March is Women’s History month
March is Women’s History Month. And Marshall County is full of exceptional women. Join the Marshall County Museum as the new series explores some of their invaluable contributions.
Mrs. Doctor Spenser
In the mid-1800s, a female doctor was almost unheard of in the United States. In fact, according to an article published by the University of Alabama School of Medicine, Harvard professor Edward H. Clarke stated in 1874 “that women seeking advanced education would develop ‘monstrous brains and puny bodies’” as well as “‘abnormally weak digestion.’” It wasn’t until 1849
that the first woman in american received her M.D. However in the 1850s, Bourbon’s Emma Lyon moved to Indianapolis where she enrolled in college to become a physician, completing her course of study in Cincinnati and working in Indianapolis. During the 1870s, she was practicing in Plymouth, known locally as Mrs. Doctor Spenser.
What was also unusual about Dr. Spenser was that she was married approximately 11 times, losing some husbands to death and others to divorce. Local folklore puts her exact number of marriages between eight and thirteen! Despite the stigma still attached to divorce at this point, a local paper described her as a “remarkable person. Her intelligence has never been surpassed by any woman in Plymouth. She was at once a practicing physician, advisor, sage, authority on literary subjects, conversant in history and several languages .... She was a charitable, loving woman, with ready symphony for the poor and needy.”
Dr. Spenser is another Marshall County example of a woman who thrived while challenging the gender and societal norms of her day. Happy Women’s History Month! Unfortunately, MCHS doesn’t have many photos associated with Dr. Spenser (if you do, let us know!), so we are sharing some of our wonderful collection of vintage Marshall County medical items. Come see them in person when MCHS reopens april 6.