1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So in 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: reading an old Ish mid twentie century biographical article for 5 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: today's subject, it opened with the line quote, the history 6 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: of most of the major professions reveals that they have 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: been dominated by man, and when woman sought to invade 8 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: those sacred precincts of masculine activity, great consternation arose, which 9 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: which is a funny line. Um, funny and aggravating. Right. Uh. 10 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: That was definitely, at least to some degree true for 11 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: Lucy Hobbs. Later, Lucy Hobbs Taylor and her desire to 12 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: have a career in dentistry before that was recognized as 13 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:01,279 Speaker 1: an acceptable vocation for a woman. She's interesting and that 14 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: she was really just tenacious as hell. She got told 15 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: no a lot, and that did not deter her from 16 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: her plan, and she just kind of found her way 17 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: around any obstacles to make her own way to get 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: to where she wanted in life. But to be clear upfront, 19 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: I want to She often is lauded as the first 20 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: woman dentist. That's not accurate. We're going to talk about 21 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 1: that towards the end of the episode. She's someone if 22 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: you listen to our two part on the history of dentistry, 23 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: she came up briefly and she was so interesting that 24 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: I wanted to do an episode about her. I will 25 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: also tell you in a comforting way that there is 26 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: no real talk of any dental scariness here. We talked 27 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 1: about fillings a little in one advancement in how they 28 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: were performed in her kind of being a champion for that, 29 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: but it's pretty mild, so don't worry if you're squeaming. 30 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: Lucy was born Lucy Beamon Hobbs on March three. Her 31 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: place of birth is a little uncertain. We know she 32 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: was born in New York State. Most biographies say that 33 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: it was in Franklin County. That's in the state's northeast corner. 34 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: If you look at her biography on the Kansas Historical 35 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: Society's website, you'll see Constable, New York listened as her 36 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: place of birth. That's in Franklin County. But there was 37 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 1: another place mentioned in a paper about Lucy that was 38 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: written in nineteen fifty one. That document says she was 39 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: born in Ellenburg. That's in Clinton County, New York, immediately 40 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: to the east of Franklin County, so you can say 41 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: upstate New York pretty confidently, probably Franklin County, but there's 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,519 Speaker 1: some inconsistency, and we don't know a whole lot about 43 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: Lucy's childhood. She also had a lot of siblings, nine 44 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: according to one source, and there is some indication that 45 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: her mother died when she was still quite young, but 46 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: we don't really have a lot of details about it. 47 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: Her story really picks up in eighteen forty nine, when 48 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: Lucy graduated from the Franklin Academy in Malone, New y Ork, 49 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: with the intent to become a school teacher, and she 50 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: did do that for a decade. She started when she 51 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: was just eighteen, and later told a reporter quote, I 52 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: had pupils older than myself who knew about as much 53 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: as I did. But that did not shake my faith 54 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: in myself, for I knew that little informed as I was, 55 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: we had no better teacher in our district since I 56 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: could remember. She was described as laughing when she said this, 57 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: like I'm as good as any of the others I've 58 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: had um. But she traveled to her teaching jobs were 59 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: and as a consequence, she ended up in Brooklyn, Michigan, 60 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: and she met someone there who changed her life's trajectory. 61 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: Although I have never found this person's name in any 62 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: of the things that I read, but the house where 63 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: she rented a room in Michigan was apparently owned by 64 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: a doctor, and he and Lucy are said to have 65 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: talked a lot about his profession because she was deeply 66 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: interested in it. She's often quoted as saying that she 67 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,040 Speaker 1: wished quote to enter a profession where she could and 68 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: her bread, not alone by the sweat of her brow, 69 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: but by the use of her brains also, and her 70 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: physician friend encouraged her to take that intellectual curiosity and 71 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: use it to pursue a career in medicine. So Lucy 72 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: decided to go to Cincinnati, Ohio to enroll in medical school. 