Mary Thompson MD
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Mary Harris Thompson MD (1829 - 1895)

Mary Harris Thompson MD
Born in Fort Ann, Washington, New York, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at age 66 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 17 Feb 2020
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Biography

'New York state flag'
Mary Thompson MD was born in New York.
Mary worked for the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War; one of the first women to practice medicine in Chicago, first woman to perform major surgery in the United States, founder, head physician and surgeon of the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children, founder of the Women's Medical College and Nursing School.
Mary Thompson MD was interred in New York.

Mary was born 15 April 1829 in Fort Ann, New York. Her parents were John Harris Thompson and Calista Corbin Thompson.

She attended school at Fort Edward Institute in Fort Edward, New York and at West Poultney Academy in Vermont.

1850 United States Federal Census: Fort Ann, Washington, New York, United States[1]
Name Sex Age Occupation Birth Place
John H Thompson M 51 years New York
Caliste Thompson F 49 years New York
Emily Thompson F 26 years New York
Mary Thompson F 22 years New York
Amelia Thompson F 20 years New York
Lamb A Thompson F 18 years New York
John H Thompson M 16 years New York
Laura B Thompson F 14 years New York
James Y Thompson M 12 years New York
Herbert J Thompson M 10 years New York

In 1860, Mary decided to become a physician. She enrolled in the New England Female Medical College in Boston. Included in her studies was a one-year internship at the New York Infirmary for Women and Children under Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. She graduated in 1863 and moved to Chicago, Illinois. In July, in the midst of the Civil War, she worked for the Northwestern Sanitary Commission (a branch of the United States Sanitary Commission), caring for women and children who had lost their husbands and fathers in the war.

As was true with all women doctors at the time, Mary was not able to practice medicine at hospitals because she was a woman. In Chicago, women were not permitted to be on hospital staffs, and one hospital did not admit women as patients. Seeing an enormous number of women and children needing medical care and support, she set out to create a hospital for them staffed only by women. With the support of wealthy Chicago women who raised funds and would manage administrative duties, and of male doctors who would serve as consulting physicians, the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children opened in May 1865. Mary was head physician and surgeon, and chief of staff from the opening of the hospital until her passing.

As more women sought medical training, they found that colleges would admit them – again because they were women. Mary and her colleague Dr. William Byford, chair of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women at the Chicago Medical College, changed that by establishing the Woman's Hospital Medical College affiliated with the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children in 1870.

The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 completely destroyed the hospital and college. Both were reopened in new, larger facilities in 1873 and the "First Nurses Training School in the Middle West" was opened in 1874.

Mary published and presented several papers on women's health and childhood diseases, and was a member of the American Medical Association.

She passed away 21 May 1895 in Chicago, Illinois and is buried at Fort Ann Cemetery in Fort Ann, New York.[2][3]

Shortly after her death, the Hospital was renamed the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children.

Sources

  1. 1850 Census "United States Census, 1850", citing Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: M432; Line: 21; Digital film/folder number: 004181065; FHL microfilm: 444326; Image number: 446; Packet letter: A; Indexing batch: N01113-1, FamilySearch Record: MCRB-VM2 (accessed 11 October 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HT-D553-M38, Mary Thompson (22) in Fort Ann, Washington, New York, United States. Born in New York.
  2. Memorial Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103689553/mary-harris-thompson: accessed 10 October 2023), memorial page for Dr Mary Harris Thompson (15 Apr 1829–21 May 1895), Find a Grave Memorial ID 103689553, citing Fort Ann Cemetery, Fort Ann, Washington County, New York, USA; Maintained by Saratoga (contributor 46965279).
  3. Death "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998", citing , Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference cn 18912, record number 39, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,033,016, FamilySearch Record: N7KL-JPN (accessed 12 October 2023), Mary Harris Thompsen death 21 May 1895 (age 66) in Cook, Illinois, United States.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Mary by comparing test results with other carriers of her ancestors' mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known mtDNA test-takers in her direct maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Mary:

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Rejected matches › Matilda Maria Thompson (1831-)