in the 1880s:   

Frederick Augustus Duhaney

(c1849-1913)

   The earliest reference I have found to F A Duhaney as a dentist is in

the column 'rank or profession of father' on the birth certificate of his

son, Wilfred Stanley, who was born in October 1878:

   The fact that as a young man he was working as assistant to Dr Frank Comer, an American

dentist who started his practice in Kingston in 1875, possibly indicates that he became a

dentist himself by apprenticeship to Comer.

   By the 1890s F A Duhaney had his own dentist's office, and he was still practising in 1910: 

   In 1905 the Legislative Council had finally passed a law requiring the registration of dentists,

who were required to have a qualification from a recognised school; there was a provision

for a local examination, and also for the registration of those who had been practising

dentistry in the island for three years who the Governor in Privy Council permitted for special

cause to be registered without examination [Law II, 1905, Section 6 (c)]. It seems that F A

Duhaney was the first to be registered  under this provision in October 1905, probably

indicating that his training from Comer, and possibly nearly two decades as a practising

dentist, guaranteed his eligibility.

   Frederick Augustus and Frances Ann Duhaney had two children, Wilfred Stanley born in

1878, and Amy Elise born in 1883. Both graduated from Howard University as Doctors of

Dental Surgery; I believe Dr Amy Duhaney, whom I had the honour of meeting in the early

1970s, was the first Jamaican woman to qualify as a dental surgeon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~