73 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: This was an eighteen fifty nine She was twenty six 74 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 1: at the time, and her plan was to enroll at 75 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati or e m I. So 76 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,919 Speaker 1: for a little bit of background on that school. Eclectic 77 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: medicine was a form of medicine that was popular in 78 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the United States, 79 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: and the focus on this type of medicine was based 80 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: largely on botanicals in herbal medicine. E m I had 81 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: been founded in eighteen forty two, and for a while, 82 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: starting in eighteen fifty, it graduated some of the first 83 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: women with physician credentials in the US. But even though 84 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: Lucy Hobbs knew she wanted an education at Eclectic, it 85 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: turned out the school didn't want her. A collectic had 86 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: stopped taking women's students in eighteen fifty seven, she was 87 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: refused enrollment. When she spoke to the college president about 88 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: the situation, he suggested that maybe she could pursue a 89 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: career in dentistry instead, and Lucy thought about it and 90 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: ultimately decided that she would take the college president's advice. 91 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,359 Speaker 1: So her next step was to apply to work with 92 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: dentists in the Cincinnati area. She needed some degree of 93 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 1: learning in the field before she could apply to a 94 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,159 Speaker 1: formal training program or at dental college, so she began 95 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: to search for a mentor, and she was told repeatedly 96 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: that the dental field was for men, and some dentists 97 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:41,840 Speaker 1: flat out told her that it would damage their practice 98 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: if people found out a woman was being taught on 99 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: the premises. An article written later in her life reported 100 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: that quote. She began a tour of dentist offices in 101 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,359 Speaker 1: Cincinnati for a place to study. On every hand, she 102 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: was rebuffed, though one man offered to let her clean 103 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: his office and look on while he worked. Proposition was 104 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: indignantly refused. She finally got an assist from the dean 105 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery that was Dr 106 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: Jonathan Taft, as a temporary arrangement while she kept looking 107 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: for a formal mentor to take her on. Taft told 108 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: her she could learn in his office for three months. 109 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: So finally she found somebody he was willing to work 110 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: with her. Dr Samuel Wardle had been one of doctor 111 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: Jonathan Taft students he had graduated in eighteen fifty nine, 112 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: and he offered her an apprenticeship in his office. This 113 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: was a break for hops, but it also meant that 114 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: her days were spent working and learning but not getting 115 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 1: paid for it. So in the evenings she would take 116 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: in sewing to try to keep herself afloat. Yeah, I 117 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: have so many questions that I never found satisfactory answers 118 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: to about doctor Wardle because he was fresh out of 119 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: dental school, and I'm like, was it that he was 120 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: super progressive or was it that he really needed an 121 00:06:55,480 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: assistant for no money because he was just starting his friend? Right? Um, 122 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: how much did Dr Taft kind of help push that 123 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: thing together? But at this point in time, there were 124 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,920 Speaker 1: not a lot of dental programs in the United States. 125 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: The first had opened in Baltimore in eighteen forty, the second, 126 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, had opened in eighteen 127 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: forty five, and the third, Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, 128 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: had opened in eighteen fifty six. But that was it 129 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: three options. Lucy, because of proximity, applied to the Ohio 130 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: College of Dental Surgery in March of eighteen sixty one, 131 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: but even though she had gotten that help earlier from 132 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: the dean, this application went exactly as well as her 133 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: application to Eclectic lose these. Next move, on the advice 134 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: of Dr Wortle, was to just open up her own practice. 135 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: At the time, it was beneficial to have a degree, 136 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: but it wasn't required to practice. She opened an office 137 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: in Cincinnati on March fourteenth, eighteen sixty one, which was 138 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: her twenty eight birthday. That year, of course, was monumental. 