I have recently come into possession of the journal of James Lee, of whom, according to the text of his journal, was a doctor/physician, temperance advocate and lecturer, and North Pole traveler. After doing quite a bit of amateur research, I have been unable to pinpoint exactly who this gentleman was and his historical significance, if any. The link below contains images of the journal, which I have broken down into 4 parts - 1. Front inside board, containing what appears to be recipes for medicines (with a reference to a Prof Post), though the name of the medicine/potion appears to be in latin (which I don't speak or read). 2. First part of the journal, which is his lecture on the Physiological Actions of Alcohol. This is a 70 page lecture, in which Mr. Lee advocates the complete removal of alcohol from the human race from a scientific standpoint, going into great detail about the physiology of consumption on the human body. He notes the recent cowardly assassination of Lincoln by Booth, stating that Booth needed alcohol in order to perform his deed, as well as the recent case of Thompson, who shot Fire Brigade Engineer Bailey in the nearby city of Troy, NY (I have been able to find record of this incident, 1867 Troy NY). Numerous Doctors and scientists are mentioned in his lecture, including: Dr. J K Chambers, Prof Post, Dr Pireira, Prof Lehris-tison, Dr Taylor, Dr. Wimbley Thompson, Dr. Beaumont (experiments on St Martin), Dr. Edward Smith, and the eminent French physiologists Profs Gallemand and Perrin (the writing is shorthand cursive and fading, so these spellings may be incorrect). Part 3, titled "At the North Pole", is an account of the North Pole, the actions of the wildlife found there, the botany of the region, icebergs (their formation and movements), the sky at the north pole, and the general feeling of the region and it's isolation. Part 4 appears to be a record of surgeries performed by himself and other doctors (including amputations), as well as his case studies (of spontaneous resolution of tumors in specific patients, etc). This portion contains the only dates in the journal, 1845 and 1846.
As a book collector, I can verify that the binding of the journal, paper, and ink used is consistent with the time period (mid-1800's).
I am asking for any information one could provide regarding Mr. James Lee, and of course, much thanks is given to any who respond.
If there's anything in the book that gives some indication as to Lee's home location, that would help. James Lee isn't exactly an uncommon name.
However, if you can narrow it down to a state, county, municipality, etc., you've thrown a lot of hay out of the haystack and given research helpers a place to start.
That said, don't place too much value in the contents of the journal being identifying material. What you've provided is cut off in a lot of places, but it was common for journal like this to not contain original material generated by the journal's owner, but material copied from other sources.
The page on the physiological actions of alcohol in particular read an awful lot like Dr. Thomas Sewall's, "On the Moral, Intellectual, and Physical Powers," a fairly popular temperance tract of the mid-19th century. I'm sure you can locate the text of it via google to compare the two.
Link to pictures http://imgur.com/a/ADoD9