Contributed by K. Clinard.
First female physician west of the Alleghenies
From the Pioneer Women Physicians In Indiana
Mary Frame Myers Thomas
The life of the remarkable Dr. Mary Thomas follows the trajectory of nineteenth century women physicians in America. Like many others, she was related to a male physician-she was married to a physician and worked with him. In addition, her step-sister was a physician who lectured at Penn Medical College where Mary began her first medical courses after arranging for the care of her children. She soon had to leave to care for an ill child. She later attended lectures at Western Reserve University in Cleveland where her husband graduated in 1854. She received her degree at Penn Medical College in 1856.
At first she was not accepted by all-male medical societies but later in the century became a pioneer woman in them. Her medical career involved work with the poor. She was active in her church and in many charitable organizations and was a proponent of women's rights and votes for women.
Mary Frame Myers was born to Quaker parents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1816. When she was an infant, her parents moved to Washington, D. C. In 1833, they moved to New Lisbon, Ohio. Her father served as her teacher for basic education. In 1839, she married Dr. Owen Thomas who became her instructor in medicine.
The Thomas' had three daughters. She was described as a model wife and mother. She not only attended to the usual household chores, at a time when there were no labor saving devices, she also made all of her children's clothing by hand, and she not only found time to study and practice medicine, she also found time to participate in numerous other activities, and was able to achieve all this, as she stated, "by the most vigorous discipline of my mind and systematic arrangement of my time."
She attended medical lectures in Indianapolis in 1869-70, during the first session of the Indiana Medical College which opened in 1869. Harassment by some of the male students there led to a paper she presented to the Indiana State Medical Society, published in its annual Transactions, urging acceptance of women physicians and acceptance of women into medical schools.
Governor Morton of Indiana appointed her to hospital service during the Civil War. Under this appointment she served in Washington, Nashville, and elsewhere. She later provided special hospital service in Nashville under the direction of the Christian Association. In Richmond, Indiana she was the physician for the Home for the Friendless for twelve years and for eight years provided medical care for the poor in one district of the city.
She was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and many charitable organizations including groups supporting temperance (prohibition of alcohol use), woman's suffrage, and women's rights. She gave a speech to the Indiana Senate in 1859 urging property rights for women and amending the state constitution to allow women to vote, but the legislation she proposed was not enacted. She edited and published a women's rights paper, The Lilly. Among the causes for which she worked were the establishment of a separate state prison for women and a separate reformatory for girls.
She and her husband first lived in Fort Wayne. As a woman, she was twice refused admission to the Allen County Medical Society. After they moved to Richmond, she was eventually admitted to the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, and was later an officer of that society, "a faithful worker in everything that aimed to make the human race better, and industrious writer and contributed a number of articles to the State Medical Society." She had been admitted to the state organization of the time in 1876 as its first woman member and became a member of the American Medical Association.
Her publications in Transactions of the Indiana State Medical Society include a talk describing why there should be women physicians for female patients in state institutions for the insane and requesting a committee to look into it; a report of that committee; the speech about the influence of medical colleges on the medical education of women; another article about women physicians in hospitals for the insane, noting that Dr. Sarah Stockton had recently been appointed at the hospital in Indianapolis; and two later papers, one on postpartum hemorrhage and one about heredity that gives a thoughtful and balanced view of the knowledge of the time as well as a sermon against environmental factors like alcohol and tobacco.
Dr. Mary Thomas died August 19, 1888 in Richmond, Indiana, at age 72. "She was well liked by all and revered by some."
Dr. Mary Frame Myers Thomas also served as an abolitionist, conducting for Aboite Devil's Hollow, a major Underground Railroad station in Aboite Township, Indiana.
∼Born in Maryland to Quaker parents who were strong abolitionists, Mary and her two sisters grew up believing in the value of all people. The family lived for a time in Washington D.C. and her father took Mary to hear debates in Congress, sparking an interest in politics. While still in her teens the family moved to New Lisbon, Ohio where she met and married Dr. Owen Thomas, also a Quaker.
