Faculty Appointments and Proceedings of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1852-1854

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 11/14/2025, 4:14:27 PM

Added description

Description

Faculty Appointments and Proceedings of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1852‑1854

Overview

This collection consists of scanned minutes, proceedings, and related documents from the Faculty of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania covering the academic years 1852‑1853 and 1853‑1854. The materials are in English, public‑domain, and are housed in the final‑drexel‑university repository. The items include printed pages and photographs of original hand‑written minutes, committee reports, and announcements.

Background

The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, founded in 1850 in Philadelphia, was the first institution in the United States to award medical degrees to women. The faculty met monthly to decide on appointments, curriculum, examinations, and administrative matters. The dean, David I. Johnson, and secretary, Wm. S. Peirce, oversaw the proceedings. The collection reflects the college’s efforts to establish a professional medical education for women and to navigate the challenges of a nascent institution.

Contents

  • Minutes of faculty meetings (1852‑1854) documenting appointments of professors in anatomy, obstetrics, surgery, chemistry, physiology, and other disciplines.
  • Committee reports on fundraising, museum preparation, dispensary operations, and the establishment of a demonstrator of anatomy.
  • Records of student examinations, ballot results, and the conferral of MD degrees, including theses on parturition, skin physiology, and medical jurisprudence.
  • Notices of resignations, new appointments, and honorary degrees awarded to women such as Harriet H. Hunt and Martha Browry.
  • Schedules of lectures, introductory courses, and the organization of annual commencements held at the Musical Fund Hall.
  • Financial details, including budgets for printing, advertising, and the purchase of anatomical apparatus.
  • Correspondence and administrative decisions concerning the college’s physical facilities and the appointment of a janitor.

Scope

The collection covers the period from September 1852 to March 1854, focusing on Philadelphia but also referencing students and faculty from New York, Boston, Providence, Galveston, and other locations. Topics include medical education, faculty governance, curriculum design, student assessment, and the institutional development of a pioneering women’s medical school. The materials exclude personal diaries or unrelated correspondence, concentrating solely on official faculty proceedings and administrative documentation.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

**College & Administration**

@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania:organization {type: "Female medical college", location: @philadelphia}
@david_i_johnson:person {full_name: "David I. Johnson", role: "Dean"}
@david_i_johnson -> dean_of -> @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania
@wm_s_peirce:person {full_name: "Wm. S. Peirce", role: "Secretary"}
@wm_s_peirce -> secretary_of -> @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania

**Positions (concepts)**  

@professor_of_anatomy:position {field: "Anatomy"}  
@professor_of_obstetrics:position {field: "Obstetrics"}  
@professor_of_practice:position {field: "Practice"}  
@professor_of_chemistry_toxicology:position {field: "Chemistry & Toxicology"}  
@professor_of_physiology:position {field: "Physiology"}  
@professor_of_surgery:position {field: "Surgery"}  
@professor_of_therapies_materia_medica:position {field: "Therapies & Materia Medica"}  
@professor_of_medical_jurisprudence:position {field: "Medical Jurisprudence"}  
@professor_of_medical_institutes:position {field: "Medical Institutes"}  
@professor_of_principles_practice_medicine:position {field: "Principles and Practice of Medicine"}  
@demonstrator_of_anatomy:position {field: "Demonstrator of Anatomy"}  
@honorary_md:position {title: "Honorary Doctor of Medicine"}

**Faculty (persons)**  

@seth_pancoast:person {full_name: "Seth Pancoast"}  
@ellwood_harvey:person {full_name: "Ellwood Harvey"}  
@enoch_c_rolfe:person {full_name: "Enoch C. Rolfe"}  
@joseph_s_longshore:person {full_name: "Joseph S. Longshore"}  
@abraham_livezey:person {full_name: "Abraham Livezey"}  
@david_j_johnson:person {full_name: "David J. Johnson"}  
@william_m_cornell:person {full_name: "William M. Cornell"}  
@mark_g_kerr:person {full_name: "Mark G. Kerr"}  
@ann_preston:person {full_name: "Ann Preston"}  
@hilbern_darlington:person {full_name: "Hilbern Darlington"}  
@r_g_thomas:person {full_name: "R. G. Thomas"}  
@martha_browry:person {full_name: "Martha Browry"}  
@harriet_hunt:person {full_name: "Harriet H. Hunt"}  
@lucinda_r_brown:person {full_name: "Lucinda R. Brown"}  
@henry_p_birenbaum:person {full_name: "Henry P. Birenbaum"}  
@k_g_thomas:person {full_name: "K. G. Thomas"}  

