Blackwell Family Elizabeth Blackwell Biographical MaterialIn Memory of DR. ELIZABETH BLACKWELL AND DR. EMILY BLACKWELLIn Memory of DR. ELIZABETH BLACKWELL AND DR. EMILY BLACKWELL JANUARY TWENTY-FIFTH MDCCCCXI ACADEMY OF MEDICINE NEW YORKThe Knickerbocker Press, New York The Women's Medical Association of New York City Emily Lewi, M.D., President Augusta Vedin, M.D., First Vice-President Selina Bloom, M.D., Second Vice-President Isabel Macmillan, M.D., Corresponding Secretary Alma Vedin, M.D., Treasurer Memorial Committee Elizabeth Mercelis, M.D., Chairman Ethel D. Brown, M.D., Secretary Mercy Baker, M.D. Sarah R. Mead, M.D. Helen Baldwin, M.D. Elizabeth Mercelis, M.D. Mary T. Bissell, M.D. Eliza M. Mosher, M.D. Ethel D. Brown, M.D. Grace Peckham-Murray, M.D. Marie L. Chard, M.D. Lotta W. Myers, M.D. Emma B. Culbertson, M.D. Angenette Parry, M.D. Annie S. Daniel, M.D. Martha J. Peebles, M.D. Jessie S. Edwards, M.D. Jennie M. Richardson, M.D. Evelyn Garrigue, M.D. Ethel Blackwell-Robinson, M.D. Jane L. Greeley, M.D. Mary Rushmore, M.D. Mary D. Hussey, M.D. Elizabeth M. Sturges, M.D. Gertrude B. Kelly, M.D. Eleanor Tomes, M.D. Helen Kuhlmann, M.D. Alma Vedin, M.D. Emily Lewi, M.D. Mathilda K. Wallin, M.D. Sarah J. McNutt, M.D. Anna Wilner, M.D. Isabel Macmillan, M.D. Anna Williams, M.D. Addresses Dr. William M. Polk Dr. Stephen Smith Miss Alice Stone Blackwell Mrs. Henry Villard Dr. William H. Welch Dr. Emma B. Culbertson Dr. Abraham Jacobi Dr. Gertrude B. KellyMusic MLLE. ADA SASSOLI Harpist 1. Nordische Ballade - - - - Poenitz 2. a Gavotte - - - - - - Rameau b Impromptu Caprice - - - Pierne c Marguerite au Rouet } d Am Springbrunnen } - - ZabelStephen Smith, A.M., M.D., LL.D. Introductory Remarks by the Chairman It gives us genuine happines to welcome one who was a counsellor and friend in the early days of isolation, when such an attitude bespoke we know not what greatness of heart and breadth of vision,- Dr. Stephen Smith.A Woman Student in a Medical CollegeA Woman Student in a Medical College Ladies and Gentlemen: My first course of lectures was at the Geneva Medical College, in the session 1847-48. This College was located at Geneva, New York, in a rural district, and was a continuation of the old Fairfield College. it is now the Medical Department of the Syracuse University. Its Faculty was largely constituted of reputable practitioners from the cities and at the session alluded to Prof. Frank H. Hamilton and Prof. Austin Flint, of Buffalo, gave courses of lectures. Being located in the country, the class of students was largely made up of the sons of farmers, tradesmen, and mechanics. A common saying among the people of that vicinity was, 34 IN MEMORIAM that a boy who proved to be unfit for anything else must become a Doctor. And the "royal road" to a medical degree was made remarkably easy at that time. The full term of study was three years, and the fee was reduced to a minimum. Under these circumstances the class contained a large element of rude and uncouth country youths, whose love of "fun" far exceeded their love of learning. During the interval of lectures every form of athletic sport might be witnessed with occasional "fisticuff" exercises, which elicited ear-splitting shouts of the spectators. Nor did the excitement cease with the commencement of the lecture, but often continued through it to the great annoyance of those students who were attentive and studious. The rowdyism of the class may be realized when it is stated that the residents in the vicinity endeavored to have the College declared and treated as a public nuisance. One morning, early in the session, the Dean of the Faculty, an elderly, courtly, nervous IN MEMORIAM 5 gentleman, entered the class-room with a letter in his hand. He stated, with trembling voice, that the Faculty had received a very important communication from an eminent physician of Philadelphia, and he had been requested to lay the letter before the class and ask its serious and thoughtful consideration of the request which the writer made. A profound silence fell upon the class-room as he proceeded. The writer stated that he had a lady medical student who had attended a course of lectures in a college in Cincinnati ; that he wished to have her attend one of the eastern city colleges and graduate, but that every one had refused her admittance; that he thought a country college like Geneva might not object to her entrance; that if refused admission she would be compelled to go to Edinburgh, Scotland, to graduate. The Dean remarked that the request was so unusual, and so vitally interested the members of the class, that the Faculty decided to submit the question of the admission of a woman student to its judgment, and had determined, that, if there6 IN MEMORIAM was one negative vote, the Faculty would deny the request. It was subsequently learned that the Faculty was unanimously opposed to the admission of a woman to the class, but did not care to take the responsibility of opposing the request of the eminent Philadelphia physician. Believing that the class would quite unanimously reject the proposal, the Faculty determined to place their denial upon the action of the students. To make the action of the class certainly negative they decided that a single vote against the request would enable the Faculty to refuse the admission. But the Faculty did not understand the tone and temper of the class. For a minute of two, after the departure of the Dean, there was a pause, then the ludicrousness of the situation seemed to seize the entire class, and a perfect Bable of talk, laughter, and cat-calls followed. Congratulations upon the new source of excitement were everywhere heard, and a demand was made for a class meeting to take action on the Faculty's communication. IN MEMORIAM 7 A meeting was accordingly called for the evening, and a more uproarious scene can scarcely be imagined. Fulsome speeches were made in favor of admitting women to all the rights and privileges of the profession, which were cheered to the echo. At length the question was put to vote, and the whole class arose and voted "Aye" with waving of handkerchiefs, throwing up of hats, and all manner of vocal demonstrations. When the tumult had subsided, the chairman called for a negative vote, in a perfectly perfunctory way, when a fain "Nay" was heard in a remote corner of the room. At the instant the class arose as one man and rushed to the corner from which the voice proceeded. Amid screams of "cuff him," "crack his skull," "throw him down stairs," a young man was dragged to the platform screaming, "Aye" "Aye," "I vote 'Aye.'" A unanimous vote in favor of the woman student had thus been obtained by the class, and the Faculty was notified of the result. A fortnight or more had passed, and the in-8 IN MEMORIAM cident of the admission of the woman student had ceased to interest any one, when one morning the Dean came into the class-room, evidently in a state of unusual agitation. The class took the alarm, fearing some great calamity was about to befall the College, possibly its closure under the decree of the court that it was a public nuisance. He stated, with trembling voice, that in accordance with the vote of the class the Faculty had informed the Philadelphia physician that his female student would be admitted to the College, and that she had arrived. With this introduction, he opened the door to the reception room and a lady, on his invitation, entered, whom he formally introduced as Miss Elizabeth Blackwell. She was plainly but neatly dressed in Quaker style, and carried the usual note-book of the medical student. A hush fell upon the class as if each member had been stricken with paralysis. A death-like stillness prevailed during the lecture, and only the newly arrived student took notes. She retired with the Professor, and thereafter came IN MEMORIAM 9 in with him and sat on the platform during the lecture. It is quite impossible to magnify the power of the personality of Miss Blackwell over the lawless elements of that class. Though there were the same disorder and disturbance in her absence, as before her admission, yet the moment that she entered upon the platform the most perfect order and quiet prevailed until the door closed behind her. This influence of her presence continued unabated during the entire session. Many of the older students stated that this was the first course of lectures in that College during which they were able to take full notes. The climax came when the Professor of Anatomy reached, in his course, the organs of reproduction. He was a rollicking, jovial, fun- loving man, who seasoned his lectures plentifully with anecdotes, nor was he very choice in the use of his language. The part of his course which he was now approaching was especially adapted to illustration by vulgar stories, and hence was looked forward to with great relish by the reckless members of the class.10 IN MEMORIAM One day he came into the lecture room without his usual companion - the female student. His flushed face and excited manner betrayed great nervous tension. After a few minutes' hesitation, he recovered himself sufficiently to state that he had a very novel situation to deal with which would involve the interests of the class to such an extent that he thought they should be apprised of all of the circumstances. Believing that the presence of a woman during the lectures on the reproductive organs would be very embarrassing to him and the class as he would be obliged to be restricted in his language and illustrations, and many students would have their natural modesty strained, he had written Miss Blackwell a note, urging these objections to her attendance, and assuring her that if she would consent to withdraw from the lectures she should have every necessary opportunity to study these organs. The Professor then read Miss Blackwell's reply, which was, in substance, that she had entered the College in good faith as a medical student, and IN MEMORIAM 11 had paid the required fee; that she was bound to have all the rights and privileges accorded to other students; that if the presence of a woman's