Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Faculty Meeting Minutes, 1856-1859

Version: 9 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 4:32:04 PM

Added description

Description

Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Faculty Meeting Minutes, 1856‑1859

Overview

This collection comprises scanned images and OCR‑derived transcriptions of the faculty meeting minutes of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania (FMCP) for the years 1856 through 1859. The material is drawn from the original bound minute book (catalog number a092_001) and includes all recorded meetings held in Philadelphia during that period. The pages are reproduced in high‑resolution JPEG and TIFF format and are accompanied by machine‑readable text for research use. The collection is housed in the Drexel College of Medicine Legacy Center Archives and is part of the Drexel Legacy Collections.

Background

Founded in 1850, the FMCP was the world’s first institution regularly organized to train women in medicine. Faculty minutes were recorded in a bound book and later digitized for preservation. The minutes provide a day‑to‑day record of the college’s governance, reflecting the deliberations of a diverse faculty that included physicians such as Ellwood Harvey, Ann Preston, Edwin Fussell, and Emeline H. Cleveland. The collection illustrates how faculty addressed curriculum, appointments, examinations, and administrative matters during the college’s formative years.

Contents

The collection documents the following meetings:
  • 1856: May 28, September 11, September 27, October 27, December 11.
  • 1857: February 6, December 16, February 17, February 19, February 23, April 24, September 22, September 25, October 10, October 25, December 20.
  • 1858: February 9, February 20, June 20, September 15, plus earlier entries from 1852 and 1857.
  • 1859: February 10, February 17, February 25, December 27 (preparatory meeting for 1860).

Key subjects include faculty appointments, curriculum changes, student evaluations, examinations, graduations, lecture schedules, and administrative by‑law amendments. Each page begins with the meeting date and list of attendees, followed by the minutes and any motions or resolutions adopted.

Scope

The collection covers faculty governance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 1856 to December 1859. It focuses on decisions that shaped medical education for women, including appointments, curriculum, examinations, and administrative policies. The material is limited to the minutes; it does not include student records, faculty biographies, or external correspondence. The collection is in English and is subject to Drexel Legacy Collections’ copyright and privacy restrictions; reproduction beyond fair use requires written permission.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:collection {title: "Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Faculty Meeting Minutes, 1856-1859", creator: ["Female Medical College of Pennsylvania", @ellwood_harvey, @edwin_fussell, @emeline_cleveland, @ann_preston, @mark_g_kerr, @hl_brown, @dr_russell, @dr_gillingham, @birdsell, @david_j_brown, @bradell, @finselle, @furseil, @turrell, @rothing, @semple, @sample, @furrell, @gormings, @bailey, @rockey, @temple, @roche], institution: @drexel_legacy_collections, created_range: {start: @date_1856_05_28, end: @date_1859_12_31}, language: "en", subjects: ["Minutes","Medical education","Women in medicine","Women physicians","Medical colleges","Faculty meetings","Curriculum changes","Anatomy","Surgery","Student evaluations","Lectures","Appointments","Examinations","Graduation","Medical degrees"], description: "Collection of faculty meeting minutes from the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania between 1856 and 1859, documenting decisions about faculty appointments, curriculum, administrative matters, student evaluations, examinations, graduations, and lecture schedules.", access_url: "PLACEHOLDER", source: "PINAX", rights: "Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Additionally, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by privacy and publicity rights, licensing or trademarks. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.", place: [@philadelphia, @chester_pa, @musical_fund_hall, @229_arch_street] }

@musical_fund_hall:place {city: @philadelphia}

@229_arch_street:place {address: "229 Arch Street", city: @philadelphia, state: @pennsylvania, country: @united_states}