139 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: In the United States. The Civil War officially began less 140 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: than a month after Lucy Hobbs opened her practice, So 141 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 1: Lucy closed up her Ohio office almost immediately, and then 142 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: she moved to Iowa to start over there. Presumably she 143 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: thought it was safer there farther away from the epicenter 144 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: of conflict. And although Lucy didn't really know anyone in 145 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: Iowa when she moved there, she must have been providing 146 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,559 Speaker 1: something that people really desperately needed in opening a dental 147 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: office in Bellevue, Iowa that's located in Jackson County on 148 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: the Illinois border. Because she ended her first year there 149 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: in the black, having put away a hundred dollars more 150 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: than it had cost to run the office and pay 151 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: for her necessities. This modest success of her first year 152 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 1: running her own dental practice gave Lucy Hobbs the confidence 153 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: to move somewhere that had more lucrative potential. This time 154 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 1: it was McGregor, Iowa, about eighty two miles north of Bellevue, 155 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: and her instincts were correct. She finished her second year 156 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,559 Speaker 1: in her new profession with a profit of three thousand 157 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: dollars on the books. That was no small sum. In 158 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three, Hobbs kept building up her business. She 159 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: established a very good reputation as a dentist. For the 160 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: next three years she stayed in McGregor, and according to 161 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: a newspaper account written several years after Lucy had arrived 162 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: in McGregor, Iowa, she had had to work to prove 163 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: herself to the new community and especially the men of 164 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: the town. There were definitely some who just did not 165 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: believe that she, as a woman, would know what she 166 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: was doing, and so one man decided that he was 167 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: going to test her by making an appointment in This backfired. 168 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: According to a write up about it from the Vermont paper, 169 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: The Burlington Democrat, which came out in eighteen seventy, to quote, 170 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: a young man once entered her office in McGregor and 171 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 1: asked her to examine his teeth, knowing at the time 172 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 1: they were perfectly sound. She saw the trick at once, 173 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: but nevertheless commenced to work at his teeth. She bored 174 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: a hole in a sound tooth and filled it with gold, 175 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: urging him the usual price he had to pay well 176 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: for the experiment. I don't love this story. I don't either, 177 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: but I also think it's funny. I love it and 178 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: I don't love it. I'm like, that's malpractice, But I 179 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: understand where you're coming from. Similar. Yeah, So coming up, 180 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: we'll talk about a surprising development and Lucy Hobb's career. First, though, 181 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: we will pause for a quick sponsor break. In July 182 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: sixty five, Lucy was invited to attend a meeting of 183 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 1: the Iowa State Dental Society in Debut, Iowa. The president 184 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,840 Speaker 1: of the society, Dr Luhman Church Ingersoll, had extended that 185 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: invitation himself, and while attending, Lucy was asked to join 186 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: the organization. This was a pretty big deal, and Ingersoll 187 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 1: had prepared a resolution for the occasion, which he gave 188 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: as a speech. It not only noted that Lucy was 189 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,520 Speaker 1: welcomed by all of the members, but also entreated the 190 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 1: larger dental profession to recognize that women are perfectly suited 191 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: to work in dentistry. This read quote, whereas the Iowa 192 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: State Dental Society has, without precedent, elected to membership a 193 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 1: lady practitioner of dentistry, and whereas it is due to 194 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: her to know that the unanimous vote by which she 195 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 1: was elected, was not simply a formal vote, And whereas 196 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: it is due to the profession at large that we 197 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,800 Speaker 1: make a formal declaration concerning the position, we have assumed 198 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:40,840 Speaker 1: in our action. Therefore resolved that we most cordially welcome 199 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: Miss Lucy be Hobbs of McGregor to our number and 200 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: to our professional pursuits, trials, aims, and successes. Resolved that 201 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: the profession of dentistry, involving as it does the vital 202 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: interest of humanity and the relief of human suffering, and 203 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: the perpetuation of the comforts and enjoyments of life, and 204 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: civilized and refined society, has nothing in its pursuits foreign 205 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,760 Speaker 1: to the instincts of women, and, on the other hand, 206 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: presents in almost every applicant for operations a subject requiring 207 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: a kind and benevolent consideration of the most refined and 208 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 1: womanly nature. Lucy then made a brief speech to her 209 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: own thanking the Dental Society and remarking on how truly 210 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,680 Speaker 1: meaningful it was after having heard quite the opposite sentiment 211 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,080 Speaker 1: for so long regarding women in dentistry. The society also 212 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: nominated her to be a representative to attend the American 213 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: Dental Association meeting that year. There was another benefit to 214 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: having gone to this meeting for Hobbs. Dr Jonathan Taft, 215 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: the dean of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, was 216 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 1: also at the meeting, and other members of society put 217 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: some pressure on him to do whatever he could to 218 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:55,319 Speaker 1: finally admit Lucy Hobbes to the dental school, and that worked. 