bonnet on the platform embarrassed him she would take her seat on an upper tier of benches and remove her headdress; finally that it was a great mystery to her that a profound student of science, and especially a teacher of the wonderful mechanism of the human body, could have his mind diverted from a subject so absorbingly interesting, by the mere presence of a student in a woman's dress. The Professor expressed his keen sense of humiliation by this rebuke, and in eloquent terms declared Miss Blackwell a student of the type of Galen, who said, "The study of anatomy is a perpetual hymn to the gods"; that he was profoundly impressed with her good influence upon the class; and that the noble stand which she had now taken in the assertion of her rights as an ordinary pupil of the College entitled her to every privilege and honor which the Faculty and the class could confer.12 IN MEMORIAM The Professor then opened the door and, on entering upon the platform, Miss Blackwell received an ovation from the Professor and the class which startled the neighborhood for blocks around. The course of lectures from which she was to be excluded then proceeded in a most orderly manner to its conclusion. The Professor adhered closely to his text throughout, without having occasion to amuse the class with his usual vulgar anecdotes, and the class on its part observed the most perfect decorum. The older students declared that this was the first course of lectures on that subject, by the Professor, that they had ever been able to follow connectedly, and the Professor himself acknowledged that this was the first course in which he was thoroughly interested. Miss Blackwell graduated at the head of the class and was pronounced by the Faculty one of the best all-around graduates of that session of the College. This personal experience of the moral influence of a most unpretentious woman, upon a IN MEMORIAM 13 class of untrained and undisciplined young men, determined affirmatively, in my own mind, more than threescore years ago, the question of the propriety of the co-education of the sexes even in medical colleges. Subsequent experience in the cllinics of Bellevue Hospital which were attended by the students of three colleges, and to which women students were admitted, confirmed my early experience. The promisuous class of cases which are brought into these clinics, male and female, and the necessary exposure of the patiens in operative procedures, afforded the highest possible test of the proprieties of the occasion. There was never an instance in my observations when the women students present were treated rudely, but, on the contrary, their presence always prevented any cheering, jeering, or unseemly behavior. As an abstract proposition the co-medical education of the sexes would naturally be decided in the negative. It has been so decided many times in this country and abroad by prominent medical educators who have had no experience. When put to a practical test, the14 IN MEMORIAM anticipated improprieties have not occurred. On one occasion a surgeon, who was greatly annoyed by the presence of women medical students at his hospital clinics, determined to drive them away by a lecture which required an indecent exposure of several male patients selected for the purpose. The result was a most ludicrous exhibition of his own embarrassment which was aggravated by the perfect propriety of the conduct of the class, and its failure to response to the vulgar anecdotes with which he seasoned his lecture. The professional career of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was distinguished by intense devotion to the interests of the medical education of women in this country and England, and in works of charity. Her recent death at the advanced age of ninety years closed a life of remarkable usefulness, and the power with which that usefulness was applied was her medical education. The crowning feature of that life was the demonstration of the value of woman's influence upon men in the co-education of the sexes in medicine, and the wisdom of IN MEMORIAM 15 the fiat of the Council of Creation, "It is not good that the man should be alone." Dr. Emily Blackwell had a more limited field of work, but in that field she attained conspicuous success. The "Infirmary for Women," which was a hospital and school for the medical education for women, took rank with the best medical schools in this country, as regards the thoroughness of the methods of instruction. For upwards of a score of years I was one of the Committee of Examiners of the graduating classes, and was at the same time a professor in another college where only men were admitted. As to the qualifications of the two classes, both technical and practical, the graduating classes of the women's school generally averaged the highest. I may add that the best-qualified medical graduate whom I ever examined was a young Chinese woman educated in this school. The high average was due to the plan of teaching, with a graded course, which rigidly enforced the rule not to advance a delinquent student until she had attained the full require-16 IN MEMORIAM ments of qualification in her several studies. Scarcely a college at that time had adopted a standard of preliminary education before admission to its classes, not had graded its curriculum of studies so that the student advanced from stage to stage throughout the course. The method of teaching at the Infirmary was largely by class restrictions rather than by lectures - the old and practically worthless system of imparting instruction. In class recitations the teacher is constantly brought into immediate personal relations with the pupil, and he is thus able to adapt his teaching to the peculiar mental condition of the student. In the lecture system the student is kept at arm's length from the professor who, personally, knows nothing of his qualifications for learning, nor of his difficulties, nor of his progress. It is in some measure due to the example and success of the school of Drs. Blackwell that the system of teaching medicine in this country is changing from the lecture to the recitation, from theoretical studies to practical work in laboratories, in hospitals, and clinics. The IN MEMORIAM 17 modern student of medicine is to be congratulated on the passing of the ancient professor, in evening dress, with well conned manuscript, from which he rarely raised his gold-rimmed spectacles, and the appearance in his place of the instructor, clad in his dissecting-room or laboratory suit, and whose hearty hand-grasp assures the student that he is to be a co-laborer with his teacher in the fields of science. The recitation plan of teaching where teacher and pupil mutually question each other finds its justification in the maxim of Bacon, "He that questioneth much learneth much." Comparing the results of the life-work of Drs. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell with that of contemporary medical men, we are justified in the assertion that they had no peers. The institutions which they established and so unostentatiously conducted have had the effect of elevating women to positions in civilized society for which they have always been peculiarly adapted. But they have heretofore required the necessary educational qualifications. Already the best managed general hospitals are18 IN MEMORIAM entirely under the control and management of women. The most successfully conducted reformatories in this and other States are conducted by women. The law of this State provides that there shall be at least one woman medical graduate on the medical staff of every State Hospital for the Insane. This reform has been long needed and is of the utmost importance to the women inmates. It is impossible to foretell, even with the lips of an inspired prophet, the vast influence of the services of these sisters in founding, and personally managing, institutions for the medical education of women. Not only has our own country been greatly benefited by this training of women to manage public and private institutions of a charitable character, but England and the continental states are being agitated by this great reform movement. Even in Oriental countries medical women are exerting an unobtrusive but powerful influence which had already attracted the attention of the shrewd and observing statesman, Li Hung Chang. When in this country he was asked what he most IN MEMORIAM 19 feared from Western nations. He replied "I do not fear your armies, nor your navies, nor your diplomacy, but I do fear your medical women." His wife had been sick and the Chinese physician had failed to cure her. A medical woman missionary was called who effected such a prompt cure that she won the confidence of her patient and a large Court circle. However the institutions immediately established by the Drs. Blackwell may be affected by the mutations of time, and change of conditions, their services will forever find an abiding place in the hearts of their graduates, and a living memorial in the labors of those who are called to build upon the foundations which they laid with so much care, skill, and sacrifice. "When all is done, human life is at the greatest and the best."Miss Alice Stone Blackwell 21Miss Alice Stone Blackwell Introductory Remarks by the Chairman WE are very fortunate to have with us this evening a kinswoman who is entitled to speak more intimately of those whom we have met to honor and whose kinship with a wide circle of those whom all women honor, gives her presence here a deep significance, Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, of Boston. Miss Blackwell: WHEN Dr. Smith spoke of the quieting effect that the presence of the young woman medical student had upon the class, I could well believe it, for my Aunt Elizabeth was one of the most awe-inspiring persons - at least, to my childish eyes - that I have ever known. When I was about ten years old my Aunts Elizabeth and Emily took care of me for one winter, when my parents were absent, and I remember how I trembled with awe before that very kind and harmless lady, Dr. Elizabeth. 