Mary studied medicine with her husband in Wabash County, Indiana, then attended a course of lectures in the Penn's Medical College for Women in Philadelphia in 1851-52, another course in Cleveland Medical College in 1852-53, and returned to and graduated from Penn's in 1854. After practicing for two years in Fort Wayne, she and her husband moved to Richmond, where she remained for the rest of her life. During the Civil War she took part in the work of the Sanitary Commission and, by direction of Governor Oliver P. Morton, carried supplies to the front by steamer. On the return trip she nursed soldiers wounded at the battle of Vicksburg. She later served as an assistant physician with her husband, an army contract surgeon, in a hospital for refugees in Nashville, Tennessee. After the war she served on Richmond's board of public health, and from 1867 until her death she was the physician for the Home for Friendless Women in Richmond. She was elected a member of the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, after having been rejected twice because of her sex. She became the first woman member of State Medical College in 1876. In 1877 she was a delegate from the State Medical Society to the American Medical Association, and was the second female physician admitted to membership of that body.
In addition to her medical career, Mary was very much involved in working for women's rights beginning in 1845 when she heard Lucretia Mott preach at a Quaker yearly meeting in Salem, Ohio. She was a member of the Indiana Woman's Rights Society, serving as president in 1856. In 1857 she edited the Lily, a woman's rights paper begun by Amelia Bloomer. In 1859, she became the first woman to address the Indiana State Legislature by presenting a petition calling for a married women's property law and a woman suffrage amendment to the state constitution. Her presentation was not taken seriously by the legislature, however. After the Civil War she again worked for suffrage and became president of the Indiana Woman Suffrage Association. She even served a one year term as president of the American Woman Suffrage Association.
Mary Thomas died on August 19, 1888 and had designated that her pall bearers all be women; four white women representing the Good Templars, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Woman's Suffrage Association and the Home for Friendless Women, and two African-American women "to represent the Abolition cause and their race." (Richmond Daily Telegram, 21 Aug 1888)
First female physician west of the Alleghenies
From the Pioneer Women Physicians In Indiana
Mary Frame Myers Thomas
The life of the remarkable Dr. Mary Thomas follows the trajectory of nineteenth century women physicians in America. Like many others, she was related to a male physician-she was married to a physician and worked with him. In addition, her step-sister was a physician who lectured at Penn Medical College where Mary began her first medical courses after arranging for the care of her children. She soon had to leave to care for an ill child. She later attended lectures at Western Reserve University in Cleveland where her husband graduated in 1854. She received her degree at Penn Medical College in 1856.
At first she was not accepted by all-male medical societies but later in the century became a pioneer woman in them. Her medical career involved work with the poor. She was active in her church and in many charitable organizations and was a proponent of women's rights and votes for women.
Mary Frame Myers was born to Quaker parents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1816. When she was an infant, her parents moved to Washington, D. C. In 1833, they moved to New Lisbon, Ohio. Her father served as her teacher for basic education. In 1839, she married Dr. Owen Thomas who became her instructor in medicine.
The Thomas' had three daughters. She was described as a model wife and mother. She not only attended to the usual household chores, at a time when there were no labor saving devices, she also made all of her children's clothing by hand, and she not only found time to study and practice medicine, she also found time to participate in numerous other activities, and was able to achieve all this, as she stated, "by the most vigorous discipline of my mind and systematic arrangement of my time."
She attended medical lectures in Indianapolis in 1869-70, during the first session of the Indiana Medical College which opened in 1869. Harassment by some of the male students there led to a paper she presented to the Indiana State Medical Society, published in its annual Transactions, urging acceptance of women physicians and acceptance of women into medical schools.
Governor Morton of Indiana appointed her to hospital service during the Civil War. Under this appointment she served in Washington, Nashville, and elsewhere. She later provided special hospital service in Nashville under the direction of the Christian Association. In Richmond, Indiana she was the physician for the Home for the Friendless for twelve years and for eight years provided medical care for the poor in one district of the city.