219 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: Taft got Lucy admitted to the school. Of course, at 220 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: this point she had and in practice for half a decade, 221 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,559 Speaker 1: so the school did not make her take the entire 222 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: load of classes that would normally be required of their 223 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: dental students. Lucy Hobbs was admitted as a senior. She 224 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 1: got credit for all of that work she had been doing. 225 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: She attended one session and then received the degree of 226 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: Doctor of Dental Surgery on February twenty one, eighteen sixty six. 227 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: She was, as it is often said, the first woman 228 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: in the world to receive a dental degree. That same year, 229 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: Dr Hobbs wrote a paper about one of the advancements 230 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: in the field of dental medicine, which she read before 231 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: the Iowa State Dental Society before it was published in 232 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: a dental journal. And in particular it championed the use 233 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: of mallets. It read quote, the mallet system has become 234 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: the prevailing system among the best operators. It needs but 235 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: a few facts to show everythinking mind that this is 236 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 1: the best system yet known to the profession. For all 237 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: ordinary fillings as very few, but can be better and 238 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: more easily can dense than by hand pressure. No proof 239 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,839 Speaker 1: is necessary to show that anyone can do better work 240 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: when he can give all his attention to placing the 241 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: gold in the cavity, stand easy and natural, and have 242 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: an assistant do the condensing. So for clarity, mallets have 243 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: historically been used to knock out people's teeth, but this 244 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: was a very different situation. The mallets that Hobbs was 245 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: writing about were small. They were used to shape and 246 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: condense filling material for a more thorough restoration of the tooth, 247 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,240 Speaker 1: and this worked a lot better than a dentists just 248 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: only being able to use their hands to push gold 249 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: or amalgam into the filling holes, and they weren't using 250 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: them to tap, but just to shape. Dr Hobbs described 251 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: the benefit of mallet use for career longevity as well, 252 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: writing quote, in the old way the operator was all 253 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: worn out with a few fillings. The position was such 254 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 1: that in most cases the strength could not be applied 255 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 1: in the right direction, but at a great disadvantage to 256 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: the operators, so that after a very few years of practice, 257 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: an operator was worn out ere he had arrived at 258 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: any degree of perfection. Anyone that has tried both systems 259 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: will admit that more gold can be condensed in a cavity, 260 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: and of course make a better filling, as it is 261 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 1: more solid than in any other way. Being driven to 262 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: place by the mallet, it forms one solid mass. She 263 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: also notes that it's better for the patient to have 264 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: a narrow tool in their mouth than a dentist's whole 265 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: hand writing quote with the mallet, I have known the 266 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: patient to sleep when the operation was long, this showing 267 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: that it was not very unpleasant. After officially receiving her degree, 268 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: doctor Hobbs moved her practice once more, this time to 269 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: Chicago to an office at nineties three Washington Stream, and 270 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: while living there she met a man named James Myrtle Taylor, 271 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: who had fought for the Union in the Civil War 272 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: and at that point was working as a train car 273 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: painter for the Northwestern Railway. The two married on April 274 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 1: sixty seven. Several months later, on November one, eighteen sixty seven, 275 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: Lucy Hobbs Taylor sold her practice to another doctor that 276 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: was Dr. Edmund Noy's, and she and her husband moved 277 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: to Lawrence, Kansas to open a practice there. This practice 278 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,400 Speaker 1: was housed at ninety eight Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, and 279 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: there were two dentists because Lucy taught James the dentistry trade, 280 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: and as a pair they did really well. Their practice 281 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 1: was very popular and well respected, and they stayed busy. 282 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: They had built the office on land that they purchased, 283 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: and the building they put there also included their residence. 