2324 IN MEMORIAM I was not quite so much afraid of Dr. Emily- she used to give me chocolate drops. When Dr. Elizabeth made her last visit to the United States, only two years before her death, a young woman who had heard a great deal about her expressed surprise to find that she was a little lady; she had always had the impression that she must be tall. Dr. Elizabeth's adopted daughter said, "I assure you that there are occasions when she can look at least six feet high!" It is impossible in the few minutes at my command to speak at all fully of the characteristics of those two remarkable women. It has been said that "no man is a hero to his valet," but Dr. Elizabeth was quite as much of a heroine to her maid-servants as to the outside world. They were convinced that she was abundantly worthy of any honor that could come to her. Intimate acquaintance with really noble persons increases respect rather than takes it away. There were two very marked characteristics in both of my aunts - their courage and their kindness. Besides being women of high purpose IN MEMORIAM 25 pose, public spirited, upright, and honorable, they had very kind hearts. There were five sisters in the family, none of whom married, and they took, among them, five children to bring up. Aunt Elizabeth was the first to do this. During the early years of her medical studies in New York, when she was ostracized socially, and was often very lonely, she thought a little girl would be company and a comfort to her. She went with one of her sisters to the Orphan Asylum, and looked over the orphans. There were pretty children and healthy children among the forlorn group. But there was one suffering with weak ankles and weak eyes. Aunt Elizabeth's medical eye was attracted by this child, and she thought how much she could do to help her if she had her under her own care. She went around looking at the different children, but always came back to that one. "O Elizabeth," said her sister, "you don't want to take such a child as that!" but she replied, "This child needs me more than any of the others." It was a most fortunate choice for her own happiness, for the little Irish girl26 IN MEMORIAM proved to have great intelligence, and a heart of gold. She almost worshipped her adopted mother, and devoted her whole life to her. During those last sad years, when Dr. Elizabeth's strong health was gradually failing, leaving her in time completely helpless, the best of daughters could not have done more. She waited upon her by inches, and, as some one said, "fitted herself into all Dr. Elizabeth's angles like an eiderdown quilt." Both the sisters were shy and reserved, and that characteristic was intensified by the social ostracism of their early years. Dr. Emily told me she knew that in most places she was not wanted, and so she withdrew more and more into herself. But any one who ever saw her with her adopted daughter, and especially with that daughter's children, whom Aunt Emily always regarded as her grandchildren, would have been able to see what a warm and loving heart she had. Her adopted daughter had four beautiful, fair-haired little boys, and it was a pretty sight to see the grandmother among them. Many people were afraid of her, but IN MEMORIAM 27 those children never were afraid. They clustered around her like bees around a flower, and their faces lit up whenever she came into the room - as hers did when she saw them. It was a pleasure to see her playing with them; and the very last smile that she gave in this world was when she heard the voice of the youngest. She had been taken ill some days before, with an illness that had made her very weak. Her adopted daughter hastened to her, and took along the youngest child. They were in the next room, and the child cried. Dr. Emily asked, "Is that Nannie's baby?" Dr. Cushier answered, "Yes" adding, "it is a nice, fat little thing," and the words brought the last smile to Dr. Emily's face. The great comfort that both received from their adopted daughters was an abundant recompense for the kindness they had shown to the little fatherless and motherless children. Their kindness came out in many ways. I think every one who needed it experienced it, and the people who needed it most were apt to get the most of it.28 IN MEMORIAM Then a word ought to be said about their courage. The young women of to-day cannot realize what courage it took to do what they did. Many of you have heard about the experiences of their early years, so I will not go over the hard times they went though when Aunt Elizabeth was studying at Geneva, N. Y., when women at her boarding-house would not speak to her, and women passing her on the street held their skirts aside. Dr. Emily had similar experiences. When they began to practise their profession, they almost starved to death because people would not employ a woman physician. Dr. Elizabeth was compelled to buy a house, because no respectable boarding-house in New York City would take in a woman doctor. It was not only the actual proscription, but the great social disapprobation which made the struggle of the early woman physician so hard. During the last summer of her life, I ask Dr. Emily to glance over Miss Ida M. Tarbell's History of the American Woman, which was coming out in the American Magazine. Miss IN MEMORIAM 29 Tarbell had expressed the idea that the position of women was not quite so hard in the early days as the speakers at woman's rights' conventions depicted it. Aunt Emily said, "No woman whose memory does not run back in sixty years can realize what an iron wall hedged in every young woman who wanted to do anything outside of the most absolutely conventional groove any girl who wanted to support herself, to earn money, to be educated, to do any one of a hundred things which would now be an everyday matter, but then were considered altogether improper. A woman who attempted anything of that kind was simply crushed, if she had not a very strong character; and those whose characters were such that they could not be crushed without a struggle, simply had to break a way through that iron wall for themselves and for those who followed." That courage came out in many other ways. Dr. Elizabeth stood for many reforms. She was a strong opponent of compulsory vaccination, and of the abuses of vivisection, and both the sisters were strong opponents of the state 30 IN MEMORIAM regulation of vice. Dr. Emily was, for years, a member of the little Vigilance Committee of physicians and others who successfully headed off the many attempts made after the Civil War to introduce the European system of state regulated vice in New York. As New York's leading medical woman, she was early called upon to help resist these efforts. At first she shrank from touching the matter; but when she had studied into the results of the system abroad, and realized, as she said, "what a hideous thing it was," she felt it her duty to join the fight against it. She knew that this would bring additional criticism upon the struggling Infirmary. She notified the Trustees of her intention. They were disturbed and doubtful, but one of them, a fine, sturdy old Quaker, said, "Thee do what thy conscience bids thee." She found it very hard to do ; but she had one of Cromwell's Ironsides among her ancestors, and she told me that perhaps a little of his spirit came to her aid in this matter. There is a great difference in people who seem outwardly very much alike. Perhaps IN MEMORIAM 31 some of you may be familiar with Milton Hill, near Boston. The road runs along between houses set in beautiful grounds and gardens. But the houses on one side of the street, while their immediate surroundings are just as lovely, have no outlook. The houses on the other side command a wide and wonderful view over the Neponset River and its valley, and away to the sea beyond. There is that difference between people who are equally kind and amiable and pleasant to meet; some of them have a wide outlook, others a narrow one, or none at all. My aunts-and I speak especially of Dr. Emily, because Dr. Elizabeth spent the last forty years of her life abroad and I was not so well acquainted with her-Aunt Emily had a broad outlook, not only over problems and events of present and past times, but along many different lines of thought. Whatever subject was touched upon, she knew about it, and took an intelligent interest in it. Both she and Aunt Elizabeth had great public spirit, and a strong sense of public duty.32 IN MEMORIAM Aunt Emily was the most delightful travelling companion imaginable. Once it was my good fortune to accompany her on a trip to Europe. Wherever we went she was better than all the guide-books ; she knew all the points of interest ; she could tell you the ancient and modern history of every city we visited, in such a way as to make the old things live again. It was a liberal education to have known and to have loved her. Another trait of Dr. Emily was her modesty. With all the reason she might have had for self-conceit, she was absolutely free from it, unpretending and unaffected. About a year ago, she attended the funeral of my father, her brother, and we were speaking together afterwards of the beautiful address that had been made by Dr. Borden P. Bowne, who conducted the service. I said to her, "When you leave us, who will be the person to make the memorial address for you?" She answered, "There is absolutely no one." And look at the speakers on this platform, and at this meeting! Mrs. Henry Villard 33 Mrs. Henry Villard. Introductory Remarks by the Chairman. IT is a privilege for us to have with us to-night one who for many years has been identified with the best civic life of our city and who, among manifold activities, gave her time and interest to the Woman's Infirmary, Mrs. Villard, of the Board of Trustees. Mrs. Villard: I OWE the privilege that is mine to-night of being permitted to add my tribute of affection and admiration for Dr. Emily Blackwell, her sister, and their associates, to the fact that, for over thirty years, I have been a member of the Board of Managers of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Looking over the file of the Liberator, Mr. Garrison's paper, recently, I accidentally discovered, in the issue of November 7, 1856, the following notice, which at once attracted my attention. 