She was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and many charitable organizations including groups supporting temperance (prohibition of alcohol use), woman's suffrage, and women's rights. She gave a speech to the Indiana Senate in 1859 urging property rights for women and amending the state constitution to allow women to vote, but the legislation she proposed was not enacted. She edited and published a women's rights paper, The Lilly. Among the causes for which she worked were the establishment of a separate state prison for women and a separate reformatory for girls.
She and her husband first lived in Fort Wayne. As a woman, she was twice refused admission to the Allen County Medical Society. After they moved to Richmond, she was eventually admitted to the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, and was later an officer of that society, "a faithful worker in everything that aimed to make the human race better, and industrious writer and contributed a number of articles to the State Medical Society." She had been admitted to the state organization of the time in 1876 as its first woman member and became a member of the American Medical Association.
Her publications in Transactions of the Indiana State Medical Society include a talk describing why there should be women physicians for female patients in state institutions for the insane and requesting a committee to look into it; a report of that committee; the speech about the influence of medical colleges on the medical education of women; another article about women physicians in hospitals for the insane, noting that Dr. Sarah Stockton had recently been appointed at the hospital in Indianapolis; and two later papers, one on postpartum hemorrhage and one about heredity that gives a thoughtful and balanced view of the knowledge of the time as well as a sermon against environmental factors like alcohol and tobacco.
Dr. Mary Thomas died August 19, 1888 in Richmond, Indiana, at age 72. "She was well liked by all and revered by some."
Dr. Mary Frame Myers Thomas also served as an abolitionist, conducting for Aboite Devil's Hollow, a major Underground Railroad station in Aboite Township, Indiana.
∼Born in Maryland to Quaker parents who were strong abolitionists, Mary and her two sisters grew up believing in the value of all people. The family lived for a time in Washington D.C. and her father took Mary to hear debates in Congress, sparking an interest in politics. While still in her teens the family moved to New Lisbon, Ohio where she met and married Dr. Owen Thomas, also a Quaker.
Mary studied medicine with her husband in Wabash County, Indiana, then attended a course of lectures in the Penn's Medical College for Women in Philadelphia in 1851-52, another course in Cleveland Medical College in 1852-53, and returned to and graduated from Penn's in 1854. After practicing for two years in Fort Wayne, she and her husband moved to Richmond, where she remained for the rest of her life. During the Civil War she took part in the work of the Sanitary Commission and, by direction of Governor Oliver P. Morton, carried supplies to the front by steamer. On the return trip she nursed soldiers wounded at the battle of Vicksburg. She later served as an assistant physician with her husband, an army contract surgeon, in a hospital for refugees in Nashville, Tennessee. After the war she served on Richmond's board of public health, and from 1867 until her death she was the physician for the Home for Friendless Women in Richmond. She was elected a member of the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, after having been rejected twice because of her sex. She became the first woman member of State Medical College in 1876. In 1877 she was a delegate from the State Medical Society to the American Medical Association, and was the second female physician admitted to membership of that body.
In addition to her medical career, Mary was very much involved in working for women's rights beginning in 1845 when she heard Lucretia Mott preach at a Quaker yearly meeting in Salem, Ohio. She was a member of the Indiana Woman's Rights Society, serving as president in 1856. In 1857 she edited the Lily, a woman's rights paper begun by Amelia Bloomer. In 1859, she became the first woman to address the Indiana State Legislature by presenting a petition calling for a married women's property law and a woman suffrage amendment to the state constitution. Her presentation was not taken seriously by the legislature, however. After the Civil War she again worked for suffrage and became president of the Indiana Woman Suffrage Association. She even served a one year term as president of the American Woman Suffrage Association.
Mary Thomas died on August 19, 1888 and had designated that her pall bearers all be women; four white women representing the Good Templars, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Woman's Suffrage Association and the Home for Friendless Women, and two African-American women "to represent the Abolition cause and their race." (Richmond Daily Telegram, 21 Aug 1888)
Contributed by K. Clinard.