284 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: After several years in that location, the Taylors decided to 285 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: build a new home, this time on Ohio Street, and 286 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: this time it was not a combination home in business. Instead, 287 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: they moved the dental office to a new and separate 288 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 1: location at the corner of eight in Massachusetts. Lucy's time 289 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: in Kansas was marked by heavy participation in community activities. 290 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:02,480 Speaker 1: Lucy joined the Fraternal Order in Service organization Rebecca Lodge, 291 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:06,199 Speaker 1: known more formally as the Women's Associate Lodges of the 292 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:09,399 Speaker 1: Independent Order of the Odd Fellows. She joined that in 293 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: June of eighteen seventy one. In eighteen seventy six, the 294 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: eighth Chapter of the Eastern Star Lodge was founded, and 295 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: Lucy was a charter member. She really loved Kansas and 296 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,639 Speaker 1: once said of it quote, I am a New Yorker 297 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 1: by birth, but I love my adopted country the West. 298 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: To it belongs the credit of making it possible for 299 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:31,240 Speaker 1: women to be recognized in the dentil profession on equal 300 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,120 Speaker 1: terms with men. We will talk a bit about Lucy's 301 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,480 Speaker 1: life after she had become a well known figure in dentistry, 302 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: but first we will hear from the sponsors that keep 303 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: stuff you missed in history class going. There was a 304 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,399 Speaker 1: certain degree of celebrity that came with being the first 305 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:59,400 Speaker 1: woman in the US with a dental degree. When Lucy traveled, 306 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 1: her mere presents sometimes made the papers. For example, when 307 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: she went to see family in Ellenburg, New York, in 308 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two. You'll remember that's one of the places 309 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 1: she might have been born. But that visit got a 310 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 1: right up. That is the account that we quoted from 311 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,639 Speaker 1: earlier that recounted the man in McGregor, Iowa, who had 312 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:20,160 Speaker 1: decided to test her and That article opens with Mrs 313 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: Lucy Hobbs Taylor, d d S and her husband have 314 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: been visiting relatives in town for several weeks, and then 315 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:31,679 Speaker 1: it continues with the brief biography of Lucy's accomplishments. James M. 316 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: Taylor died in eighteen eight six. It's usually reported that 317 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: at that point Lucy retired, but that doesn't seem to 318 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: be entirely accurate. She did step away from the practice 319 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,720 Speaker 1: for a bit, but then reopened the offices and kept 320 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: the practice open for quite a while, although with significantly 321 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,439 Speaker 1: reduced hours that she kept there. Part of this seems 322 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:53,840 Speaker 1: to be just a matter of her patients, who called 323 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:58,359 Speaker 1: her doctor Lucy. They would not let her retire. To 324 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,199 Speaker 1: pick up paper reported quote, for years she had the 325 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 1: largest dental practice in the city of Lawrence. And regardless 326 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: of the fact that she has retired from active business, 327 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: there are many who will let no one do their work. 328 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 1: But her I knew a number of people, more doctors 329 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:21,359 Speaker 1: than dentists really, who like retire but still maintain like 330 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:28,439 Speaker 1: some level of patient engagement. When another dentist from Lawrence, Dr. C. E. Esterley, 331 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 1: died suddenly in nineteen o one, Dr Taylor and five 332 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: other dentists in the area placed a note in the 333 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: Lawrence Daily Journal to honor him. They included a description 334 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: of him as fostering friendships among the various dentists of 335 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:45,879 Speaker 1: the area, writing quote, the cordiality of his relations to 336 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: each of us has taught us much of what one 337 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,320 Speaker 1: practitioner should be to another, and we feel that our 338 00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: intercourse with him and his friendship toward us has been 339 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: a moral as well as a professional blessing. When she 340 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: wasn't kindly continuing to see patients who felt that no 341 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: other dentist would do, Lucy spent most of her time 342 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: working with civic groups and her fraternal organizations. As an 343 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: example of some of the charitable work that she did 344 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: in her later years. In eighteen nineties three, a new 345 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,280 Speaker 1: home for orphans was being built in nearby Ottawa, Kansas. 346 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: The board of trustees managing the project reached out to 347 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: the various Rebecca Lodges of the state to help the 348 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: project along in whatever ways they could. A lot sent donations. 349 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,960 Speaker 1: Dr Lucy Hobbs Taylor encouraged her local lodge to help, 350 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 1: which it did, but in addition to that, Lucy also 351 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: selected one of the rooms in this orphan home and 352 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: provided all the furnishings from it from her own money. 