3536 IN MEMORIAM "The co-operation of all friends of Female Medical Education is earnestly invited to an effort which is now being made in New York for the establishment of a practical School of Medicine. "The great want which is felt at the present time by women who want to follow the profession of medicine, is the opportunity of studying by the bedside of the sick, for the hospitals are all closed to them, and yet hospital instruction is as indispensable to the student of medicine as the musical instrument to the musician. "To meet this want a number of ladies are engaged in collecting funds for the establishment of a Hospital for Women and Children, to be organized by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Dr. Marie Zakzrewska, and other physicians. This hospital, while it furnishes an opportunity for the thorough training of medical students, is designed to meet another want, not supplied by hospitals, viz., an earnest religious influence on the patients. The principle on which it will be founded is that of a Christian charity for the IN MEMORIAM 37 sick poor. Scientific instruction will always be subordinate to the welfare of the patient ; each individual, no matter how degraded, being regarded as a human soul, as well as body. The instrument mainly relied on to influence the patients will be a body of trained nurses, free from sectarian prejudices, but imbued with those great principles of truth which form a Christian life. "Private rooms will be reserved in the institution, where ladies of limited means may be admitted for a very moderate charge. Such provision is much needed by a multitude of refined women who are suffering for the want of medical aid which they are unable to pay for. "New York is chosen as the seat of this institution, because it presents peculiar advantages to the organization of a fine hospital, and regarding it as the great medical centre for women, it is hoped that all parts of the country will aid in founding and supporting an institution, whose benefits will be shared by all. "The sum of $5000. will be sufficient to carry on a hospital of 40 beds for one year ; at the38 IN MEMORIAM end of that time it is believed that its value will be so clearly proved as to command continued support. All friends of the movement are urgently called on to aid in the collection of the amount needed for this practical trial. "Donations in money may be sent to the following friends of the enterprise: Mrs. Pendleton, 4 W. 22d St., N. Y. City. Miss Emily Howland, 78-10th St., N.Y. City. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, 79 E. 15th St., N. Y. City. Stacy B. Collins, Esq., 155 Bleecker St., N. Y. City. Robert Haydock, Esq., 46 Broadway N. Y. City. Merritt Trimble, Esq., 86 Broad St., N. Y. City. Miss Catherine M. Sedgwick, Lenox, Mass. Dr. William Elder, Philadelphia. George Willey, Esq., Cleveland, Ohio. James R. Lyle, Esq., Cincinnati, Ohio. New York, October 2, 1856." No doubt there are many people here to-night who fully realize what difficulties had to be IN MEMORIAM 39 overcome by the brave women who determined to establish this Infirmary for the protection of women and children, and for the purpose of affording women the opportunity of acquiring a medical training which at that time was wholly denied them. Still, as a Boston-born woman brought up in the midst of the anti-slavery struggle, which early became of necessity closely affiliated with the movement to secure for women their human rights, it seems to me that my appreciation of the heroism indispensable to success in this great work is of a peculiar kind. For this generation, not even a close study of conditions of that far-away time can convey a vivid idea of the disabilities under which women labored who ran counter to public sentiment, and to such an unheard of degree as to demand the right to qualify themselves for the medical profession. To stem the tide of ridicule and opprobrium, unusual qualities of mind and heart were needed, and great powers of endurance. But what more fortunate training could Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell and Dr. Emily Blackwell have had to40 IN MEMORIAM admirably equip them for the trials in store for them then that gained in the anti-slavery movement? Together with their brother, Henry B. Blackwell, they espoused the cause of the poor slaves with single-hearted devotion, possessed, too, of that martyr-spirit so characteristic of the faithful band of abolitionists. Tried and steeled in such a school, what wonder that these exceptional women, unusually gifted mentally, and full to overflowing with tender sympathies for the sufferings of others, unhesitatingly allied themselves with the advocates of that much derided Woman's Rights Movement, by means of which marvellous changes have been wrought in the condition of women, and which to-day, under another name, is destined by the invincible might of justice and right to still further uplift them in time to come. As compensation for such worldly sacrifices as the two sisters made, they rejoiced in the possession of that inward peace and true joy which accompanies a readiness and willingness to suffer for conscience's sake-undreamed of by those who have never had a similar experience. IN MEMORIAM 41 Thus it was of momentous importance to women-and what affects the welfare of women affects that of men-when Elizabeth Blackwell and Marie Zakzrewska, surmounting all obstacles in their path, established the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, Emily Blackwell soon uniting with them in this pioneer work. They brought to this great task a spirit of self-sacrifice and courage as noble as rare, and a medical knowledge and skill obtained under difficulties that might well have intimidated even the bravest of women. As Dr. Zakzrewska went to Boston in 1859-finally succeeding in establishing there the New England Hospital for Women and Children-the work of the Infirmary was carried on by the two sisters, Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Emily Blackwell, wonderfully supported by the able co-operation of Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi, Dr. Elizabeth Cushier, and others. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell left the Infirmary in 1869, continuing the practice of her profession thereafter on English soil. It ought never to be forgotten when we 42 IN MEMORIAM honor the two sisters Blackwell, that they held a private meeting in their rooms, at the beginning of the Civil War, for the purpose of determining in what way trained nurses could be provided for the soldiers. A notice of the meeting in the N. Y. Times resulted in a large attendance, and this was the beginning of that remarkable organization, the National Sanitary Aid Association, which did such wonderful work for the relief of our soldiers during the war. It was my good fortune to be elected to the Infirmary Board on November 12, 1880, and I was at once made a member of the Executive Committee. Mr. Samuel Willets was then President, Mr. Lucius Tuckerman, Vice-President, Mr. Jonathan T. Willets, Treasurer, and Robert Haydock, Secretary. My fellow members were excellent women, deeply in earnest, a number of them being Quakers. To this day the Quaker spirit of peace and good-will seems to pervade the meetings of the Board, and I doubt if on any Board men and women have ever shown more consideration for the opinions IN MEMORIAM 43 of others or worked in greater harmony. If time would permit, I would gladly linger over the long list of names of women members, and call attention to each one of them. I cannot fail, however, to speak of the devoted service given to the Infirmary by Mrs. Robert Haydock, especially during the ten years in which her husband filled the office of President. They were eminently conspicuous for the impetus which they gave to the work of the Infirmary, and they were ably assisted by Mrs. Thomas Hicks, Mrs. D. M. Stimson, Miss M. Collins, Miss Rachel Kennedy, Miss Grace H . Dodge, Mrs. Lucius Tuckerman, Mrs. George Haven Putnam, Mrs. O. N. Rood, Dr. Emily Anthon, Mrs. J. F. Wood, Miss Julia Gilman, Mrs. J. J. Carle, Mrs. M. G. Corbin, and others. On February 11th, 1881, Miss Julia B. de Forest was elected to the Board, but it was not given to us then to imagine what untiring devotion and remarkable initiative she was to so freely give to the furtherance of the needs and aims of the Infirmary. It goes without saying that the sinews of war must be furnished-44 IN MEMORIAM even when the warfare carried on is of that exalted kind of which battle with disease and untimely death-and which strains every nerve to prevent the causes of human ills. It is safe to say that to Miss de Forest's vigorous pleading for funds with which to meet the growing needs of the Infirmary we are largely indebted for the brilliant and successful accomplishment of humane endeavor that crowned her efforts and those of her associates. She had not only the generous co-operation of Mrs. Louis C. Tiffany, who, with members of her family, was ever ready to help enlarge the scope of usefulness of the Infirmary, but she was also able to awaken the interest of a large number of philanthropic men and women in this work, which to her was one of supreme importance, and for this alone she will ever be gratefully remembered. Dr. Emily Blackwell was for a long time one of the Board of Managers of the Infirmary, acting as such in a lay capacity which was greatly appreciated. Her advice and suggestions were sure to be admirable, and her quiet IN MEMORIAM 45 yet forceful personality gave weight to her every utterance. She is distinguished for having established a Chair of Hygiene, the first one to be found in any college. Ever in advance in all matter pertaining to the physical and moral regeneration of women and children, she early recognized the need of a broader outlook than that found in mere office practice, and the need for preventive, as well as curative, work was clearly impressed upon her thoughtful mind. It is to-day the keynote of our Social Service, which in another generation is destined to lift us out of the slough of despond and rescue the victims of untoward and cruel circumstances by means of something finer and nobler than mere charity- by persistent education as to the causes of evil conditions and untiring efforts for their overthrow. No one, I know, can really believe that this can be accomplished by men alone, however earnest their efforts to this end may be. Women, the sufferers most to be pitied of all, must act together with men to save not only women, but the human race itself, which is 46 IN MEMORIAM necessarily dependent upon the status of its mothers. We but discharge a heavy obligation resting on us when we gather together to do honor to Dr. Emily Blackwell and that advance-guard who have so diminished the sum of human misery, and made it possible for women to obtain a medical training equal to that of men. If much still remains to be accomplished, we can look confidently to the future, sure of success if animated by that forgetfulness of self and love of humanity exemplified in the noble lives of Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Emily Blackwell, Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi, Julia B. de Forest, and their disinterested, whole-souled co-workers. Dr. William H. Welch. 