Washington Sheffield

Sheffield was born April 23, 1827 in North Stonington, Connecticut, the third of eight children of the Reverend John Sheffield and Eliza (née Lewis) Sheffield who married Feb. 6, 1820. Sheffield grew up in North Stonington, Connecticut, and was educated in its public schools.

As was the custom in the 18th and early 19th century, Sheffield began his career in 1850 training as an apprentice dentist with J. A. G. Comstock of New London, Connecticut. He furthered his dentistry education in New York City by working under Charles Allen and D. H. Porter.

In April 1852, Sheffield moved to New London, Connecticut and began a long and successful practice in dentistry and dental surgery. Dr. Sheffield became one of the most successful dentists and dental surgeons in the United States.

Sheffield graduated, in 1865, from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, the second oldest dental school in the United States, as a Doctor of Dental Surgery. In 1866, Dr. Sheffield received a naval commission from the President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, as a dental surgeon.

Sheffield married Miss Harriet P. Browne, daughter of Richard and Julia Browne of Providence, Rhode Island. This marriage produced one child, a son, Lucius T. Sheffield (May 28, 1854 – September 20, 1901). Lucius Sheffield grew up in New London, Connecticut, and attended Norwich Free Academy. Lucius followed his father into dentistry and dental surgery. Lucius attended Harvard Medical School and graduated from Harvard's American Academy of Dental Medicine in 1878. After graduation, from 1878 to 1879, Lucius traveled to Paris, France, to study and work in dentistry and dental surgery.

Lucius was in Paris watching artists prepare their paint palettes when he realized the collapsible tubes they used to squeeze paint onto palettes could be used to squeeze his father's toothpaste onto a toothbrush in a sanitary manner.