Dr. Aaron Alexander McKelvey I 1866-1941 Source: Centennial History of Arkansas Vol 2&3 1922 Great are the demands that are made upon the physician - perhaps greater than upon any other representatives of the professions. If a minister holds himself aloof from his fellows it is supposed to be because he is engaged in the contemplation of things beyond the understanding of the majority of his fellows; if a lawyer is brusque and crabbed, it is believed that he is engaged in the solution of intricate and involved problems of vital interest to mankind. The physician, however, must never allow personal feelings to bias or influence his opinions or his actions but must ever display tact and kindliness, combined with professional skill, when he visits his patients and attempts to obviate the ills to which human flesh is heir. Meeting all of the requirements of the modern-day physician, Dr. A. A. McKelvey is now successfully practicing in Fort Smith. He was born in Lawrence county, Arkansas. July 16, 1866, and is a son of Dr. J. W. and Mary Ann McKelvey. The father was a native of Tennessee and in that state practiced medicine for a number of years and also engaged in preaching the gospel as a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He afterward removed to Arkansas, settling first in Franklin county, then becoming a resident of Sebastian county in 1872, taking up his abode in Greenwood. He was one o! the early circuit riders of this part of Arkansas and as such ministered to the spiritual welfare of many in pioneer times. During the same period he also practiced medicine and thus healed both physical and spiritual ills. It was while in the midst of preaching a sermon that he became ill himself and asked the Rev. J. Holland, a Baptist minister, to come to the pulpit and take his place. Returning to his home, he never rallied and passed away the same week. To him and his wife were born twelve children, all of whom reached adult age and were married. Two of these, J. K. and I. S., became ministers of the Methodist church. Another son, Dr. A. A. McKelvey, followed in the professional footsteps of his father as to the practice of medicine. He acquired his early education in the common schools and afterward took up the study of medicine in St. Louis, also studied for a time in Little Rock and still later in the University of Chicago. His thorough preliminary training well qualified him for the onerous and responsible duties of the profession and he entered upon active practice at Bloomer. Later he resided for a time at Greenwood. Arkansas, and then came to Fort Smith, where he has remained. For sixteen years he occupied the position of district health officer in the Greenwood district and he has been district health officer at Fort Smith for a period of about three years. Dr. McKelvey was married to Miss Minnie Fry of Bloomer, Arkansas, daughter of J.T. Fry, and they have become parents of two children: Althea, the wife of A. H. West; and Aaron. They have gained many friends during the period of their residence in Fort Smith, while the Doctor has made for himself a most enviable position in professional circles. He is a man of broad sympathies and kindly spirit and is continually extending a helping hand where aid is needed. His ability has brought him an important practice of large proportions and he is accounted one of the leading physicians of his adopted city.