@file_pinax:collection -> includes -> @pinax_collection:document {year: 1857}

@file_pinax:collection -> includes -> @pinax_collection:document {year: 1859}

@file_pinax:collection -> aggregates -> @faculty_meeting_may_28_1856:event

@file_pinax:collection -> aggregates -> @meeting_1857_02_06:event

@file_pinax:collection -> aggregates -> @meeting_feb_9_1858:event

@file_pinax:collection -> aggregates -> @meeting_feb_3_1859:document

@ellwood_harvey -> present at -> @faculty_meeting_may_28_1856:event

@ellwood_harvey -> present at -> @meeting_1857_02_06:event

@ellwood_harvey -> present at -> @meeting_feb_9_1858:event

@ellwood_harvey -> present at -> @meeting_feb_3_1859:document

@ann_preston -> present at -> @faculty_meeting_may_28_1856:event

@ann_preston -> present at -> @meeting_1857_02_06:event

@ann_preston -> present at -> @meeting_feb_9_1858:event

@ann_preston -> present at -> @meeting_feb_3_1859:document

@dr_russell -> present at -> @faculty_meeting_may_28_1856:event

@dr_russell -> present at -> @meeting_1857_02_06:event

@dr_russell -> present at -> @meeting_feb_9_1858:event

@dr_russell -> present at -> @meeting_feb_3_1859:document

@emeline_cleveland -> present at -> @meeting_1857_02_06:event

@emeline_cleveland -> present at -> @meeting_feb_9_1858:event

@emeline_cleveland -> present at -> @meeting_feb_3_1859:document

@mark_g_kerr -> present at -> @faculty_meeting_may_28_1856:event

@hl_brown -> present at -> @faculty_meeting_may_28_1856:event

@dr_gillingham -> present at -> @faculty_meeting_may_28_1856:event

@birdsell -> present at -> @meeting_feb_3_1859:document

@birdsell -> appointed -> @meeting_dec_27_1858:document {role: "valedictory address"}

@pinax_collection:document {title: "Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Faculty Meeting Minutes, 1857", creator: ["Female Medical College of Pennsylvania", @ellwood_harvey, @ann_preston, @edwin_furness, @sylvester_birdsell, @emeline_cleveland, @david_j_brown]}

@pinax_collection:document {title: "Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Faculty Meeting Minutes, 1859", creator: ["Female Medical College of Pennsylvania", @preston, @cleveland, @birdsell, @sample, @furrell, @gormings, @bailey, @rockey, @temple, @roche]}

@pinax_collection:document -> documents -> @meeting_feb_3_1859

@pinax_collection:document -> documents -> @meeting_feb_10_1859

@pinax_collection:document -> documents -> @meeting_feb_17_1859

@pinax_collection:document -> documents -> @meeting_feb_25_1859

@meeting_feb_3_1859 -> resolved -> {session_close: @date_1859_03_15}

@meeting_feb_3_1859 -> admitted -> @bailey:person {to_examination: true, degree: @mp_degree}

@meeting_feb_3_1859 -> extended -> {application_deadline_extension: 10, unit: "days"}

@meeting_feb_10_1859 -> resolved -> {preliminary_examinations: true, attendees: "all faculty"}

@meeting_feb_14_1859 -> reported -> {applications: [{student: @botry, topic: "Circulation of the Blood", advisor: @birdsell}, {student: @stratton, topic: "Hydrogen", advisor: @semple}, {student: @underwood, topic: "Water", advisor: @cleveland}, {student: @shelley, topic: "Enteroplies", advisor: @roche}, {student: @adams, topic: "Digestion", advisor: @preston}, {student: @porter, topic: "Uterine Displacements", advisor: @furrell}]}

@meeting_feb_25_1859 -> resolved -> {degree_conferred: @mp_degree, recipients: [@underwood, @bailey, @stratton, @adams, @porter, @mellen]}

@meeting_feb_25_1859 -> recommended -> @nyork_womans_infirmary:organization {for: "graduates"}

Metadata

Version History (9 versions)

  • ✓ v9 (current) · 12/4/2025, 4:32:04 PM
    "Added description"
  • v8 · 12/4/2025, 4:24:54 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v7 · 12/4/2025, 4:10:33 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v6 · 12/4/2025, 4:04:22 PM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 4 groups"
  • v5 · 12/4/2025, 4:04:21 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBN1PY77RN6SMAD75B61B9B1"
  • v4 · 12/4/2025, 4:04:19 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBN1PWBNVCAQ4WPA8151J2KH"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 4:04:16 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBN1PT7QWTD42GSBB4MFTTA1"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 4:04:15 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KBN1PRQBDZRPBTE8DYMYBW8Q"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 4:03:34 PM · View this version
    "Alphabetical chunk 6/11 (40 files)"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Files were organized chronologically by year into distinct groups based on the meeting dates recorded in their content. Each group contains both the reference JSON files and their corresponding image files (JPG/TIF) that document faculty meetings from that year. This approach maintains the temporal sequence of institutional decisions while keeping related documents together.

## Groups Created

- **1856_meetings**: Faculty meeting minutes from 1856 discussing appointments, curriculum changes, and student admissions
- **1857_meetings**: Faculty meeting minutes from 1857 covering thesis examinations, faculty appointments, and curriculum adjustments
- **1858_meetings**: Faculty meeting minutes from 1858 including thesis approvals, commencement planning, and session scheduling
- **1859_meetings**: Faculty meeting minutes from 1859 documenting candidate examinations, graduation votes, and curriculum decisions

Parent

01KBN1DYGT4HKHTJ7FNZN9RSZP

Children (4)