Faculty Meeting Minutes, October-November 1859

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 4:29:34 PM

Added description

Description

Faculty Meeting Minutes, October–November 1859 (Female Medical College of Pennsylvania)

Overview

This collection comprises scanned pages from the minute book of the faculty of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, documenting the faculty meetings held on 15 October and 15 November 1859. The materials are held by the Drexel Legacy Collections and are presented in English. The primary source is a TIFF image of page 125, accompanied by an OCR‑derived text file that reproduces the meeting notes.

Background

The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, founded in 1850, was the first institution in the world dedicated to the medical education of women. The college’s faculty met regularly to discuss academic, administrative, and financial matters. Minutes of these meetings were recorded and preserved in a bound minute book, of which page 125 is a representative sample. The collection reflects the college’s early governance and its engagement with broader medical and educational communities.

The pages record the following key events and discussions:

On 15 October, Dr. Birdsell motioned and the faculty unanimously voted to recommend Dr. Reynell Coates to the College Corporation as chair of Surgery.
The Committee on Beneficiaries reported the admission of three new students—Hilda Anthony (New York), Frances L. Evans (New York), and M.C. Redmond (Washington, D.C.).
Dr. Birdsell and Cleveland Evans were appointed clinic physicians for the coming year.
On 15 November, the faculty officially elected Dr. Coates as Professor of Surgery.
The Fourth Annual Session commenced with an introductory lecture by Professor Ann Preston, addressed to an audience of both sexes.
The dean was authorized to expend $35 for the purchase of a skeleton for faculty use.

Scope

The collection covers the period from 15 October to 15 November 1859 and documents faculty deliberations on appointments, admissions, and operational matters. It includes only the scanned page(s) from the minute book (page 125) but represents the broader set of faculty minutes from that academic year. The materials are geographically tied to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and reflect the college’s interactions with New York and Washington, D.C. The collection is suitable for researchers studying early women’s medical education, faculty governance, and institutional history.

Entities

(loading...)

Entity Relationships

(loading...)

Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:file {title: "Faculty Meeting Minutes, October-November 1859", type: "Text", creator: ["Female Medical College of Pennsylvania", "Ann Preston", "Birdsell, Dr.", "Cleveland, Emeline H.", "Coates, Reynell", "Evans, Cleveland"], institution: "Drexel Legacy Collections", start: @date_1859_10_15, end: @date_1859_11_15, language: "en"}

@file_a092_001_125_jpg:file {title: "Page 125 OCR Image", date: @date_1859_10_15, description: "Scanned page with OCR text of faculty meeting minutes"}

@file_a092_001_125_tif:file {title: "Page 125 TIFF Image", date: @date_1859_10_15, description: "Scanned image of page 125"}

@faculty_meeting_minutes_oct_nov_1859:document {description: "Minute book pages documenting faculty meetings of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania in October and November 1859", language: "en"}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @faculty_meeting_minutes_oct_nov_1859

@faculty_meeting_minutes_oct_nov_1859 -> contains -> @faculty_meeting_october_1859:event {when: @date_1859_10_15, where: @philadelphia}

@faculty_meeting_minutes_oct_nov_1859 -> contains -> @faculty_meeting_november_1859:event {when: @date_1859_11_15, where: @philadelphia}

@file_a092_001_125_jpg -> documents -> @faculty_meeting_october_1859:event

@file_a092_001_125_jpg -> documents -> @faculty_meeting_november_1859:event

@female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania:organization {full_name: "Female Medical College of Pennsylvania", founded: @date_1850, type: "Medical college"}

@drexel_legacy_collections:organization {full_name: "Drexel Legacy Collections"}

@ann_preston:person {full_name: "Ann Preston", role: "Dean", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@dr_birdsell:person {full_name: "Birdsell", title: "Dr.", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@reynell_coates:person {full_name: "Reynell Coates", title: "Dr.", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@emeline_cleveland:person {full_name: "Emeline H. Cleveland", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@frances_evans:person {full_name: "Frances L. Evans", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@hilda_anthony:person {full_name: "Hilda Anthony", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@mc_redmond:person {full_name: "M.C. Redmond", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@committee_on_beneficiaries:organization {type: "Committee", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@college_corporation:organization {full_name: "College Corporation", affiliation: @female_medical_college_of_pennsylvania}

@dr_birdsell -> motioned -> @reynell_coates {purpose: "recommendation to corporation as chair of Surgery"}

@college_corporation -> recommended -> @reynell_coates {position: "Chair of Surgery", date: @date_1859_10_15}

@committee_on_beneficiaries -> reported_admission_of -> [@hilda_anthony, @frances_evans, @mc_redmond] {origin: ["New York", "New York", "Washington, D.C."]}

@dr_birdsell -> appointed_clinic_physician -> @emeline_cleveland

@dr_birdsell -> appointed_clinic_physician -> @frances_evans

@faculty_meeting_november_1859:event -> elected -> @reynell_coates {position: "Professor of Surgery", date: @date_1859_11_15}

@faculty_meeting_november_1859:event -> fourth_annual_session_commenced -> @ann_preston {role: "Lecturer"}

@ann_preston -> delivered -> @introductory_lecture:event {audience: "both sexes"}

@dean -> authorized_expenditure -> @skeleton_purchase:object {amount: 35, currency: "USD", purpose: "purchase of a skeleton for faculty use"}

@skeleton_purchase:object {type: "anatomical skeleton"}

Metadata

Title: Faculty Meeting Minutes, October-November 1859
Type: Text
Creator: Female Medical College of PennsylvaniaPreston, AnnBirdsell, Dr.Cleveland, Emeline H.Coates, ReynellEvans, Cleveland
Institution: Drexel Legacy Collections
Created: 1859-10-15/1859-11-15
Language: en
Subjects: Faculty meetings, Medical education, Women in medicine, Medical colleges--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia, Medical colleges--Faculty, Medical colleges--Committees
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 (Pa.), New York (N.Y.), Washington (D.C.)
Source: PINAX

Files (2)

a092_001_125.jpgJPEG

389.97 KB

OCR Text

Saturday Oct 15th 1859 Present—All the Professors—A lecturing card was agreed upon. On motion of Dr Birdsell it was voted unanimously that Dr Reynell Coates be recommended to the Corporation as a proper person to fill the chair of Surgery now vacant. The Committee on Beneficiaries reported the admission as students, on this foundation of Mrs. Hilda Anthony of N.York, Mrs. Frances L. Evans of N.York and Mrs. M.C. Redmond of Washington, D.C. Dr. Birdsell & Cleveland Evans appointed clinic physicians for the ensuing year. Adjourned Nov 15th 1859 Official notice was given to the Faculty of the election of Reynell Coates, M.D., as Professor of Surgery. The Fourth Annual Session was commenced by the delivery of the general introductory lecture by Prof. Preston to a crowded & attentive audience of both sexes. The Dean was unanimously authorized to expend $35 for the purchase of a skeleton for the use of the Faculty.

a092_001_125.tifTIFF

46.86 MB

Version History (4 versions)

✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 4:29:34 PM
"Added description"
v3 · 12/4/2025, 4:20:39 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction"
v2 · 12/4/2025, 4:08:44 PM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata"
v1 · 12/4/2025, 4:05:08 PM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Faculty_Meetings_October-November_1859"

Parent

↑ 01KBN1NJGF98PWFR76Y2314A7P

No children (leaf entity)