First female physician west of the Alleghenies
From the Pioneer Women Physicians In Indiana
Mary Frame Myers Thomas
The life of the remarkable Dr. Mary Thomas follows the trajectory of nineteenth century women physicians in America. Like many others, she was related to a male physician-she was married to a physician and worked with him. In addition, her step-sister was a physician who lectured at Penn Medical College where Mary began her first medical courses after arranging for the care of her children. She soon had to leave to care for an ill child. She later attended lectures at Western Reserve University in Cleveland where her husband graduated in 1854. She received her degree at Penn Medical College in 1856.
At first she was not accepted by all-male medical societies but later in the century became a pioneer woman in them. Her medical career involved work with the poor. She was active in her church and in many charitable organizations and was a proponent of women's rights and votes for women.
Mary Frame Myers was born to Quaker parents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1816. When she was an infant, her parents moved to Washington, D. C. In 1833, they moved to New Lisbon, Ohio. Her father served as her teacher for basic education. In 1839, she married Dr. Owen Thomas who became her instructor in medicine.
The Thomas' had three daughters. She was described as a model wife and mother. She not only attended to the usual household chores, at a time when there were no labor saving devices, she also made all of her children's clothing by hand, and she not only found time to study and practice medicine, she also found time to participate in numerous other activities, and was able to achieve all this, as she stated, "by the most vigorous discipline of my mind and systematic arrangement of my time."
She attended medical lectures in Indianapolis in 1869-70, during the first session of the Indiana Medical College which opened in 1869. Harassment by some of the male students there led to a paper she presented to the Indiana State Medical Society, published in its annual Transactions, urging acceptance of women physicians and acceptance of women into medical schools.
Governor Morton of Indiana appointed her to hospital service during the Civil War. Under this appointment she served in Washington, Nashville, and elsewhere. She later provided special hospital service in Nashville under the direction of the Christian Association. In Richmond, Indiana she was the physician for the Home for the Friendless for twelve years and for eight years provided medical care for the poor in one district of the city.
She was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and many charitable organizations including groups supporting temperance (prohibition of alcohol use), woman's suffrage, and women's rights. She gave a speech to the Indiana Senate in 1859 urging property rights for women and amending the state constitution to allow women to vote, but the legislation she proposed was not enacted. She edited and published a women's rights paper, The Lilly. Among the causes for which she worked were the establishment of a separate state prison for women and a separate reformatory for girls.
She and her husband first lived in Fort Wayne. As a woman, she was twice refused admission to the Allen County Medical Society. After they moved to Richmond, she was eventually admitted to the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, and was later an officer of that society, "a faithful worker in everything that aimed to make the human race better, and industrious writer and contributed a number of articles to the State Medical Society." She had been admitted to the state organization of the time in 1876 as its first woman member and became a member of the American Medical Association.
Her publications in Transactions of the Indiana State Medical Society include a talk describing why there should be women physicians for female patients in state institutions for the insane and requesting a committee to look into it; a report of that committee; the speech about the influence of medical colleges on the medical education of women; another article about women physicians in hospitals for the insane, noting that Dr. Sarah Stockton had recently been appointed at the hospital in Indianapolis; and two later papers, one on postpartum hemorrhage and one about heredity that gives a thoughtful and balanced view of the knowledge of the time as well as a sermon against environmental factors like alcohol and tobacco.
Dr. Mary Thomas died August 19, 1888 in Richmond, Indiana, at age 72. "She was well liked by all and revered by some."
Dr. Mary Frame Myers Thomas also served as an abolitionist, conducting for Aboite Devil's Hollow, a major Underground Railroad station in Aboite Township, Indiana.
∼Born in Maryland to Quaker parents who were strong abolitionists, Mary and her two sisters grew up believing in the value of all people. The family lived for a time in Washington D.C. and her father took Mary to hear debates in Congress, sparking an interest in politics. While still in her teens the family moved to New Lisbon, Ohio where she met and married Dr. Owen Thomas, also a Quaker.
