's former patients were also present to witness the obsequies.'
References
Stamford Mercury, Friday 19th February 1864, p1 col 1
Peterborough Standard, Saturday 14th April 1894, p5 col 7
Stamford Mercury, Friday 20th April 1894, p4, col 3
Ancestry.com:
1851 census, Middlesex, St Pancras, Gray's Inn Lane, 11, slide 9
1861 census, Northamptonshire, Peterborough St John the Baptist, District 13, slide 30
