Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Records, 1855-1856

Version: 10 (current) | Updated: 11/14/2025, 5:24:57 AM

Added description

Description

Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Records, 1855‑1856

Overview

The collection is a set of faculty minutes, administrative decisions, thesis examinations, and commencement records from the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania for the calendar years 1855 and 1856. It is presented in English as scanned originals (JPEG and TIFF) accompanied by JSON metadata. The materials are in the public domain and were digitized by the PINAX archival project under the “drexel‑production‑final” repository.

Background

Founded in 1850 in Philadelphia, the college was the first U.S. institution to award medical degrees to women. The records were produced by the college’s faculty and governing bodies, led by Dean Ellwood Harvey, and reflect the institution’s early governance, curriculum development, and expansion of facilities.

Contents

The collection contains:
  • Faculty meeting minutes (18 in 1855, 19 in 1856) documenting thesis evaluations, degree conferrals, faculty appointments, committee formations, financial transactions, and resolutions on facilities such as the Preston Retreat.
  • Administrative decisions covering committee appointments, lecture schedules, by‑law amendments, and financial matters (bills for janitorial services, printing, gas, etc.).
  • Thesis examination records and related bills.
  • Commencement documentation, including the Fourth Annual Commencement (March 10 1855) and the February 28 1856 degree‑conferral ceremony, listing graduates, speakers, and the Dean’s signature.
Key individuals include Dean Ellwood Harvey, Dr. Fussell, Dr. Thomas, Dr. Gillingham, and Prof. Mark G. Kerr. Geographic references span Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Bucks County, Jamestown, Palmyra, Toyicroft, Acton, and Utica.

Scope

The materials cover the period from January 1 1855 to May 28 1856, focusing on internal governance, academic administration, and the conferral of medical degrees to female graduates. They exclude external correspondence, patient records, and broader institutional histories. The collection serves as a primary source for scholars of early women’s medical education and 19th‑century academic governance.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

**1. Extracted entities from the new files**

```cheimarros
@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection {
    title: "Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Records, 1855‑1856",
    creator: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania,
    created: @date_1855,
    language: "en‑US",
    rights: "Public domain",
    description: "Collection of minutes, records, and administrative decisions from the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, covering faculty meetings, thesis examinations, commencement ceremonies, and administrative decisions from 1855 to 1856."
}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection

@file_a092_001_081_tif -> part_of -> @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection
```

**2. Additional place entities referenced only in the PINAX “place” list**

```cheimarros
@jamestown_ny:place {city: "Jamestown", state: "New York", country: @united_states}
@palmyra_ny:place {city: "Palmyra", state: "New York", country: @united_states}
@toyicroft_md:place {city: "Toyicroft", state: "Maryland", country: @united_states}
```

**3. Synthesis – linking the collection to the broader corpus**

*The collection aggregates the core entities that appear in the five sub‑directories (faculty meetings, thesis examinations, commencement ceremonies, administrative decisions, and the 1855‑1856 metadata).*

```cheimarros
@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection -> aggregates -> [
    @meeting_feb_15_1855:event,
    @meeting_feb_19_1855:event,
    @meeting_mar_10_1855:event,
    @meeting_feb_15_1856:event,
    @meeting_feb_22_1856:event,
    @meeting_feb_28_1856:event,
    @fourth_annual_commencement:event,
    @february_degree_conferral:event,
    @meeting_1855_04_24:event,
    @meeting_1855_12_31:event,
    @meeting_1856_05_28:event
]

@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection -> includes_person -> [
    @ellwood_harvey,
    @charles_d_cleveland,
    @mark_g_kerr,
    @ann_preston,
    @clinton_gillingham,
    @dr_thomas,
    @dr_fussell,
    @dr_farnell,
    @dr_birdsell,
    @dr_herr,
    @dr_russell,
    @dr_gilchrist,
    @mrs_emeline_horton_cleveland,
    @miss_elizabeth_collins,
    @miss_debbie_a_hughes,
    @miss_laura_j_ross,
    @miss_jane_l_starr
]

@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection -> covers_place -> [
    @philadelphia,
    @new_york,
    @ohio,
    @massachusetts,
    @connecticut,
    @bucks_county,
    @acton_me,
    @utica_ny,
    @jamestown_ny,
    @palmyra_ny,
    @toyicroft_md
]

@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection -> relates_to_concept -> [
    @women_in_medicine:concept {description: "Women’s participation in medical education and practice in mid‑19th‑century America"},
    @medical_education:concept,
    @faculty_governance:concept,
    @thesis_examination:concept,
    @commencement_ceremony:concept
]
```