353 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: This was in line with a lot of her charity 354 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: work both before and after her husband's death, which was 355 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: often done for the benefit of mothers and children's causes. 356 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: In the Chicago Tribune ran an article about women dentists 357 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: which opened with quote, ten years ago, a woman dentist 358 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: was a rarity, even in novelty. In Chicago today, the 359 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: city claims at least fifteen fair devotees of the profession 360 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 1: who are making their way in the most approved American 361 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: girl fashion. This article is mostly about the women that 362 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 1: are practicing in the city at the time, including one 363 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,199 Speaker 1: named Mrs Hattie E. Lawrence, who the paper called a 364 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 1: quote pioneer woman dentist, whatever that means. Um. The article 365 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: gets quotes from a handful of women in the field 366 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: and share some of the things that they were dealing 367 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: with on the day to day basis, including people always 368 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: asking if they were strong enough to pull teeth. But 369 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 1: then it traces all of that back to Lucy Hobbs 370 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:42,199 Speaker 1: as the forerunner and mentions the quote bitter opposition and 371 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: foolish objection that she had to endure in her early 372 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 1: dental career. She finally officially closed her office in the 373 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,639 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds. According to a real estate transfer announcement 374 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:58,640 Speaker 1: and Lawrence's Jeffersonian Gazette, she sold the house on Ohio 375 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 1: Street to a woman named to Kate M. Spalding for 376 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 1: one thousand, five hundred ten dollars. She had already moved 377 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: into a new home at eight o nine Vermont Street 378 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,199 Speaker 1: a few years before that. Yeah, that was both her 379 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: home and her office because she was still occasionally letting 380 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: people come over to have worked. In the late summer 381 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: or early autumn of nineteen ten, Dr Taylor had a 382 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: stroke and this left her with some degree of paralysis. UM. 383 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: I read about it in papers. They did not describe 384 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: it anymore detailed than that. A little more than a 385 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,919 Speaker 1: month later, she died of a three real hemorridge at 386 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,560 Speaker 1: three thirty am on October three, nineteen ten, in her 387 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,159 Speaker 1: home in Lawrence, Kansas. The local paper referred to her 388 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,880 Speaker 1: as quote one of the best known residents of this 389 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:49,119 Speaker 1: city in the death announcement, and Arkansas Paper reported her 390 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: death by saying, quote, Lawrence, Kansas has lost its most 391 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: widely known and most prominent professional woman in Mrs Lucy 392 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: Hobbs Taylor. She was buried in o Khill sem Arry 393 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:04,399 Speaker 1: on Thirteenth Street, alongside her husband. Before her death, she 394 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: almost certainly understood her significance as the first woman to 395 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 1: earn a degree in dentistry. Allegedly, in seven she gave 396 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,360 Speaker 1: her diploma to a friend that was Dr Edward bum Gartner. 397 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,359 Speaker 1: At least that's one version of the story. The Jeffersonian 398 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: Gazette reported it as the bum Gardener received the diploma 399 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: when Lucy died. The announcement reads quote valued as a keepsake, 400 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,080 Speaker 1: the diploma of the late Dr Lucy Hobbs Tailor, whose 401 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:34,880 Speaker 1: death took place a week ago, issued to her from 402 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:38,439 Speaker 1: the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in February eighteen sixty 403 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:42,160 Speaker 1: six as the first woman dentist in America, has been 404 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,639 Speaker 1: given to Dr Edward bum Gartner, who has a hobby 405 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: as a collector. He values the parchment very highly. Yeah, 406 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: it's unclear since they don't mention when it was given 407 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,560 Speaker 1: to him. They kind of make it sound like it 408 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 1: was when he died. But then I'm like, well, then 409 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 1: who gave it to him? Like who was the executor 410 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: that was like, you can have this. We know they 411 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:04,119 Speaker 1: were friends. They had both co signed that placement that 412 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,640 Speaker 1: they had had put in the paper about their colleague 413 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 1: that had died. They knew each other before that. Bum 414 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: Gardner was a fellow dentist who had moved to Lawrence, 415 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: Kansas in after he received his dental degree. And though 416 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,760 Speaker 1: you would think that technically they were competitors, at that point, 417 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,199 Speaker 1: Lucy had largely stepped back from dentistry, and so she 418 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,000 Speaker 1: and bum Gardner became friends, and she was something of 419 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 1: a mentor to