his father, william halstead's father, was a her chant, textile merchant but on many charitable boards. he was also a trustee of the college of physicians and surgeons which helped halstead get in to medical school because he was not the best student when he was at yale. he rarely cracked a book, if ever. his mother and father seemed to ignore him and the other children quite a bit, and they were in the care of governesses. his father was very religious presbyterian who would read him fire and brimstone sermons of what he did wrong every night. halstead referred to his childhood as, quote, nightmarish. he even ran away at one point. so it was a very cold, distant, difficult relationship there. halstead did marry. he had several close relationships with men, roommates with men and loving relationships that are very hard to define 100 years after the fact. but he did marry a woman who was his o.r. nurse. carolyn hampton. and she was developing -- back then when she caught his eye, doctors were still dipping their hands in corrosive chemicals like carbolic acid and magnesium which were ve