a092_001_091.jpg

Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Faculty Meeting Minutes, November-December 1855

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 4:28:45 PM

Added description

Description

Female Medical College of Pennsylvania Faculty Meeting Minutes, November‑December 1855

Overview

This collection comprises scanned pages of the faculty minute book of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, covering the meetings held on 19 November, 3 December, and 17 December 1855. The material is presented in high‑resolution TIFF and JPEG images and is housed in the Drexel College of Medicine Legacy Center Archives under accession number ACC‑092. The pages are in English and reflect the deliberations of the college’s faculty during a formative period of the institution’s history.

Background

Founded in 1850, the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania was the first college in the world organized for the education of women in medicine. The faculty, led by Dean Ellwood Harvey, met regularly to discuss institutional governance, curriculum, and expansion. The November‑December 1855 meetings occurred amid plans to secure a new facility—the Preston Retreat at 20th & Hamilton Sts., Philadelphia—and to strengthen the college’s governing board.

Contents

The pages record a series of resolutions and committee formations:
  • Approval to rent or lease the Preston Retreat and the creation of a committee (Drs. Fussell and Thomas) to apply to its managers.
  • Formation of a committee (Harvey and Fussell) to present the above resolution to the Board of Corporators.
  • Election of Harvey, Fussell, Kerr, Birdsell, and Thomas to the Board of Corporation.
  • A resolution suspending lectures from 22 December to 31 December.
  • A resolution to recommend Prof. Fussell and Prof. Harvey for election to the board.
  • A note that Ann Preston’s name was removed from the minutes of the previous meeting due to her partial absence.

The images capture the handwritten minutes, including signatures and dates, and provide a visual record of the faculty’s decision‑making process.

Scope

The collection covers the faculty meetings held between 19 November 1855 and 17 December 1855 in Philadelphia. It includes all pages of the minute book for those dates, focusing on resolutions concerning the college’s physical expansion, board composition, and temporary suspension of lectures. The material is relevant to scholars of women’s medical education, institutional governance, and 19th‑century Philadelphia history. Access and reproduction of the images are subject to the archive’s use‑and‑reproduction policy, requiring written permission for use beyond fair use.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

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@resolution_suggest_board_cooperators:concept {description: "Suggest to the Board of Cooperators of the Institution"}

@resolution_elect_board_members:concept {description: "Elect Harvey, Fussell, Kerr, Birdsell, Thomas to Board of Corporation"}

@resolution_no_lectures:concept {description: "No lectures shall be delivered after Saturday Dec. 22nd until Monday Dec. 31st"}

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Metadata

Files (4)

a092_001_091.jpgJPEG
406.1 KB
OCR Text

Nov. 19th, 1855. The Dean being absent, Dr. Fussell was appointed to preside. Present, Drs. Kerr, Thomas, Preston, Birdsell & Fussell. The following resolutions were passed. Resolved, that the Faculty of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania agree to rent or lease the Preston Retreat located at 20th & Hamilton Sts. Phila. upon such terms as may be mutually agreed upon between the Faculty and Trustees of the said Preston's Retreat. Resolved, that Drs. Fussell and Thomas be a committee to make written application to the President and Managers of the Preston Retreat for that building for the purposes of a Female Medical College, and Hospital for Lying-in Women and Diseases of Women and Children. Ellwood Harvey, M.D. (Dean) December 3rd, 1855. Present, Preston, Fussell, Kerr, Thomas, Gillingham, Birdsell and Harvey. Committee on Preston Retreat reported that they had addressed the President and Managers of that Institution, but had received no answer. The following resolutions were passed unanimously: Resolved that we respectfully suggest to the Board of Cooperatorers of this Institution

a092_001_092.jpgJPEG
400.36 KB
OCR Text

the propriety and expediency of electing Ellwood Harvey, M.D., Edwin Fussell, M.D., Mark G. Kerr, M.D., Sylvester Birdsell, M.D., and Kersey G. Thomas, M.D., members of the Board of Corporation. Resolved, that Drs. Harvey and Fussell be a committee to lay the subject of the above resolution before the Corporators. Ellwood Harvey, M.D. Dean of the Faculty December 17th, 1855. Present: Preston, Kerr, Gillingham, Birdsell & Harvey. At the request of Dr. Preston, and none objecting, her name was crossed off from the minutes of the last meeting. Her reason for making the request was her absence during a part of the meeting. It was resolved that no lectures shall be delivered after Saturday Dec. 22nd until Monday Dec. 31st. The action of last meeting in regard to recommending certain persons to the Corporators for election to their Board was reconsidered; and it was unanimously resolved that the committee then appointed should recommend to the Corporators for election to their Board Prof. Edwin Fussell and Prog. Ellwood Harvey. Meeting adjourned. Ellwood Harvey, Dean.

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 4:28:45 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/4/2025, 4:17:49 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/4/2025, 4:07:53 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/4/2025, 4:04:20 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: 1855_November_December_Meetings"

Parent

01KBN1NF6RRQY5BZ97YQWTS579

No children (leaf entity)