Augustus W. Stinchfield was one of the founders, along with Drs. Charles Horace Mayo

Charles Horace Mayo

-External links:*...

, William James Mayo

William James Mayo

William James Mayo, M.D. was a physician in the United States and one of the seven founders of the Mayo Clinic. He and his brother, Charles Horace Mayo, both joined their father's private medical practice in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, after graduating from medical school in the 1880s...

, Christopher Graham, E. Starr Judd, Henry Stanley Plummer

Henry Stanley Plummer

Henry Stanley Plummer, M.D. was a prominent internist and endocrinologist who, along with Drs. William Mayo, Charles Mayo, Stinchfield, E. Starr Judd, Christopher Graham, and Donald Balfour founded Mayo Clinic. Dr...

, Melvin Millet and Donald Balfour, of the Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...

 in Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...

, USA.

Born at Phillips, Maine

Phillips, Maine

Phillips is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is home to the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, a heritage railroad.-History:...

, he received his early education at Strong, Maine

Strong, Maine

Strong is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,259 at the 2000 census. Strong is home to the annual Sandy River Festival.-History:...

.
As a young man he moved from Maine to Wisconsin, and, in 1864, enlisted as a private in Company F of the Thirty-ninth Wisconsin Volunteer Army. After the Civil War, he attended Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...

 and the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. He received his M.D. degree from Bowdoin College in 1868. After practicing medicine in Verona, Missouri, as well as Dundas and Eyota, Minnesota, Stinchfield was asked by William Worrall Mayo

William Worrall Mayo

William Worrall Mayo was a British medical doctor and chemist, best known for establishing the private medical practice that later evolved into the Mayo Clinic. He was a descendant of a famous English chemist, John Mayow. His sons, William James Mayo and Charles Horace Mayo, joined the private...

to join the Mayos' practice in 1892. William Worrall Mayo was retiring and wanted a mid-career physician to balance the growing private practice.

While the Mayo brothers excelled in surgery, Stinchfield was well qualified to handle the non-surgical duties of the practice. When Will Mayo approached the remaining partners in 1915 about changing the private practice to a not-for-profit practice, Stinchfield was the first to sign the agreement. When the remaining partners signed the transfer papers, this gift insured the long term survival, development and growth of the Mayo Clinic.