Mary studied medicine with her husband in Wabash County, Indiana, then attended a course of lectures in the Penn's Medical College for Women in Philadelphia in 1851-52, another course in Cleveland Medical College in 1852-53, and returned to and graduated from Penn's in 1854. After practicing for two years in Fort Wayne, she and her husband moved to Richmond, where she remained for the rest of her life. During the Civil War she took part in the work of the Sanitary Commission and, by direction of Governor Oliver P. Morton, carried supplies to the front by steamer. On the return trip she nursed soldiers wounded at the battle of Vicksburg. She later served as an assistant physician with her husband, an army contract surgeon, in a hospital for refugees in Nashville, Tennessee. After the war she served on Richmond's board of public health, and from 1867 until her death she was the physician for the Home for Friendless Women in Richmond. She was elected a member of the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, after having been rejected twice because of her sex. She became the first woman member of State Medical College in 1876. In 1877 she was a delegate from the State Medical Society to the American Medical Association, and was the second female physician admitted to membership of that body.
In addition to her medical career, Mary was very much involved in working for women's rights beginning in 1845 when she heard Lucretia Mott preach at a Quaker yearly meeting in Salem, Ohio. She was a member of the Indiana Woman's Rights Society, serving as president in 1856. In 1857 she edited the Lily, a woman's rights paper begun by Amelia Bloomer. In 1859, she became the first woman to address the Indiana State Legislature by presenting a petition calling for a married women's property law and a woman suffrage amendment to the state constitution. Her presentation was not taken seriously by the legislature, however. After the Civil War she again worked for suffrage and became president of the Indiana Woman Suffrage Association. She even served a one year term as president of the American Woman Suffrage Association.
Mary Thomas died on August 19, 1888 and had designated that her pall bearers all be women; four white women representing the Good Templars, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Woman's Suffrage Association and the Home for Friendless Women, and two African-American women "to represent the Abolition cause and their race." (Richmond Daily Telegram, 21 Aug 1888)
First female physician west of the Alleghenies
From the Pioneer Women Physicians In Indiana
Mary Frame Myers Thomas
The life of the remarkable Dr. Mary Thomas follows the trajectory of nineteenth century women physicians in America. Like many others, she was related to a male physician-she was married to a physician and worked with him. In addition, her step-sister was a physician who lectured at Penn Medical College where Mary began her first medical courses after arranging for the care of her children. She soon had to leave to care for an ill child. She later attended lectures at Western Reserve University in Cleveland where her husband graduated in 1854. She received her degree at Penn Medical College in 1856.
At first she was not accepted by all-male medical societies but later in the century became a pioneer woman in them. Her medical career involved work with the poor. She was active in her church and in many charitable organizations and was a proponent of women's rights and votes for women.
Mary Frame Myers was born to Quaker parents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1816. When she was an infant, her parents moved to Washington, D. C. In 1833, they moved to New Lisbon, Ohio. Her father served as her teacher for basic education. In 1839, she married Dr. Owen Thomas who became her instructor in medicine.
The Thomas' had three daughters. She was described as a model wife and mother. She not only attended to the usual household chores, at a time when there were no labor saving devices, she also made all of her children's clothing by hand, and she not only found time to study and practice medicine, she also found time to participate in numerous other activities, and was able to achieve all this, as she stated, "by the most vigorous discipline of my mind and systematic arrangement of my time."
She attended medical lectures in Indianapolis in 1869-70, during the first session of the Indiana Medical College which opened in 1869. Harassment by some of the male students there led to a paper she presented to the Indiana State Medical Society, published in its annual Transactions, urging acceptance of women physicians and acceptance of women into medical schools.
Governor Morton of Indiana appointed her to hospital service during the Civil War. Under this appointment she served in Washington, Nashville, and elsewhere. She later provided special hospital service in Nashville under the direction of the Christian Association. In Richmond, Indiana she was the physician for the Home for the Friendless for twelve years and for eight years provided medical care for the poor in one district of the city.