him. And in any case, he kept 420 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,479 Speaker 1: Lucy's diploma for some period of time, and then he 421 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: gave it to the Kansas State Historical Society, where it 422 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: remains in the organization's archives. In an obituary in the 423 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:45,159 Speaker 1: Lawrence Daily Journal, the following was written about Lucy Hobbs 424 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: Taylor quote. Dr Lucy Taylor was one of the most 425 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,919 Speaker 1: striking figures in Lawrence. She occupied a position of honor 426 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: and ability for years. She occupied a place high in 427 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 1: the ranks of her profession. Dr Taylor was a great 428 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:02,640 Speaker 1: chair double worker and did much good in a quiet, 429 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:07,520 Speaker 1: unobtrusive manner. By nine hundred less than forty years after 430 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: Lucy Hobbs opened her first practice, and while she was 431 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,879 Speaker 1: still alive, there were almost one thousand women dentists in 432 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,359 Speaker 1: the United States. Today, there is an award named for 433 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,440 Speaker 1: Lucy Hobbs Taylor, which is given by the American Association 434 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: of Women Dentists. It is their highest honor and is 435 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:27,920 Speaker 1: given in recognition of outstanding women in dentistry. So we've 436 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,679 Speaker 1: talked a bunch about Dr Lucy Hobbs Taylor, who really 437 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,760 Speaker 1: was an impressive woman, but it's also important to talk 438 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,360 Speaker 1: about the way she's almost always framed in write ups 439 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: about her. She was absolutely the first woman in the 440 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: US to receive a dental degree, and the US was 441 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: the first country with formal dental schools, so it's fair 442 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:50,480 Speaker 1: to say that she was the first woman in the 443 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 1: world with a dental degree. She wasn't the first woman 444 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 1: to practice dentistry, not even in the US. Some of 445 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 1: this leaving out of other practitioners may come down a 446 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: little bit to semantics. If you only consider someone with 447 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,920 Speaker 1: a dental degree of dentist, then yes, she would technically 448 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,720 Speaker 1: be the first woman. But we know lots of people 449 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 1: were working as dentists with that job title, including Lucy 450 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: Hobbs without the degree. While researching, Holly found a newspaper 451 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: syndicated article from eighteen seventy two was in the Frostburg 452 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: Mining Journal of Maryland. It opens with quote alluding to 453 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,040 Speaker 1: lady dentists. The Cincinnati commercial does not want the honor 454 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 1: of being the first lady graduate with the dental college 455 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,920 Speaker 1: to be carried off by a Russian countess, but claims 456 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:42,359 Speaker 1: that honor for a Cincinnati lady, Mrs Lucy B. Hobbs, 457 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,879 Speaker 1: who graduated in eighteen sixty five. So Russia is not 458 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,880 Speaker 1: ahead of America after all. An enterprising women. So this 459 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,359 Speaker 1: is just a tiny little blurb in a paper, and 460 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 1: it probably wasn't intended to be especially serious, but it 461 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: does kind of show how easy it is for facts 462 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: to get a bit distorted. It comes to national pride. 463 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 1: I actually tried to hunt down the Russian woman who 464 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,880 Speaker 1: was apparently being put forth as the first woman dentist 465 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: the avenues. I went down all kind of dead ended. 466 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: There are some possible candidates, but it was never very 467 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 1: clear to me. This reminds me of when everyone on 468 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: Twitter is responding to something and you can't find what 469 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:24,000 Speaker 1: it is that people are responding to. It's very much that, 470 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: and like, well, there's this woman who might have been 471 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:31,719 Speaker 1: practicing in the early eighteen hundreds, but and maybe was 472 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,359 Speaker 1: certified but didn't go to a dental school, Like there's 473 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:36,760 Speaker 1: it's a lot of guesswork. Yeah, yeah, And the real 474 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: kicker there is that there were definitely women practicing some 475 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: sort of dentistry way before any of these folks, before 476 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 1: Lucy B. Hobbs, before this Russian countess whoever that might 477 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,199 Speaker 1: have been the first women to practice dentistry in the 478 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,959 Speaker 1: US that we know of was Emmiline Roberts and Jones, 479 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,679 Speaker 1: who would have been a contemporary of Lucy's, but she 480 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: started working with her husband several years before miss Hobbs 481 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 1: went from teaching to dentistry. A woman named Madeline Francoise 482 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: Calais was practicing dentistry in France back in the seventeen forties, 483 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,959 Speaker 1: and centuries before any of them. There were women treating 484 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: people for dental issues all over the world. Much of 485 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 1: it is likely undocumented, some of it is probably documented 486 