Anne Marie Joseph Claire Paula Yvonne Silvain (1907 - 1989)

Born 28 Jun 1907 in Port-au-Prince, Ouest, Haiti

Ancestors

Died 3 Oct 1989 at age 82 in Haiti

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Biography

Yvonne Silvain is Notable.

Yvonne Silvain was born in Haiti.

Yvonne Sylvain (French pronunciation: [ivɔn silvɛ̃]) was the first woman accepted into the University of Haiti Medical School and subsequently became the first female medical doctor from Haiti.

Anne Marie Joseph Claire Paula Yvonne Sylvain was born on 28 June 1907 in Port au Prince, Ouest, Haiti.^[1][2] She was the sixth of seven children of the poet, diplomat and lawyer Georges Sylvain and his wife Eugénie.^[3]

Sylvain initially trained as a teacher and artist. But the premature deaths of family members, including her parents, inspired her to become a doctor. She entered the University of Haiti's School of Medicine in 1940; she was the first woman in the country to qualify. She then studied 5 years in New York, United States, at Columbia University and the New York Postgraduate Medical School and specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology. She returned to Haiti in 1945 and began practice and teaching at Port-au-Prince. She briefly returned to New York in 1947 to learn how to deliver epidural anaesthetics.^[3]

On 19 June 1947, Yvonne Sylvain, age 40, single arrived at New York from Miami Florida. She was on her way to Port au Prince, Haiti.^[4]

While Haiti was under Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, from 1957 to 1971, he roused his supporters against the French-speaking elite minority, to which Sylvain belonged. Sylvain left the country, like many others; she spent most of the Duvalier presidency as a World Health Organization delegate for public health in west Africa, and worked as a doctor in Senegal and Costa Rica. She returned to Haiti in 1973.^[3]

On 17 Sep 1960, Yvonne G Sylvain, born 28 June 1907 in Haiti, arrived at New York City, New York, United States on flight PAA117 from Paris, Rance. She listed her permanent address as South Orange, New Jersey.^[2]

She passed away in 1989.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ "Haïti, état civil, 1794-2012", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6F5S-3Y13 : 13 June 2022), Georges Sylvain in entry for Anne Marie Joseph Claire Pula Ivonne Sylvain, 1907.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1967", The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; NAI Number: 2848504; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: A3998; NARA Roll Number: 391, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1277 #7856639 (accessed 7 April 2023), Name: Yvonne G Sylvain; Arrival Age: 53; Birth Date: 28 Jun 1907; Birth Place: Haiti (Port Au Prince); Arrival Date: 17 Sep 1960; Arrival Place: New York, New York, USA.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} "Yvonne Sylvain: women's health pioneer in Haiti" by Georgina Ferry. The Lancet, Volume 392, Issue 10155, p1299, 13 Oct 2018. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32397-3
4. ↑ "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957", Year: 1947; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 1; Page Number: 331, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #3022447165 (accessed 7 April 2023), Name: Yvonne Sylvain; Gender: Female; Ethnicity/ Nationality: West Indian (Native American); Marital status: Single; Age: 40; Birth Date: abt 1907; Birth Place: Haiti; Other Birth Place: Port Au Prince, Haiti; Last Known Residence: Port Au Prince, Haiti; Departure Port: Miami, Florida; Arrival Date: 19 Jun 1947; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Final Destination: Port Au Prince, Haiti; Height: 5 Ft. 5 In.; Hair Color: Black; Eye Color: Brown; Complexion: Dark; Money in Possession: $2695.00; Airline: Pan American Airways; Flight Number: Nc-88919.

See also:

• Wikipedia entry for Yvonne Silvain

Acknowledgements

• This profile has been contributed to by the members of the WikiTree 15 Nations Global Tour of 2023