47Dr. William H. Welch. Introductory Remarks by the Chairman. WE are honored in having with us one who was fully cognizant of the part that Dr. Blackwell took in the early struggle to advance the standard of medical education for women, - the former Dean of Johns Hopkins Medical School, - that institution which gives what Dr. Blackwell always fondly hoped for, equal training to the undergraduate, and equal opportunity to the graduate men and women students -Dr. Welch. Dr. Welch: I ESTEEM it a great privilege to come here and to be permitted to pay my tribute to the lives and work of the Drs. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell. Their lives and work have been of great historical significance, how great we hardly realize to-day to the full extent. Theentranceof women into the profession of medicine is an event of importance, not only to the medical profession, 49 50 IN MEMORIAM but to humanity and to society, and it will always have a place in human history, and whenever that history is written it will begin with the name of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, and the year made memorable will be the year 1849, when she received her degree of Doctor of Medicine. It is true, there will be an introductory chapter, because there have been women doctors, and women who have practiced the profession of medicine without a degree from the earliest days. This is a curious bit of history in medical annals. In the Greek period we we read of Agnodice and of other female physicians. The 13th and 14th centuries, were remarkable for the number of women who both practiced and taught medicine. In the 18th century there were at last four or five women in Germany and France who received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. But these were isolated cases; they could not be said, in any sense of the word, to have opened the profession of medicine to women. That opening was accomplished by the work of Dr. Elizabeth IN MEMORIAM 51 Blackwell and her sister, and others who labored with them later. It is also of not a little in- medicine marked the opening of a larger sphere of interest and of work to women in general. It is somewhat curious that the entrance upon the practice of medicine should have been the first event in what is spoken of as the "woman's movement," for the movement for the higher education of women, and various other movements of a kindred character were subsequent to this. Therefore in a broad sense the work of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was pioneer work. If it had stopped there, it would have had historical significance. But not all pioneers have remained leaders, and it is remarkable that she was not only the pioneer, but, with her sister, also the leader for over fifty years in this very important movement. Everything, therefore, which relates to the beginnings of things which have become thus important, is certainly of the greatest interest. It is interesting, of course, to inquire what were the particular circumstances which led52 IN MEMORIAM Miss Blackwell to study medicine; what were the circumstances of her environment, of her early life, which directed her in this path. She came of an ancestry remarkable for independence of thought, for ability, and for liberality with, perhaps, a tinge of radicalism. She had an excellent early education, far better than that of the great majority of young men who then entered upon the study of medicine. She only had to supplement her classical training by some reading of Greek before she entered upon the study of medicine. She lived in Cincinnati, a pioneer Western town, at this period, where there was a very interesting and vigorous life-where there were men and women who were thinking new thoughts-where new ideas were stirring. The environment, I think, was favorable, and when you remember that the year was 1848-or about that- and recall what the year signified in this country and in Europe-what the Germans call "the spirit of the times,"-it is altogether a combination of circumstances of very great interest. Also of much interest is the consideration of IN MEMORIAM 53 the motive which led her to study medicine. It has been a matter of some discussion. Dr. Chadwick of Boston, in an interesting paper on "Women in Medicine," has taken the position that women entered upon the study of medicine simply to meet a kind of sentimental need-not that they had any peculiar fitness; no doubt, they thought women felt the need of women doctors from motives of delicacy, fastidiousness, modesty,- and it was to supply this need that women were drawn into studying medicine. But it is a mistake to suppose that that was the sole or even the controlling reason for the entrance of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell upon the study of medicine. It seems to me of sufficient interest, and I have extracted a few passages from her admirable autobiography called Pioneer Work in Opening the Profession of Medicine to Women. One regrets that it is so brief in relation to certain periods of her life, and the very first mention of her intention is in these words: " I soon felt the want of a more engrossing pursuit than the study of music, German, and meta-54 IN MEMORIAM physics and the ordinary interests that social life presented." That was the reason - she wanted a larger life. She wanted to escape from the trammels which bound women in those days. It was not to meet merely a sentimental need, such as that suggested by Dr. Chadwick, which led her to enter on the study of medicine. As regards the question of propriety, she has this to say: "It was at this time that the suggestion of studying medicine was first presented to me by a lady friend. This friend finally died of a painful disease, the delicate nature of which made the methods of treatment a constant suffering to her. She once said to me: 'You are fond of study, have health and leisure, why not study medicine? If I could have been treated by a lady doctor, my worst sufferings would have been spared me.' But I at once repudiated the suggestion as an impossible one, saying that I hated everything connected with the body, and could not bear the sight of a medical book." She goes on to say that her favorite studies "were history and metaphysics, and the very thought of dwelling on the physical structure of the body, with its various ailments, filled me IN MEMORIAM 55 with disgust." That is, of course, a familiar enough experience. It is a popular delusion that a repugnance, such as she had, is in any sense whatever an obstacle to the study of medicine, or that the possession of an opposite character represents any peculiar adaptability to the study of medicine. Then she later became very much interested in the opportunity open to medical women to accomplish certain social and moral reforms. These motives, however, were not conspicuous, at least at the beginning, and I do not think they are to be reckoned as the determining ones leading her to the choice of the profession of medicine. But there is one other motive which I find is expressed in these terms: "Other circumstances forced upon me the necessity of devoting myself to some absorbing occupation. I became impatient of the disturbing influence exercised by the other sex. I had always been extremely susceptible to this influence. I never remember the time from my first adoration, at seven years old, of a little boy with rosy cheeks and flaxen curls, when I had not suffered more or less from the56 IN MEMORIAM common malady-falling in love. But whenever I became sufficiently intimate with any individual to be able to realize what a life association might mean, I shrank from the prospect, disappointed or repelled. I find in my journal of that time the following sentence, written during an acute attack: I felt more determined than ever to become a physician, and thus place a strong barrier between me and all ordinary marriage. I must have something to engross my thoughts, some object in life which will fill this vacuum and prevent this sad wearing away of the heart.'" Mention has been made of the great hardships and obstacles. Now, I am inclined to think that they were, in some sense, the reason why she had concluded to study medicine. She consulted physicians in various parts of the country as to this question of studying medicine. She was, for the most part, discouraged, and some said it was a good idea, but an utterly impracticable one, utterly impossible for her to find an opportunity, and she had better abandon it. This verdict, however, no matter from how great an authority, was rather an encouragement than otherwise to any young, active person who needed an absorbing oc- IN MEMORIAM 57 cupation, and if the idea