Sarah C. Hall (1832–1926) was an American pioneer woman physician. She held leadership positions in various women's suffrage organizations, and was also associated with the Order of the Eastern Star, Woman's Relief Corps (WRC), and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).[1]
Dr. Sarah C. Hall M.D. | |
|---|---|
 Portrait photo from A Woman of the Century | |
| Born | Sarah C. Larkin August 15, 1832 Madison County, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 30, 1926 Elgin, Illinois, U.S. |
| Burial place | Evergreen cemetery, Fort Scott, Kansas, U.S. |
| Education | Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Spouse |
Earl J. Hall (m. 1853–1911) |
Early life and education edit
Sarah C. Larkin was born on a farm in Madison County, New York, on August 15, 1832. Her parents were of mixed English and Irish ancestry. She was collaterally related to Commodore Matthew C. Perry. Her family were Quakers, and she was educated in the society and wore its style of clothing until she was a young woman.
Teacher edit
At the age of 16, she began to teach school and boarded round, which she continued to do till her marriage with Earl J. Hall (died 1911),[1] on October 12, 1853.[2] The couple went west from Philadelphia on their wedding tour and stopped at Indianapolis, Indiana. Looking over that city, they liked it and located there, where they remained for 18 years.[2] There, she took a prominent part in organized charity work. She also taught in city schools at times till she took up the study of medicine.[1]
Medical school edit
Her inclination would have led her to study law, but the influence of her family doctor, J. T. Boyd, who urged upon her the great necessity for women physicians and offered his services as her preceptor, decided her course. Except from him, she received but little encouragement in this choice. Her preparatory studies were made while caring for her two children and doing all her housework and sewing.[1]
In 1867, she entered the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in 1870. She was one of the class which, in November 1869, was insulted by the male students at the first Pennsylvania hospital clinic to which women were admitted, ignored by the lecturers, and followed and almost mobbed on the streets.[1]
Kansas edit
On a trip to Kansas City, Kansas, Mr. Hall heard of the unprecedented growth of Fort Scott, Kansas. They moved to Fort Scott in the latter part of 1870.[2] She was one of the very first regularly qualified women physicians to practice in Kansas. She eventually became a member of the County Medical Society, chiefly to give company to a young woman doctor, who had just begun practice in the city and wished to join the society. Hall was also a member of the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. She held the position of medical examiner to several insurance orders.[1]
Although necessarily making her profession her chief task, Hall was a charter member of the Order of the Eastern Star and an active member of the WRC, holding high offices in both organizations.[1] She was also a charter member of the Mollie Foster Berry Chapter of the DAR.[3] The chapter was named for her ancestor, and her daughter, Miss Frances Hall, was its first regent.[2]
Hall had a strong interest in women's suffrage. Her attention was first called to the need for its public recognition when she received US$8 a month and board for teaching at the same school for which a man had the season before received US$24 a month and board, although the whole district declared her work to be better than his. Later and wider experience deepened her conviction. She attended many of the early suffrage conventions, both national and local. After moving to Kansas she was at first identified with suffrage work only in her city, but during the campaign for municipal suffrage, in 1886 and 1887, she came prominently forward in the State councils, and she seldom since lost an opportunity to aid wherever possible. Several times, she served on the executive committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the National American Woman Suffrage Association, holding the position of Honorary Vice President for Kansas in the latter organization.[1][4] She was also the President of the Bourbon County, Kansas Equal Suffrage Association.[5]
In 1888, she was elected to serve a three-year term on the Fort Scott school board.[1]
Death and legacy edit
Hall was the mother of two children, Clarence and Frances.[2]
She helped found the Unitarian Society at Fort Scott.[2]
Widowed in 1911, Hall sold the family home and with her daughter, Frances, moved to Elgin, Illinois.[2] Dr. Hall died in Elgin, May 30, 1926, age 93.[6] Burial was at the Evergreen cemetery, Fort Scott.[2]
An oil painting of Hall by H. W. Cuthbertson is held by the National Portrait Gallery.[7]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). "HALL, Mrs. Sarah C,". A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Charles Wells Moulton. pp. 351–52. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kansas State Historical Society (1927). "Doctor Sarah C. Hall". Biennial Report. Kansas State Historical Society. pp. 137–38. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Daughters of the American Revolution (1926). "Mrs. Sarah C. Larkin Hall. 87708". Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. Retrieved 18 April 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ The Hand Book of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and Proceedings of the ... Annual Convention. 1909. p. 140. Retrieved 18 April 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Bourbon County Equal Suffrage Association". The Fort Scott Weekly Tribune. 28 November 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 18 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Woman Doctor Dies. Dr. Sarah C. Hall, 92, Passes Away at Elgin, Ill". The Morning Chronicle. 1 June 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 18 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Sarah C. Larkin Hall". npg.si.edu. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
External links edit
Works related to Woman of the Century/Sarah C. Hall at Wikisource
