Father John’s Medicine, Lowell, Mass. Made in U.S.A. Author’s collection.
If tales are to be believed, Father John O’Brien was feeling sickly in 1855 and sought relief at a Lowell pharmacy. He tried a cod liver oil tonic flavored with licorice that contained no alcohol. It worked and he recommended it to others. The elixir became so popular that the shop began to package the remedy as “Father John’s Medicine.” Patent medicine was a notable industry in 19th-century Lowell. J.C. Ayer peddled pills, nose drops, plasters and hair restorers. It was a time when people took care of their own sick. The poor could not afford doctor’s fees and relied on home remedies or easily available potions to ease their pain and suffering.
The Fathers O’Brien: John, his brother Timothy, and nephew Michael, are buried in the front yard of St. Patrick’s Church in Lowell. All served there, the third oldest Catholic parish in the Boston archdiocese.