were really a valuable one, there must be some way of realizing it. "The idea of winning a doctor's degree gradually assumed the aspect of a great moral struggle, and the moral fight possessed immense attraction for me." I think, therefore, that the obstacles themselves were, in a certain sense, an attraction, as she has indicated, and are to be reckoned among the actual motives leading her to study medicine. She had a broad vision and she realized what it signified, and that she was opening a new path to women. Now, as regards her medical education. The members of the profession were mostly ungenerous and bigoted, but there were a few in those days who were sympathetic and who helped her. I think their names should be perpetuated, and in justice to my sex I would like to rescue the names of a few. Who could have wished, in those days, a better teacher in medicine than Dr. Samuel Dickson. Anybody who knows the history of medicine in this country, knows that he was 58 IN MEMORIAM one of the best qualified and most able members of the profession, a highly trained man, author of text-books of great value. He was one of our first practitioners. In order to earn money, after she had made up her mind to study medicine, she went first to Asheville and taught in the school of which Dr. John Dickinson was principal. There she read medical books and commenced her study. From there she went to Charleston where Dr. Samuel H. Dickson was professor in the Medical College and a leader in the profession. He was always sympathetic, and she received, undoubtedly, a very great stimulus and inspiration from him, and her reading was directed along the proper lines. In Philadelphia, directed by Dr. Warrington, Dr. Elder, and Dr. Allen, she had training in anatomy before she entered the School at Geneva, N. Y. The circumstances of her study at Geneva have been vividly told from personal reminiscences by Dr. Stephen Smith. We cannot say that the Faculty deserved much credit for her admission. But Dr. Webster and some of the IN MEMORIAM 59 other professors must have been admirable teachers--she certainly had an excellent training in anatomy. The beginning of Dr. Blackwell's study in Europe, and her two years in Paris and in London, are told in a fascinating way in her autobiography. She encountered great obstacles there, but she received a really remarkable training in La Maternité in Paris, and certainly no American student of the day enjoyed greater privileges than she did in this midwife's school. She says herself she would not have changed her position for that of other medical students. When we are told that the great leader of the medical profession, Mr. [later Sir] James Paget, Dean of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, took a personal interest in Miss Blackwell, and that Miss Nightingale, Lady Byron, and others took a great interest in her, I think we must concede that she had an exceptionally excellent medical training, that there was practically no medical student of the day who had a better. She was fully and admirably equipped for the 60 IN MEMORIAM work when she entered upon her practice in New York. She settled in New York in 1850, encountering the hostility of the profession, great social prejudice, and leading at first a lonely and isolated life. She early attracted the interest of an influential group of men and women, largely increased by a course of lectures which she gave in 1852 on "The Physical Education of Young Girls," and this was really the turning point in her medical work. She was led to the foundation of the Infirmary because she could find no opportunities at all for practice in the dispensaries in New York City at that time. The Infirmary was begun as a dispensary, and when her sister, Dr. Emily, returned in 1856 from her European trip, the Hospital was added. What happened in that interval? The schools which had occasionally admitted women for medical study had closed their doors to them. The State and local medical societies censured the schools which admitted women, IN MEMORIAM 61 and practically compelled them to withdraw this privilege. It is a very unpleasant chapter in the history of medicine. Independent medical schools for women were founded first in Philadelphia, in 1850, and then in Boston. The Drs. Blackwell were not particularly sympathetic with the friends of these independent schools, as they felt that they could not furnish ample opportunities for practice and for treatment. They founded the New York Infirmary, which later became a Hospital and Infirmary, in order to enable the students of these independent schools to obtain further training. Three purposes were aimed at-namely, the practical training of women, the opportunity for women to receive treatment by doctors of their own sex, and the training of nurses. Mrs. Villard has told in a very interesting manner the history of the Infirmary. I should like to emphasize in addition to what has been said that the Drs. Blackwell, long before other hospitals had conceived the idea, designed the Infirmary to be a training place for nurses, 62 IN MEMORIAM and that they fully realized the significance of the training of nurses for medical practice. We consider to-day that one of the most useful modern improvements in the work of our hospitals and dispensaries is the establishment of the so-called "social service work"-- that is, the employment of men and women who visit the patients in their homes. The Infirmary played here too an important and pioneer part. It has been altogether a most useful institution for the training and care of women. It has served nobly the purposes for which it was founded. It should receive the support of the citizens of this State. It would be a great pity not to have it continued with ever-increasing success. The College attached to the Infirmary was founded in 1865 and this has been referred to as one of the important works of the Drs. Blackwell. It is interesting to note that they founded the college to meet a need which, however urgent at the time, they believed to be a temporary one. They did not believe that separate colleges for women studying IN MEMORIAM 63 medicine could be anything more than a temporary expedient. They could only be patient and await the time when the larger institutions were thrown open to them. Dr. Blackwell uses these words: "The friends who established and helped support the Infirmary and its college for women, regarded co-education as the final step in the medical education of women." The necessity for co-education in some form becomes more evident the higher the character of the education. In no form of education is this more true than in that of medicine. She cites the foundation of the Johns Hopkins Medical School, which is co-educational, as sufficient reason for the abandonment of their medical school. I might say with reference to the opening of the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins to women, that the Faculty deserve very little credit. The conditions of our endowment are such that it must become co-educational. The money had been raised for this purpose, and we cannot, therefore, lay ourselves great virtue for64 IN MEMORIAM opening the doors to women. This, however, I may say--that we regard co-education as a success; those of us who were not enthusiastic about it at the beginning are now sympathetic and friendly. The embarrassments which one can conjure up have not materialized at all. The presence of women, as Dr. Smith has said, has lifted the tone not only of the students, but I may say also of the professors of the School, and our Hospital is thrown open to women graduates. One of the most successful teachers on our Faculty is a woman. When the School was closed, Dr. Emily Blackwell had this to say: "We have accomplished only the first step. We have secured for women the needed opportunities for undergraduate teaching. The next step is to secure for them the same opportunities, or similar opportunities that men have for hospital work, and that is to-day the great problem before women physicians." As medicine by advancing knowledge acquires greater power over disease, it has become apparent that its aid in the solution of 65 IN MEMORIAM the problems of modern society is essential. Thereby the opportunities for the work of women as doctors of medicine have been very much increased. Dr. Emily Blackwell expresses this admirably in an unpublished address which has been placed at my disposal: " While the needs and interests of women are inseparable from those of men, they are by no means identical, and we must hope and believe that in all questions connected with the family life, with sanitary, moral, and social problems, they will raise the tone, widen the perceptions and the attitude of the profession, so as to make it respond more perfectly to the needs of society, and exert a higher power for good in all directions." In the newer and wider mission of the physician of the future the work of women, in my judgment, will be an absolutely essential part, and their opportunity one of ever increasing usefulness. It is already so in certain directions. The outlook, I think, is therefore in every way most hopeful. The lives and work of Drs. Elizabeth and66 IN MEMORIAM Emily Blackwell are certainly full of lessons of inspiration. Especially are they full of inspiration to all women who have entered upon the paths which have been opened to them by their work. What patience, what practical good sense, what determination, what breadth of view, what high ideals, what boundless courage, were theirs! It must ever be a source of the utmost gratification that a great movement for a larger life and increased fields of usefulness for women - a movement too of deep significance for human society - should have been initiated and for so many years led by women of such resolute and noble character as those to whom we pay our tribute to-night. Dr. Abraham Jacobi. 