**Initial Faculty Appointments (1852‑1853 Session)**  

@seth_pancoast -> appointed as -> @professor_of_anatomy {when: @date_1852_10_28, source: @file_a092_001_042_jpg}  
@ellwood_harvey -> appointed as -> @professor_of_therapies_materia_medica {when: @date_1852_09_13, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  
@enoch_c_rolfe -> appointed as -> @professor_of_surgery {when: @date_1852_09_13, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  
@joseph_s_longshore -> appointed as -> @professor_of_obstetrics {when: @date_1852_09_13, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  
@abraham_livezey -> appointed as -> @professor_of_practice {when: @date_1852_09_13, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  
@david_j_johnson -> appointed as -> @professor_of_chemistry_toxicology {when: @date_1852_09_13, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  
@william_m_cornell -> appointed as -> @professor_of_physiology {when: @date_1852_09_13, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  

**Subsequent Faculty Changes (1853‑1854)**  

@ann_preston -> appointed as -> @professor_of_medical_institutes {when: @date_1853_03_18, source: @file_a092_001_048_jpg}  
@hilbern_darlington -> appointed as -> @professor_of_surgery {when: @date_1853_04_23, source: @file_a092_001_049_jpg}  
@r_g_thomas -> appointed as -> @professor_of_surgery {when: @date_1853_10_28, source: @file_a092_001_056_jpg}  
@mark_g_kerr -> appointed as -> @professor_of_therapies_materia_medica {when: @date_1853_05_06, source: @file_a092_001_050_jpg}  
@hilbern_darlington -> resigned_from -> @professor_of_surgery {when: @date_1853_05_25, source: @file_a092_001_055_jpg}  
@k_g_thomas -> appointed as -> @professor_of_surgery {when: @date_1854_10_28, source: @file_a092_001_056_jpg}  

**Demonstrator of Anatomy (Female Position)**  

@demonstrator_of_anatomy -> created_by -> @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania {when: @date_1854_01_02, source: @file_a092_001_057_jpg}  

**Honorary Degrees & Special Appointments**  

@harriet_hunt -> awarded -> @honorary_md {when: @date_1853_01_26, source: @file_a092_001_044_jpg}  
@martha_browry -> awarded -> @honorary_md {when: @date_1853_05_06, source: @file_a092_001_050_jpg}  
@lucinda_r_brown -> admitted_for_examination -> @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania {when: @date_1854_01_27, source: @file_a092_001_057_jpg}  

**Annual Sessions & Commencements**  

@annual_session_1852_1853:event {start: @date_1852_09_13, end: @date_1853_01_27, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  
@annual_commencement_1853:event {date: @date_1853_01_27, location: @musical_fund_hall:place, source: @file_a092_001_045_jpg}  

@annual_session_1853_1854:event {start: @date_1853_10_01, end: @date_1854_02_25, source: @file_a092_001_054_jpg}  
@annual_commencement_1854:event {date: @date_1854_03_02, location: @musical_fund_hall, source: @file_a092_001_058_jpg}  

@musical_fund_hall:place {city: @philadelphia, type: "Concert hall"}  

**Graduates & Theses (3rd Annual Commencement, 1854)**  

@hannah_w_ellis:person {full_name: "Hannah W. Ellis"}  
@hannah_w_ellis -> graduated_with -> @md_degree:document {thesis: "Parturition", when: @date_1854_02_25, source: @file_a092_001_046_jpg}  

@henrietta_w_johnson:person {full_name: "Henrietta W. Johnson"}  
@henrietta_w_johnson -> graduated_with -> @md_degree {thesis: "Functions of the Skin", when: @date_1854_02_25, source: @file_a092_001_046_jpg}  

@lucinda_r_brown -> graduated_with -> @md_degree {thesis: "Medical Jurisprudence", when: @date_1854_02_25, source: @file_a092_001_046_jpg}  

**Committee Activities (selected examples)**  

@committee_fundraising:organization {purpose: "Raise funds for immediate necessities"}  
@ellwood_harvey -> chaired -> @committee_fundraising {when: @date_1852_10_28, source: @file_a092_001_042_jpg}  

@committee_museum:organization {purpose: "Fit up and arrange Dissecting Room and Anatomical Museum"}  
@dr_fussell:person {full_name: "Dr. Fussell"}  
@dr_fussell -> chaired -> @committee_museum {when: @date_1853_05_27, source: @file_a092_001_053_jpg}  

**File‑to‑Content Mappings**  

@file_a092_001_042_jpg -> documents -> @appointment_seth_pancoast_anatomy:event {date: @date_1852_10_28}  
@file_a092_001_045_jpg -> documents -> @annual_session_1852_1853:event  
@file_a092_001_048_jpg -> documents -> @appointment_ann_preston_medical_institutes:event {date: @date_1853_03_18}  
@file_a092_001_054_jpg -> documents -> @annual_session_1853_1854:event  
@file_a092_001_058_jpg -> documents -> @annual_commencement_1854:event  

---  

*All dates are auto‑created entities (e.g., @date_1852_10_28).*  
*Common‑knowledge entities such as @philadelphia, @new_york, @massachusetts, @texas, etc., are referenced without definition.*

Metadata

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 11/14/2025, 4:14:27 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 11/14/2025, 4:05:22 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 11/14/2025, 3:58:22 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 11/14/2025, 3:57:15 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Faculty_Appointments"

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