She was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and many charitable organizations including groups supporting temperance (prohibition of alcohol use), woman's suffrage, and women's rights. She gave a speech to the Indiana Senate in 1859 urging property rights for women and amending the state constitution to allow women to vote, but the legislation she proposed was not enacted. She edited and published a women's rights paper, The Lilly. Among the causes for which she worked were the establishment of a separate state prison for women and a separate reformatory for girls.
She and her husband first lived in Fort Wayne. As a woman, she was twice refused admission to the Allen County Medical Society. After they moved to Richmond, she was eventually admitted to the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, and was later an officer of that society, "a faithful worker in everything that aimed to make the human race better, and industrious writer and contributed a number of articles to the State Medical Society." She had been admitted to the state organization of the time in 1876 as its first woman member and became a member of the American Medical Association.
Her publications in Transactions of the Indiana State Medical Society include a talk describing why there should be women physicians for female patients in state institutions for the insane and requesting a committee to look into it; a report of that committee; the speech about the influence of medical colleges on the medical education of women; another article about women physicians in hospitals for the insane, noting that Dr. Sarah Stockton had recently been appointed at the hospital in Indianapolis; and two later papers, one on postpartum hemorrhage and one about heredity that gives a thoughtful and balanced view of the knowledge of the time as well as a sermon against environmental factors like alcohol and tobacco.
Dr. Mary Thomas died August 19, 1888 in Richmond, Indiana, at age 72. "She was well liked by all and revered by some."
Dr. Mary Frame Myers Thomas also served as an abolitionist, conducting for Aboite Devil's Hollow, a major Underground Railroad station in Aboite Township, Indiana.
∼Born in Maryland to Quaker parents who were strong abolitionists, Mary and her two sisters grew up believing in the value of all people. The family lived for a time in Washington D.C. and her father took Mary to hear debates in Congress, sparking an interest in politics. While still in her teens the family moved to New Lisbon, Ohio where she met and married Dr. Owen Thomas, also a Quaker.
Mary studied medicine with her husband in Wabash County, Indiana, then attended a course of lectures in the Penn's Medical College for Women in Philadelphia in 1851-52, another course in Cleveland Medical College in 1852-53, and returned to and graduated from Penn's in 1854. After practicing for two years in Fort Wayne, she and her husband moved to Richmond, where she remained for the rest of her life. During the Civil War she took part in the work of the Sanitary Commission and, by direction of Governor Oliver P. Morton, carried supplies to the front by steamer. On the return trip she nursed soldiers wounded at the battle of Vicksburg. She later served as an assistant physician with her husband, an army contract surgeon, in a hospital for refugees in Nashville, Tennessee. After the war she served on Richmond's board of public health, and from 1867 until her death she was the physician for the Home for Friendless Women in Richmond. She was elected a member of the Wayne County Medical Society in 1875, after having been rejected twice because of her sex. She became the first woman member of State Medical College in 1876. In 1877 she was a delegate from the State Medical Society to the American Medical Association, and was the second female physician admitted to membership of that body.
In addition to her medical career, Mary was very much involved in working for women's rights beginning in 1845 when she heard Lucretia Mott preach at a Quaker yearly meeting in Salem, Ohio. She was a member of the Indiana Woman's Rights Society, serving as president in 1856. In 1857 she edited the Lily, a woman's rights paper begun by Amelia Bloomer. In 1859, she became the first woman to address the Indiana State Legislature by presenting a petition calling for a married women's property law and a woman suffrage amendment to the state constitution. Her presentation was not taken seriously by the legislature, however. After the Civil War she again worked for suffrage and became president of the Indiana Woman Suffrage Association. She even served a one year term as president of the American Woman Suffrage Association.
Mary Thomas died on August 19, 1888 and had designated that her pall bearers all be women; four white women representing the Good Templars, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Woman's Suffrage Association and the Home for Friendless Women, and two African-American women "to represent the Abolition cause and their race." (Richmond Daily Telegram, 21 Aug 1888)
Family Members
Parents
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