Dr. Anna Elizabeth Broomall

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In: 19th Century Women, Activists, Medicine, Motherhood, Women's Rights

Anna Elizabeth Broomall (1847-1913) suffered name-calling, spit wads, and the anger of fellow male students in her battle to become a renowned physician of obstetrics. Anna Broomall was born in Upper Chichester, Pennsylvania to a well-to-do Quaker family. Her mother died in her infancy, and Broomall was raised by an aunt and uncle. Her father, John Broomall, a successful lawyer, and later U.S. Congressman, sent her to private academies in the area. She, at first, wanted to become a lawyer, but no opportunities existed at the time to study law. Instead, she decided to become a doctor. Her father, a supporter of women’s rights, encouragedRead More →

Ida C. Craddock

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In: 19th Century Women, Activists, Authors, Education, Motherhood, Spiritualism, Women's Rights

Ida Celenire Craddock (1857-1902) was born into a world where middle class women were expected to have little ambition, dutifully marry, and keep their mouths closed about sex. Brilliant and constrained by a domineering mother, Ida wanted more from life. She wanted a career, and she wanted to be heard. So, she left home to teach stenography at Girard College, a school for orphaned boys and write stenography textbooks. She also applied to the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts and Sciences. In 1882, she passed the exams and was accepted by the faculty to be the first female undergraduate, but her application was rejectedRead More →

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In: 19th Century Women, Daily Life, Education, Motherhood

“Woman’s great mission is to train immature, weak, and ignorant creatures to obey the laws of God; the physical, the intellectual, the social, and the moral.” Catherine Esther Beecher Born in 1800 into the famous Beecher clan which included Harriet Beecher Stowe of Uncle Tom’s Cabin fame and the infamous preacher Henry Ward Beecher, Catherine, as the oldest daughter, took over care of her nine siblings after her mother passed away when she was sixteen. When her fiance died in a shipwreck, she decided to use the money he left her to further the education of women. In 1824, she established the Hartford Female SeminaryRead More →

Anna Maria Jarvis Mother's Day Founder

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In: 19th Century Women, Civil War, Motherhood

The Mother’s Day that we celebrate today with cards, candy, and flowers is not the same as the Mother’s Day that was first conceived of by the women who worked to establish it. Ann Reeve Jarvis (1832-1905) was one of four women (including Juliet Ward Howe, Juliet Calhoun Blakely, and Mary Towles Sassen) who advocated for a day for mothers. These women wanted to see mothers become a political force as community organizers. As mothers themselves, they believed that other mothers, out of concern for their own children, would be strong advocates for peace and justice and addressing vital community needs. The story of howRead More →

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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In: 19th Century Women, Activists, Motherhood, Women's Rights

Stanton has gone down in history as a tireless fighter for women’s rights who spoke her mind and would not be cowed. She was also a tender and loving mother who didn’t tolerate nonsense concerning child-rearing. The following excerpt relates her experiences caring for her first-born. …I had been thinking, reading, observing, and had as little faith in the popular theories in regard to babies as on any other subject. I saw them, on all sides, ill half the time, pale and peevish, dying early, having no joy in life. I heard parents complaining of weary days and sleepless nights, while each child, in turn,Read More →