George Edward Allshorn (Alshorn) M.D. L.R.C.S. (3 October 1818 – 7 January 1870) was an orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy to become a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, a Licentiate in Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh, a member of the College of Dentists England, a member of the Hahnemannian Medical Society, a member of the British Homeopathic Society, a member of the Northern Homeopathic Medical Society, a member of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, extraordinary member of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, and Surgeon to the Southern Homeopathic Dispensary for the Diseases of Women and Children in Edinburgh, the Darlington Homeopathic Dispensary, and the Stoke Newington Homeopathic Dispensary. He was also a member of The Association for the Protection of Homeopathic Practitioners and Students.

Allshorn was a colleague of William Henderson, Joseph Laurie, Adam Lyschinski, John Rutherford Russell, The Wielobycki Brothers, and many others.

George Edward Allshorn was born in London in 1818 to James Edward Allshorn (1775 – 1851) and Ann Bliss (1788 – 1857).

Allshorn began his professional career as an homeopathic chemist, opening the first dedicated homeopathic chemists in Scotland.

In 1848, G. E. Allshorn was listed as residing at 63, Hanover Street, Edinburgh. Also recorded at this address the following year were homeopathic chemists Headland & Co.

Allshorn used two homeopathic remedies from William Headland to treat cattle in a contentious local veterinary case two years previously. In October 1846, a letter by Allshorn was printed in the Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle and Scottish Pilot, in which he explained how he had used Aconitum and Bryonia to successfully treat seventeen out of twenty cows suffering from lung disease. A veterinary student named Flintoff attacked Allshorn’s statement, but the efficacy of homeopathic remedies in treating cattle with the illness was affirmed by other respondents. These included Charles William Luther and John Rush, who both had experience treating this disease, and Peter Stuart, a Warrington homeopathic physician, who had treated up to 180 cows, saving about 130 of them.

While in Edinburgh, Allshorn began studying medicine and in 1851 was awarded a Diploma and Midwifery License from the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. Allshorn continued his medical studies in the United States and in 1857 graduated M.D. from the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania

In November 1843, Allshorn married Fanny Wales (1818 – ?). They had seven children, including homeopathic physician Adolphus Hahnemann Allshorn (1844 – 1889).

G. E. Allshorn practiced in Edinburgh for most of his career, but frequently relocated in the city. He is recorded as practicing at 93 Hanom Street, Edinburgh in 1851, 69 George Street, Edinburgh in 1852, 52 Hanover Street, Edinburgh in 1853, 82 George Street, Edinburgh in 1855, at 63 George Street, Edinburgh in 1858, 67 George Street, Edinburgh in 1859, and at 140 Princes Street, Edinburgh in 1866.

Allshorn submitted cases and articles to various homeopathic publications.

Allshorn was also a friend of homeopath James John Garth Wilkinson who recalled in a letter (now held at the Swedenborg Archives) to his wife Emma, on July 19, 1863 : “… I spent the afternoon and evening with Dr. Allshorn (homeopath) here [Edinburgh]: I called casually, & he was most hospitable and drove me about the environs…” 

George Edward Allshorn’s practice in Edinburgh was said to have been second only in size to that of Professor William Henderson. However, he was seriously injured in a railway accident in the mid-1860s and obliged to cease practice.

In December 1867, George Edward Allshorn applied for a patent on the manufacture of artificial fuel.

After recovering from the accident, Allshorn moved to London in 1867. Residing first at 7 Ludgate Hill and later at Clifton House, Dalston Lane, Dalston, he established a new practice that was growing rapidly when he died suddenly of an apoplectic seizure on 7 January, 1870, aged just 51.

George Edward Allshorn’s Obituary is in the British Homeopathic Review and the Homoeopathic World.

Select Publications:

A Handy Book of Domestic Homœopathic Practice (1862)

Of interest:

Frederick Samuel Allshorn (20 May 1820 – 13 November 1897), brother of George Edward Allshorn, of 5 Victoria Road, Kilburn, London, was an homeopathic chemist.

Adolph Hahnemann Allshorn (1844 – 1889) LRCS, LRCP, MD Edinburgh 1864, living in Enfield, son of George Edward Allshorn, was an homeopathic physician and homeopathic Chemist and Druggist, who wrote On Protuberant Abdomen; an Outline of Its Causes and Treatment in 1875. He practiced at 2 Fargate Street, Sheffield and eventually moved his practice to 7 Dalston Lane, Hackney, and 90 Dalston Lane, Hackney, with a branch at 51, Edgware Road. He was a colleague of homeopathic chemist William Headland.

Florence Allshorn (1886 – 1950), daughter of Adolph Hahnemann Allshorn, granddaughter of George Edward Allshorn, was a highly-regarded missionary and instructor of missionaries who, in 1942, founded founded the Community of St. Julian’s, initially at Haslemere, Surrey, moving later to Barns Green and then to Coolham (West Sussex):

Florence Allshorn, born in 1887 and brought up in Sheffield from the age of three. She started a club for factory girls and ran bible classes. In 1920, she was put in charge of a girls school in Uganda. Later she founded a spiritual retreat for missionaries.

William Charles Allshorn (1847 – 1890), son of George Edward Allshorn, was a member of the College of Dentists England, who also practiced at 67 George Street, Edinburgh, and 51, Edgware Road.

George Edward Allshorn (1849 – 1901), son of George Edward Allshorn, was an homeopathic chemist who practiced in Hackney, London.