Mary Blair Moody

Mary Jane Blair Moody (August 8, 1837 – August 18, 1919) was an American physician, anatomist and editor. She was the first woman to earn a degree from Buffalo Medical College, the female member of the American Association of Anatomists, and one of the first women to practice medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. Her home there is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Dr. Mary B. Moody House.

For other people named Mary Moody, see Mary Moody (disambiguation).

Mary Blair Moody
"A Woman of the Century"
Born
Mary Jane Blair

(1837-08-08)August 8, 1837
Barker, Broome County, New York
DiedAugust 18, 1919(1919-08-18) (aged 82)
New Haven, Connecticut
Burial placeSpring Forest Cemetery in Broome County, New York
Occupation(s)Physician, anatomist, editor
Children7
Relatives

Early life, education, and family

Mary Jane Blair[1] was born on August 8, 1837, in Barker, Broome County, New York, the daughter of Asa Edson Blair and Caroline Pease. Her mother had enjoyed brief fame as a poet under the pen name Waif Woodland.[2] She was one of seven children.[3] She continued her studies while working as a teacher in the public schools.[2] At one time she worked as a teacher for her uncle Lewis Pease.[4][5]

In 1860 Blair married Lucius Wilbur Moody,[1] a school administrator.[3] The couple moved to Buffalo, where Lucius entered the insurance business, and eventually they had seven children.[2] During her marriage, Moody continued her studies, attending Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, but illness and the needs of her family prevented completion of her degree.[2]

In 1874, Moody became the first woman medical student at Buffalo Medical College (now SUNY Buffalo).[5] She encountered some resistance from the faculty, though generally they "treated her well."[3] One faculty member told her, “No lady will wish to study medicine".[3] Despite that, she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1876[6] and graduated with honors.[5] She was the first woman to earn a medical degree from that institution.[2][7] A terrace at the Joseph P. Ellicott complex at the school is now named in her honor.[8]

Career

Moody practiced medicine for about nine years[3] in Buffalo, New York.[2] While there she lectured at the Women's Gymnasium.[3] In 1882, she founded the Women's and Children's Dispensary[3] in Buffalo and served as its senior physician.[6] She was also active in reviewing and editing. She wrote book reviews for Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal and was editor of the Bulletin of the Buffalo Naturalist Field Club.[6]

The Dr. Mary B. Moody House in New Haven where Moody practiced medicine from 1890 through 1903

Moody and her family moved to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1886 where her husband ran the state office for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.[9] Moody quickly established herself as one of just a few women physicians in the city.[3] Moody was a member of the Connecticut Medical Society and the National Medical Association,[3] and in 1894 she became the first woman member of the American Association of Anatomists.[10]

Moody's interest in science extended beyond medicine to fields such as botany.[9] She maintained memberships in the American Microscopical Association[3] and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[2] She discovered a species of orchid in the United States called Epipactis latifolia previously only thought to be found in the United Kingdom.[4] She was made a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her work.[9]

Later life and death
Woman with grey hair wearing glasses
Moody c. 1919

After her husband's death in January 1903,[3] Moody moved to Pasadena, California, to live near two of her sons,[3] one of whom (Dr. Robert Orton Moody) had married Agnes Claypole Moody.[11] Another of Moody's sons, Arthur,[12] was the father of journalist and United States Senator Blair Moody,[13] and another Charles Amadon Moody was the editor of Out West.[5] She later returned to New Haven to live with her daughter,[3] Mary Grace Moody.[9]

Moody died in New Haven on August 18, 1919, at age 82[7] and was buried at Spring Forest Cemetery in Broome County, New York, near where she was born. Her long-time home in New Haven has been preserved as the Dr. Mary B. Moody House and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.[14]

References
  1. "Francis Miner Moody, B.A. 1892". Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale College: Deceased During the Academic Year ending July 1, 1920. New Haven, Conn.: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Co. 1921. pp. 141–142. OCLC 162118040 – via Google Books.
  2. Willard, Frances E.; Mary A. Livermore; Charles W. Moulton, eds. (1893). "Mary Blair Moody". A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portrait of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. Buffalo: Charles Wells Moulton. OCLC 793705246. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018 – via Wikisource.
  3. Hannah, Lindsay S. "Dr. Mary B. Moody Challenges Victorian Mores About Women in Medicine". ConnecticutHistory.org. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  4. "Noted Woman to Live Here – Dr. Mary Blair Moody Who Has Done Many Things". Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1905. p. 18. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  5. "Lucius W. Moody (Includes Wife Dr. Mary B. Moody)". Commemorative Biographical Record of New Haven County, Connecticut, Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and of Many of the Early Settled Families. Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Co. 1902. pp. 1542–1543. OCLC 2923764. Retrieved September 5, 2018 – via HathiTrust.
  6. Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy, eds. (2003). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. Vol. 2. Routledge. p. 910. ISBN 9780415920384. OCLC 434302053.
  7. "Obituary – Dr. Mary Blair Moody". Norwich Bulletin. Vol. LXI, no. 197. August 19, 1919. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  8. "Joseph P. Ellicott Complex". University at Buffalo – University Archives. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018. Terraces throughout the complex were named after...Mary Blair Moody (the first female graduate of the Medical School)...
  9. "Mary Blair Moody Died in 83d Year – One of the Most Brilliant Women Physicians in the Country at One Time". The Buffalo Times. August 24, 1919. p. 44. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  10. "Celebrating 125 years of Teaching and Research – 1890 – 1899" (PDF). American Association of Anatomists. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2018. 1894 – First female member of AAA: Mary Blair Moody is the first female member of AAA.
  11. Merritt, Frank Clinton (1928). History of Alameda County, California. Vol. 2. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 247–248 – via Internet Archive.
  12. "Arthur Edson Blair Moody, Michigan Death Certificates, 1921-1952". March 9, 1936. Retrieved August 9, 2018 – via FamilySearch. Name: Arthur Edson Blair Moody...Birth Date: 06 Jul 1871, Birthplace: Buffalo, New York...Father's Name: Lucius W. Moody, Mother's Name: Mary Blair
  13. "Arthur Blair Moody". Detroit Free Press. March 10, 1936. p. 22. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018 – via newspapers.com. Arthur Blair Moody, of 2688 Lawrence Ave., Insurance man here and father of Blair Moody, Washington correspondent of The Detroit News, died Monday noon at Harper Hospital.
  14. Hannah, Lindsay S. (May 1, 2017). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Dr. Mary B. Moody House". National Park Service. Retrieved August 8, 2018. With photos from 2016
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