67Dr. Abraham Jacobi. Introductory Remarks by the Chairman. ABOUT forty-five years ago, a group of medical students of the New York Infirmary Medical College, bent upon being quite up-to-date in medical education, might have been seen wending their way, once a week, to the Bellevue Hospital, to listen to the lectures given there by one of the professors who for some years had had the audacity to maintain that the diseases of children should receive special attention, - the Father of Pediatrics in America, - Dr. Abraham Jacobi. Dr. Jacobi: ELIZABETH and Emily Blackwell will long be revered by women physicians in America and Great Britain, and respected by the profession at large. They will be remembered together, though they differ in many respects. Both accomplished what nobody before them had succeeded in doing,- Emily, as a quiet modest example, so retiring indeed that for some time 6970 IN MEMORIAM she did not even accept the offer of membership in the New York County Medical Society-- three other women physicians preceded her. Elizabeth was an active worker, with purposes beyond the opening to women of the medical profession, and other forms of labor of both head and hand; a traveller from hemisphere to hemisphere; an agitator amongst the rich and poor, and wonderfully successful in her achievements. Personally, I have seen her rarely. I know her best from her work and her writings. Her labors in connection with the admission of women into the medical profession have been arduous, but never too arduous for the simplicity and strength of her character. That is why she does not over-estimate in her writings, mainly in her autobiography, her difficulties. She never feigns martyrdom. When she was admitted as a student, in 1847, she was well received, and the male students--for the first time, perhaps, but ever afterward, so far as she reports--were mannerly and respectful. In 1855, she writes in a letter to her sister: " Sims is now here. Seems to be in favor of women 71 IN MEMORIAM studying medicine. I think I shall help him in any way I can." You notice that was as early as 1855, six years after her own graduation, and four years after her entrance into New York practice. As early as that she knew she could help even Sims. In that year she reports that eight women, though " poorly prepared in Trall's Hydropathic Institute," were admitted, by Drs. Joseph Mather Smith, Gurdon Buck, and John T. Watson, to the clinics of the New York Hospital. As early as 1856, the New York Infirmary for Women and Children-- established for the sick, for students, and nurses,--then a few years old, counted amongst its consultants Mott, Parker, Sabine, J. R Wood, and Flint,--certainly no mean showing for the generosity and good will on the part of the heads of the New York profession. At the same time, she complains that, as means of instruction, women have no library, museum, hospital, dispensary; no clinics, no endowments, nor scholarships. True, indeed, but the male students were no better off, as every one knows who is old enough to re-72 IN MEMORIAM member, or has cared to study the strenuous and protracted efforts of the profession--not much aided by the schools--to improve means and methods. But again she reports that she "never had a difficulty in obtaining a necessary consultation from members of the profession." Thus it seems that at that time no unusual hard- ships were undergone, except occasional rowdy- ism on the part of what is frequently called a man; and when Emily, who had graduated in Clevelend in 1854, returned from Europe in 1856, I remember quite well that she, like her sister, was discussed pleasantly. I think it was in 1859, surely not later than 1860, that I requested her to charge herself with the treatment of young lady patient. Meanwhile, Dr. Elizabeth's success was quite marked. She wrote, and wrote common sense. She acted on what she printed later, such opinions as these: "The combination of qualities necessary to the physician's duties will undoubtedly render the number of female physicians comparatively small, but women may be trained to the nurse's duties." She 73 IN MEMORIAM admits, as the other sex admits of tits own: "Not all the members are honorable"; "A novelty will attract large numbers who are not fitted." She also speaks of the " mistaken expectation of rapid pecuniary profit." This question of financial profit can not and must not be overlooked. It is at the head of the list of reasons why women should--no matter what they attain in the science--be permitted to be in the practice of medicine. When, fifteen years ago, I was asked to report on American Women in Medicine, I told the Germans, amongst other things, that the woman question is no longer solved by men, no longer by women,--it is a social problem. Unfortunately, most questions have become bread questions. The development of Germany in favor of women doctors has since, as you know, been a very rapid one. Elizabeth Blackwell has established herself in history--so she should be known and appreciated, but not eulogized. There is no better eulogy for her than her autobiography, which is good, substantial, and instructive read-74 IN MEMORIAM ing--telling what she has accomplished and how. She will at once be recognized as a woman with more than one aim in life. The multitude of her interests and endeavors explains both her results and her partial failures. Among the first-fruits of her studies is the attention she pays to our manner of miseducating the young. With dismay she enumerates the subjects taught or not taught in our schools by teachers who know it all when they have an open text-book on their desks. You may not know what you were expected to know when you left your boarding-school,--I take it you went there, but hope you did not,-- grammar, ancient and modern history, natural philosophy, chemistry, botany, astronomy, mental and moral philosophy, physiology, rhetoric, composition, elocution, logic, algebra, German, belles-lettres, accomplishments, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, and Greek. Her lifelong interest in the health of the race was displayed in the attention she paid constantly to the education of the young and 75 IN MEMORIAM adolescent in sexual questions. The neglect of parents and instructors who do not teach as a warning and safeguard the dangers of self-abuse and premature sexual intercourse are castigated by her with convincing seriousness. The injury worked to our population by venereal diseases, communicated by women who mostly do not by men who always know they are diseased and dangerous, was well understood by her. She spoke of these things openly, when our hypocrisy disallowed any discussion of the subject. That was why when Noeggerath, forty years ago, pointed out with accuracy, and hardly without any exaggeration, the dangers to man, and mainly to woman, of gonorrhoeal infection, resulting in lifelong invalidism, chronic endometritis, salpingitis, sterility of American families, nobody in America wanted to publish it. That American doctor had to publish his paper--not " made in germany," since recognized as epoch-making-- in Germany. Elizabeth Blackwell would have been of76 IN MEMORIAM great help to us who are combating the Page Amendment, and trust that soon the compulsory reporting of venereal diseases will be enforced like that of other contagious ailments. Many of Elizabeth Blackwell's writings concern themselves with hygiene and kindred questions to a considerable extent. Here, however, she displays her excess of feeling and lack of sufficient knowledge. She says, as late as 1898: "Observation and rational experiment, solely for the benefit of one species of animals, may individually lead to the benefit of other races of animals. But direct experimentation on one type for the supposed benefit of another kind is unscientific. It is the error that vitiates the famous postulates of Professor Koch, through the system of "controls," the latest exemplification of this fallacy being the attempt to prove the existence of cholera in man by cultivating the bacilli in animals. The same error also produces the failure of Pasteur to prevent hydrophobia in man. It is thus seen that methods of biological research which involve cruel or destructive experimentation IN MEMORIAM 77 are both ethically unjustifiable and intellectually fallacious." It is readily seen that there is more postulation than argument in such statements. They are directed to the profession, which knows of no sex. If women, as I hope, will succeed, not merely in being considered full-fledged members of the profession, but in so considering themselves, that part of Elizabeth Blackwell's writings will be forgotten or forgiven. But such statements have also been made by her for the use and misuse of the public at large. The Encyclopedia Britannica and Chamber's Encyclopedia contain teachings such as these (p. 30 of Scientific Methods, 1898): "Destructive experimentation on helpless animals--not for their own benefit--is a demoralizing practice." Page 3: "By advanced instrumentation and post-graduate classes, the student is led on to take active part, under licensed authority, in this fascinating but morally dangerous method of study." "The practice of experimentation on animals is a great temptation to teachers of somewhat78 IN MEMORIAM shallow intellect." "Innumerable examples of atrocious cruelty are occurring in the records of medical research, as practised on the Continent and in America." "The pretence of anaesthesia served to diminish the resistance of the victims, not to annihilate pain. Yet such cruelties inevitably result from free vivisection." Such statements create great responsibility. Great natural gifts, love of the human race, of children, refined and pure character coupled with moral strength and inexhaustible patience, the faculty of popularizing her ideas and feelings,--properties which take possession of the warm hearts and idealistic tendencies of vast numbers of men and women,--all these are not a protection against the possibility of making mistakes dictated by the predominance of feeling over judgment. I wonder whether there are people whose brains and hearts may always be found in harmony and co-operation. Firm convictions, demonstrable or not, and one-sidedness, which in the most limited natures lead to fanaticism, are sometimes rewarded with great results, with or without crucifixion. 