Eclectic Female Physicians, Full Circle of Female Care
First Female graduate of Eclectic Medical School. 1853.
Dr. Brown's letter to parents revealing the horrors of self abuse
The first woman to graduate, not just attend, the Eclectic Medical Institute was Caroline Brown in 1853. Caroline Brown was an eclectic physician who moved to Washington, DC., and worked in the hospitals in 1864 during the Civil War. She later married and led society in Washington DC called the Moral Education of Washington and was an editor for the paper for this society, Alpha. Her eclectic training in female sexuality is evident in her discussion of masturbation. This letter reviews the hazards of masturbation as leading to mania and even death.
Her biographical entry is short, and another famous female physician, Alice Bunker Stockham, who attended the Eclectic Medical Institute but was not on the list of graduates, has similar characteristics in this biography in the public domain. Both of these women were excellent examples of the teachings of eclectic medicine.
Guide for women's health written by Alice Stockham
Alice Bunker Stockham is also credited as being the fifth female physician in the United States as is Caroline Brown. Regardless, of which biographical entry is right, they did both attend the Eclectic Medical Institute and became physicians in an age of limited professional opportunities for women.
Both women followed the training of the eclectics. Exercise, no corsets, and temperance. In this biography of women of the century, Alice Bunker Stockham wrote Tokology, a book on obstetrics and a health manual for women. She is one of the more renowned female physicians from this institute. Overall, the EMI graduated over 100 women physicians, but it appears that Dr. Stockham may not have actually graduated, but did attend when she was 20 years old in 1853.
More historical information about her is on this website:
The purpose of this small exhibit was to give a brief history of eclectic medicine which was a refutation of regular medicine in the 19th century and instead of a combination of traditional medicine and a plant-based medical practice that has led to the alternative herbal medicine of today. The eclectic branch of medicine became the alternative that existed in a time of great scientific discovery. Women's care and eclectic medicine were reflective of the sexual standards of the time while preaching a more scientific treatment of plants and experimental treatment than regular physicians. The eclectic medical physician, Dr. John King, was an example of the contradictory views of female sexuality and diseases. He would have been a teacher of more women in medical school than almost any other professor in the Gilded Age. His introductory lecture to medical students was to explore new medical therapies of the day, experiment, and cast off harmful medical practices of the lancet and the use of mercury. Yet, he could not cast off the moral views of his time.