Portrait of James Moultrie Jr MD

Dr James Moultrie Jr was born in 1793 as the first son of Dr James Moultrie, nephew of Gen. Wm Moultrie  and son of Dr John Moultrie Jr who eventually became Royal Governor of the colony of East Florida.

Dr John Moultrie Sr, Dr John Moultrie Jr and Dr James Moultrie Sr, all were graduates of the ancient and world-renowned  school of Medicine in Edinburgh Scotland. However, America was now an independent country and many on this side of the ocean felt that future solutions to most anything no longer were likely be generated in the decadent world of Europe. Therefore, unlike the three generations of physicians before him, he decided to look to the future and attend the new medical school in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania. 

The University of Pennsylvania was the only Medical College in the Western Hemisphere at the time. He completed his medical studies in 1812 and returned to Charleston just in time to start our own medical college in 1824. By 1836, however, the medical school was felt to be inadequate and a "town gown revolution occurred with Moultrie at the forefront eventually resulting in a new charter and a new name: The Medical College of the State of South Carolina.

Dr Moultrie was a Professor of medicine at the medical school but was also an impressive organizer, creating the American Medical Association, The South Carolina Association, The South Carolina Historical Society, and The Widows and Orphan's Society.

His residence still stands at the northwest corner of Montague and Pitt. He and his bride had no children, unfortunately, therefore the responsibility of furthering the family fell to his younger brother, William Lennox Moultrie, who also graduated from the Medical school in Philadelphia and practiced here in the Lowcountry.