*Key cross‑source patterns highlighted by the synthesis*

- **Leadership continuity** – @ellwood_harvey (Dean) and @charles_d_cleveland (President) appear in faculty‑meeting minutes (1855 & 1856), thesis‑examination reports, and commencement ceremonies, linking governance, academic assessment, and degree conferral.
- **Thesis workflow** – Students such as @miss_elizabeth_collins, @miss_debbie_a_hughes, @miss_laura_j_ross, and @miss_jane_l_starr receive thesis assignments from faculty (e.g., @dr_farnell, @dr_herr) in the 1855‑1856 meetings; the same theses are recorded in the **Thesis Examinations** sub‑directory and culminate in the **Degree Conferral** events of March 10 1855 and February 28 1856.
- **Administrative committees** – The **Beneficiaries**, **Advertising**, **Vacant‑Chairs**, and **Demonstrator‑Anatomy** committees are created in 1855 meetings, re‑appointed or expanded in 1856, and their members (e.g., @dr_russell, @dr_gillingham) are consistently tracked across the **Administrative Decisions** and **Faculty Meetings** sub‑directories.
- **Financial continuity** – Payments to the janitor @janitor_birnbacher, to vendors (e.g., “Ziegenfus & Carver”), and to advertising appear in both the 1855 and 1856 minutes, illustrating ongoing budgetary practices captured in the collection.
- **Geographic reach** – The collection’s “place” list (Philadelphia, New York, Ohio, etc.) matches the residences of students and the locations of external correspondences (e.g., @acton_me, @utica_ny), demonstrating the college’s regional network.

*Result*: The newly created `@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania_records:collection` serves as a unifying node that ties together persons, events, places, documents, and concepts across all sub‑directories, making explicit the institutional continuity and the inter‑linked academic, administrative, and ceremonial activities of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania during 1855‑1856.

Metadata

Files (1)

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v10 (current) · 11/14/2025, 5:24:57 AM
    "Added description"
  • v9 · 11/14/2025, 5:21:20 AM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v8 · 11/14/2025, 5:16:19 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v7 · 11/14/2025, 5:13:24 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 5 groups"
  • v6 · 11/14/2025, 5:13:22 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA0CGKE2Z9RENCHX83QG4ZYQ"
  • v5 · 11/14/2025, 5:13:21 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA0CGJ0MNPRBKNNPR24BWM80"
  • v4 · 11/14/2025, 5:13:19 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA0CGGH3EDNBX1HQZBMZ7VSP"
  • v3 · 11/14/2025, 5:13:18 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA0CGEYSFQXYCCFE6ZY8QXG9"
  • v2 · 11/14/2025, 5:13:16 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KA0CGDJ32R16X92F23CKF1MD"
  • v1 · 11/14/2025, 5:12:29 AM · View this version
    "Alphabetical chunk 5/11 (40 files)"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

The files were organized into logical groups based on their content, primarily focusing on faculty meetings, thesis examinations, commencement ceremonies, and administrative decisions. Files without OCR content were grouped based on their filenames and metadata. Files that did not fit into any of these categories were listed as ungrouped.

## Groups Created

- **Faculty_Meetings_1855**: Files containing minutes and records of faculty meetings held in 1855, including discussions on theses, examinations, and administrative decisions.
- **Faculty_Meetings_1856**: Files containing minutes and records of faculty meetings held in 1856, including discussions on degrees, appointments, and administrative updates.
- **Thesis_Examinations**: Files related to the examination and approval of theses submitted by candidates for medical degrees.
- **Commencement_Ceremonies**: Files documenting commencement ceremonies, including the conferring of degrees and related events.
- **Administrative_Decisions**: Files containing records of administrative decisions, including appointments, resignations, and committee reports.

Parent

01KA0BWKKC0W9GGC7SSXZ2526K

Children (5)