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:22,720 Speaker 1: and just has not made its way to availability for 487 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 1: English speakers, but we know that there were people like 488 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,920 Speaker 1: prior podcast subject Hildegarden of being in writing about oral 489 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,520 Speaker 1: health all the way back to the eleventh century, and 490 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,119 Speaker 1: a woman named Tokajima worked with an entire set of 491 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: dental tools and made dentures in Japan in the fourteenth century, 492 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: and women were in various medical roles in ancient Greece 493 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: and Rome. So though we definitely honor Lucy Hobbs Taylor 494 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,840 Speaker 1: as a trailblazer, it's important just to remember that she 495 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: was making her strides in the context of many others 496 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,440 Speaker 1: having gone before her. I just want to be very 497 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 1: clear they were not a racing any of the other 498 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 1: history of women in dentistry, because there's plenty. I do 499 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 1: have listener mail, and it is about dentistry. I don't 500 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 1: know why I'm on a dentistry kick. I just am 501 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 1: right now. Uh, it's important your oral health, it's important 502 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 1: to your overall health. That's my p s A for 503 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: the day. But since from our listener Julia, who writes, 504 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: Dear Holly and Tracy, after listening to your episode on 505 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: the history of dentistry, I thought you would appreciate this 506 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,040 Speaker 1: funny dental story from my childhood, when I was somewhere 507 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: between the ages of four and six, I was at 508 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,200 Speaker 1: the dentist's office and the dentist politely asked me if 509 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 1: I would like to open my mouth for him. Being 510 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: a small child, I did not realize what the dentist 511 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 1: was really saying was that he needed me to open 512 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,440 Speaker 1: my mouth. I thought I was being asked my preference 513 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: for having someone poke around in my mouth, So of 514 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 1: course I told the dentist no, though I would have 515 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: responded with a yes that the dentists had just asked, 516 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:01,960 Speaker 1: will you open your mouth? My mother had been away 517 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: with another one of my siblings during this incident was 518 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: very upset to come back and be informed that I 519 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,880 Speaker 1: needed to be sent away to a special pediatric dentist 520 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: because I wouldn't open my mouth for this dentist. And 521 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: so I went to a different pediatric dentist's office for 522 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,640 Speaker 1: a few years, and was the recipient of many stern 523 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: lectures from my mother on the importance of opening my 524 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: mouth for the dentist. Close out the email. Here are 525 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: a few pictures of my cat Kai. He was born 526 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: towards the beginning of the pandemic and has the adorable 527 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 1: habit of immediately trilling and crawling all over me for 528 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 1: pets when he hears me clothes out my daily yoga 529 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: practice with NAMA's day. He's very cute, he's got tummy, 530 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: sent us a tummy picture, and he's very beautiful. Um 531 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: little little buffin orange baby, Julia, thank you for this. 532 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: You gave me a flashback to my youth. When I 533 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,160 Speaker 1: know this will be hard for listeners to believe because 534 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,320 Speaker 1: I'm obviously a talkative person, but when I was a 535 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: kid and I got in the office of anyone official, 536 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: I completely shut down and would not even speak, to 537 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: the point that one doctor thought like I had like 538 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:10,800 Speaker 1: I was a delayed speech um patient, and my parents 539 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 1: were like, no, she talks all the time at home. 540 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 1: I don't know what's going on. And I caused much consternation. UM. 541 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,160 Speaker 1: So I thought about it when I read your thing, 542 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 1: because I was similarly just didn't didn't quite get the program. 543 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Julia for sharing your your childhood. Whoops, 544 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: I didn't mean to cause the problem situation with us. Uh. 545 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:34,960 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us and tell 546 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 1: us about how you were maybe not a great patient 547 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,240 Speaker 1: or were perhaps as a child, you can do that 548 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at iHeart Radio dot com. You can 549 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 1: also find us on social media as Missed in History 550 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: And if you have not subscribed to the podcast and 551 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 1: you would like to, that is the easiest thing in 552 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:52,160 Speaker 1: the world. You can do it on the I heart 553 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,320 Speaker 1: Radio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. 554 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 555 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 556 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 557 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.