Category: Famous Firsts

Famous Firsts
Civil War Women, Educators, Famous Firsts, Women Doctors

Mary Harris Thompson

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Pioneer Doctor and Educator of Women in the Medical Professions Dr. Mary Harris Thompson (1829–1895) was one of the first women to practice medicine in Chicago, and by some accounts the first female surgeon in the US. She was founder, head physician and surgeon of the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children, founder of the Women’s Medical College, the first medical school for women in the Midwest, and Chicago’s first nursing school. Early Years Mary Harris Thompson was born April 15, 1829 in Fort Ann, New York. She began her studies at a nearby school, then transferred to Fort Edward Institute in Fort Edward, New York, and then to West Poultney Academy in Vermont. While at West Poultney, she was…

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Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Women Lawyers

First Women Lawyers

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Pioneer Women in the American Legal Profession Though women lawyers did not enter the legal profession until after the Civil War, that does not mean that women did not want to become lawyers in the antebellum period. It only means that there were no records kept. First, women were denied admission to law schools, and then they were denied permission to practice law. Either the legislature or the supreme court of each state determined the requirements for admission to the state bar, and as a rule they were not keen on changing the status quo. The entrance of American women into the practice of law formally began in 1869 when Arabella Mansfield was admitted to the Iowa bar. She was…

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Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Feminists

Women’s Rights During the Civil War

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Women Find New Power and Independence The American Civil War illustrates how gender roles can be transformed when circumstances demand that women be allowed to enter into previously male-dominated positions of power and independence. This was the first time in American history that women played a significant role in a war effort, and by the end of the war the notion of true womanhood had been redefined. During the decades prior to the Civil War, female activists flocked to the abolitionist movement and exerted considerable pressure on the Southern slavocracy. Authors like Lydia Maria Child published pamphlets and books condemning the institution of slavery. Although many male politicians searched for a negotiated settlement, female abolitionists refused to accept any compromise…

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Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, First Ladies, Generals Wives

Caroline Harrison

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First First Lady to Support Women’s Rights Caroline Harrison, the wife of President Benjamin Harrison, was First Lady from 1889 until her death. She is remembered for her efforts to refurbish the aging White House. Her public support of women’s rights and higher education for women focused greater attention on those issue and promoted greater acceptance of a First Lady’s political ideals. Early Years Caroline Scott was born on October 1, 1832 in Oxford, Ohio, the second daughter of Mary Potts Neal and John Witherspoon Scott, a minister and professor of science and math at Miami University in Oxford. Along with two sisters and two brothers, Carrie, as she was called by friends and family, was raised in a modest,…

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Civil War Women, Educators, Famous Firsts

Mary Jane Patterson

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First African American Woman to Graduate from College Mary Jane Patterson was the first African American woman to earn a bachelor’s degree (Oberlin College, 1862). She became a successful teacher and was later appointed as the first black principal at America’s first public high school for blacks (Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, Washington, DC, 1871). Patterson spent her career creating new educational opportunities for African Americans after the Civil War. Early Years Mary Jane Patterson was born on September 12, 1840, in Raleigh, North Carolina, the daughter of Henry Irving Patterson and Emmeline Taylor Patterson. Mary was probably the oldest of at least seven siblings. Her father, a boyhood friend of future U.S. President Andrew Johnson, was a bricklayer…

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African Americans, Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Women Lawyers

Charlotte Ray

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First African American Woman Lawyer Not only was Charlotte Ray the first African American woman lawyer in the United States, she was one of the first women to practice in the District of Columbia and the third American woman of any race to earn a law degree (Howard University Law School, 1872). Charlotte E. Ray was born in New York City on January 13, 1850 to Charlotte and Reverend Charles Bennett Ray. She had six siblings, including two sisters, Cordelia and Florence. Reverend Ray was an important figure in the abolitionist movement and edited a paper called The Colored American. Education was important to the Rays, and all of their girls went to college. Shortly after the end of the…

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Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Feminists

Paulina Wright Davis

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Editor of the First Feminist Periodical, The Una Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (1813–1876) was an abolitionist and feminist whose work in social reform extended over forty years. A wealthy and independent woman, she organized the First National Women’s Rights Convention in 1850, and another on the 20th anniversay of that occasion, at which she read from her written work, A History of the National Woman’s Rights Movement (1871). Early Years Paulina Kellogg was born on August 7, 1813 in Bloomfield, New York to Captain Ebenezer Kellogg and Polly Saxton Kellogg. The family moved to the frontier near Niagara Falls in 1817. Both of her parents died, and in 1820 Paulina went to live with a strict orthodox Presbyterian aunt in…

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Abolitionists, Civil War Women, Famous Firsts

Maria Weston Chapman

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Author and One of the First Female Abolitionists Maria Weston Chapman was a writer, editor, abolitionist, and right-hand woman of prominent abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. She served as editor of the anti-slavery newspapers, the Non-Resistant and the National Anti-Slavery Standard. Although she shunned public speaking, Chapman organized bazaars and other fund-raising events for the movement, and was described by Lydia Maria Child as “one of the most remarkable women of the age.” Early Years Maria Weston was born on July 24, 1806 in Weymouth, Massachusetts, the eldest of eight children born to Warren and Anne Bates Weston, descendants of the Pilgrims. Maria’s birth was followed by those of Caroline in 1808, Anne in 1812, Deborah in 1814, Hervey in 1817,…

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Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Women in Religion

Antoinette Brown Blackwell

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First Ordained Woman Minister and Social Reformer Antoinette Brown Blackwell (1825–1921), was the first woman to be ordained as a minister in the United States. She was also a well-versed public speaker on the social reform issues of her time, and used her religious faith in her efforts to expand women’s rights. Always ahead of her time, she wrote prolifically on religion and science, constructing a theoretical foundation for sexual equality. Early Years Antoinette Louisa Brown was born in Henrietta, New York on May 20, 1825, the daughter of Joseph and Abby Morse Brown. From childhood on she preferred writing and men’s farm chores to housework. Brown’s parents were very religious and, during her childhood, they were inspired by the…

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Civil War Women, Educators, Famous Firsts

Ann Preston

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First Woman Medical School Dean Ann Preston (December 1, 1813–April 18, 1872) was a doctor and educator of women in Pennsylvania. One of the most notable achievements of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the 19th century was the role it played in the entrance of women into medicine. Ann Preston was one of those pioneer Quaker women doctors. Through her leadership and her persuasive influence, Dr. Preston promoted educational, professional and social changes that eventually established the right of women to study medicine and removed the barriers which blocked the path of those women who aspired to become competent and successful physicians. Early Years Ann Preston was born on December 1, 1813 in West Grove, Pennsylvania, Quaker community…

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