79 IN MEMORIAM Such one-sidedness as Elizabeth Blackwell exhibited in some things has always appeared to me to amount almost to a virtue. She was always occupied, her thoughts and feelings ran in the direction of usefulness to the great many. That is why occasionally she took things for granted. She was a very religious person, and religion was not the subject of meditation to her, but merely an axiom, a faith inherited and never debated or doubted. That is why no doubt ever came to her that, when she writes a book "from the standpoint of the Christian physiologist," or proclaims that it is the special work of the "Christian physiologist to discover the higher uses of our varied human faculties," such pleading offends the methods of modern physiology. It was not for her, however, to find new roads in science, by experimentation or otherwise. Hers was its application. That explains why the same superior person who knew that medical practice was not meant for one of the sexes--of which there are only two--never asked the question whether or not medical research and physiology were the80 IN MEMORIAM work or aim of one only of the religions-- of which there are a good many more. Moreover, her altruistic instincts made her look for the realization of sound principles of diet and hygiene, in preference to drugs. She lived at a period when the nihilism of Vienna-- during which the patient, like General Sherman's "dead Indian," was mostly appreciated when diagnosticated and autopsied-- had not outlived itself, and experimental pharmacology and close clinical observation had not taught us to rely so much on drugs as on other preservatives and adjuvants of health. More than merely a prescribing doctor, she was a humanitarian, in the sense of Virchow who, sixty years ago, preached to all ready to hear him, that the physician was meant to be the attorney of the poor. That is what made Elizabeth Blackwell say (Autobiography, p. 176): "Extremely sceptical in relation to the value of drugs and ordinary medical methods, my strong faith in hygiene formed the solid ground from which I gradually built up my own methods of treatment. Looking back upon a 81 IN MEMORIAM long medical life, one of my happiest recollections is of the number of mothers whom I influenced in the healthy education of their children." Such a remark is welcome in our own days, when the object of most of our endeavors is prevention, both for the adults and for the babies that have to be reared. The instruction in the most common rules of hygiene, beyond the securing of a clean and germ-free milk, is the treating of the children with pure and cool air, pure water for washing and drinking, regularity of well-prepared, cheap, and nutritious meals. I need not here say that, fortunately, the most nutritious child foods are also the cheapest. For practical purposes the simplest rules will be heeded best, the shortest lectures will be remembered best, and technical terms, when scrupulously avoided, may remain the private ornament of the doctor, and the nurse, and the dictionary. Elizabeth Blackwell would be a great power in our present New York exertions in the attempt at reducing infant mortality and fortifying infant health. She would say that there82 IN MEMORIAM is none of you young doctors that can not, must not, participate in this work of social improvement. We ought all of us to be prouder than we are, perhaps even vainer. I admit that at present I resent the remarks they will make about us in twenty-five or fifty years, when they will sneer at us who accomplished so little while waiting for a socialistic statesmanship to carry out the bidding of common sense and warm-hearted humanitarianism. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell will always be honored for what they have accomplished themselves and for the impulses they have conveyed to hosts of intelligent and altruistic men and women. Dr. Gertrude B. Kelly. 83Dr. Gertrude B. Kelly. Introductory Remarks by Chairman. AT the close of a campaign it was customary in earlier times to confer signal honor on the standard-bearer who had never in the heat or cold, in the camp or on the field, allowed his flag to be lowered. We have with us one who for many years has held and still holds high the colors unfurled by the two women whom we commemorate this evening, - Dr. Gertrude Kelly. Dr. Kelly: AFTER the beautiful tributes paid by Drs. Welch and Smith to Dr. Emily Blackwell, it would seem that there was nothing left for me to do but to lay another rose on her tomb, or add another stone to her cairn. But in a sense I have been commissioned by the students of the old college, her college, and by those to whom she was in the habit of referring as her "enthusiastic band of young teachers," to tell 85 86 IN MEMORIAM you a little of the meaning of the rose we would lay on her tomb, and the significance of the stone which we would add to her cairn. To us she was pre-eminently the Teacher. Above and beyond any structure which she reared, any institution which she founded, any work which she accomplished, any suffering she relieved, any contributions she made to medical teaching or to medical science--was the woman herself, her character, and her ideal. The Catechism of our childhood gave as the reason for the earthly sojourn of the Great Teacher, "to teach us by His life how to live, as He was to teach us by His death how to die." In all reverence be it said, she also taught us by her life how to live, as she taught us by her death how to die. This woman, who accomplished all you have heard of here to-night--who succeeded in wresting a college education and a hospital training from hostile authorities (and did not become soured, or embittered, or narrowed in the struggle), who earned the respect of her fellow-students to the extent testified to by Dr. Stephen Smith; IN MEMORIAM 87 who, with the eye of a seer, foresaw what every one sees now, that medical education without hospital training is a mockery and a delusion, and so wisely planted the seeds of her hospital before planting those of her college; who built a large and flourishing college with an enthusiastic corps of teachers, men and women; who, in the early days when older and more recognized men were not available, chose her younger men so wisely that almost without exception they rose to prominence in the medical world and the medical teaching world; who had sense enough to support the standing of the college, before her young men and women had had a chance to earn their spurs, by appointing an examining board of the older men from the different medical colleges of the city (three of whom are here to-night to testify to her worth); who, in times of stress, often with diminishing numbers and lessening income, never lowered the high standard of education, keeping it on a level with the best in the country; who recognized the value of Hygiene and of Pathology in their infancy, and was88 IN MEMORIAM among the first to establish chairs in these subjects-- and felt very proud when her young women began to occupy responsible positions in the world of Preventions and Scientifics as opposed to the purely Practical work of medicine; who, even in her earliest and most struggling days, succeeded by the force of her personality in attracting a body of trustees from among the best and most influential people in the city; and yet, in these days of blatant egotism, never once lost sight of the object of all these exertions, never once confused the end with the means, but was willing to give it all up and sink into obscurity again the moment wider opportunities in medicine seemed opened to women. A considerable time after the bolts and bars of Dr. Welch's institution were drawn (I am sure with Dr. Welch's approval), Cornell University started a medical department in the city of New York, and as, according to the charter secured by its wise and beneficial and liberal founder, there were no bolts and bars to be drawn, it seemed to Dr. Blackwell that the necessity for her IN MEMORIAM 89 institution no longer obtained, and she stepped aside with, "The moment it ceases to be the best thing women can get, that moment it ceases to exist," her only regret being for her young women teachers, who would be cut off from the intellectual and moral stimulus of teaching. It has been my fortune, or misfortune, to be associated with many causes for the world's betterment--causes hopeless and hopeful, causes national, political, and social, some of them involving more momentous consequences to the world and its welfare, perhaps, than the entry of women into medicine, and it has been my great good fortune to know many large-brained, whole-souled men, and many noble, devoted women, but I have never known man or woman with a clearer brain, a saner judgment, a wider outlook, a more whole-hearted devotion than had Dr. Emily Blackwell, whose death we now mourn. She has joined the "choir invisible of those immortal dead, who live again in minds made better by their presence."90 IN MEMORIAM President's Room Western Reserve University Adelbert College Cleveland Emily Blackwell received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the old Western Reserve Medical School in the Class of 1854, the first woman to receive a degree from the School. She prepared the way for the other eminent graduates, Dr. Cordelia Green and Dr. Zakzrewska. Western Reserve University and its Medical School unite in sympathy with those who assemble Wednesday evening to pay a tribute of respect to the character, of honor to the achievement, and of gratitude for the great human service, of Dr. Blackwell. CHAS. C. F. THWING, President. The Women's Medical Association of New York. Twenty-fourth January, 1911. The Memorial Committee regret that Dr. Wm. M. Polk and Dr. Emma B. Culbertson were prevented from delivering addresses, as promised, at the Memorial Meeting. The letter printed is one of many received in appreciation of the lives and services of Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Emily Blackwell.