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Dr. Lucy Hobbs
Taylor, 1833-1910:
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ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
This
exhibit is the result of generous donations by friends and family of Elizabeth Vance
McClymonds Roberts (1913-1998). Vance had a strong interest in Lawrence history
and in Lucy Hobbs Taylor. Following the 1957 death of her husband Thorold
Eugene Roberts, a petroleum engineer in Great Bend, Kansas, she moved to
Lawrence to educate her four children. She owned the Lucy Hobbs Taylor home at
701 Ohio Street from 1959 until her death at age 85 in 1998. A bronze plaque on
the front porch commemorates the property's link to Lucy Hobbs Taylor at the
time of its construction in 1881. In the early 1970's, Vance and her neighbors
formed the Old West Lawrence Association and were instrumental in having their
neighborhood listed -- on Feb. 23, 1972 -- in the National
Register of Historic Places.
Vance was an avid supporter of the Douglas County Historical Society, which
operates the Watkins Community Museum of History where this exhibit has been
mounted. Vance admired and in many ways emulated Dr. Taylor's independence and
strength.
ABOUT LUCY HOBBS TAYLOR
Lucy
Beaman Hobbs Taylor was born on March 14, 1833 in Constable (Franklin County),
New York at a time in our nation's history when the expected role of women was
narrowly limited to motherhood or to a typically "spinsterish"
occupation such as teacher or nurse.
Even
early in her life, however, Lucy showed little interest in doing the expected.
She taught school for 10 years in Michigan but held a steadfast ambition to
pursue advanced medical study. In 1859 she moved to Cincinnati. Because of her
gender, she was turned down for admission to the (by today's standards oddly
misnamed) Eclectic College of Medicine, but this did not stop her from taking
up private studies with one of the school's professors. At his suggestion, she
turned to dentistry. Again becoming a private pupil, she pursued this
profession under the guidance of the dean of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery
and later apprenticed herself to a graduate of the school. After being refused
admission to the dental college -- again because of her gender -- she opened
her own practice at the age of 28 in Cincinnati in the spring of 1861. She
later moved her practice to Bellevue, Iowa (1862) and thence to McGregor, Iowa
(1862-1865). In time, she came to be known by what sounded like a translated
Native American name -- "the woman who pulls teeth."
In
July 1865, as an indication that Lucy had proven herself a worthy equal to her
male colleagues, the Iowa State Dental Society accepted her as a member and in
fact sent her as a delegate to the American Dental Association convention in
Chicago. In November 1865, after serving patients for four years in her own
dentistry practice, she was admitted to the senior class of the Ohio College of
Dental Surgery.
Receiving
credit for her years of professional practice from a small but devoted group of
admirers, she earned her degree only a few months later, in February 1866. Lucy
Hobbs thus became the first woman in U.S. (and probably world) history to earn
a doctorate in dentistry. While later practicing in Chicago, she met and
married Civil War veteran and railway maintenance worker James M. Taylor in
April 1867. Under his wife's guidance, he too became a dentist.
Late
in 1867, the Doctors Taylor moved to the western town of Lawrence, Kansas,
where they soon established a large and successful practice. Although the
Taylors themselves did not become parents, much of their practice focused on
women and children. Many patients referred to the highly respected woman as
"Dr. Lucy." After her husband's death in 1886, she retired from most
of her professional duties but remained active in civic and political causes,
including the woman's suffrage movement. She gained recognition by her peers
and fellow citizens as a pioneer in opening the doors for women to dentistry. By
the turn of the century, almost one thousand women were welcomed to the
profession -- a sign of immense progress for which Lucy Hobbs Taylor could take
considerable credit.
Of
her career in Kansas, Dr. Taylor wrote, "I am a New Yorker by birth, but I
love my adopted country -- the West. To it belongs the credit of making it
possible for women to be recognized in the dental profession on equal terms
with men."
This
courageous and determined pioneer died in Lawrence on October 3, 1910 at the
age of 77. In her obituary in the local Lawrence newspaper, she was recognized
as "one of the most striking figures of Lawrence [who] occupied a position
of honor and ability, and for years she occupied a place high in the ranks of
her profession."
Since
1983, the American
Association of Women Dentists
has recognized outstanding females in the profession by annually bestowing the
Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award. The AAWD describes this honor as "the highest and
most prestigious award that the AAWD presents to one of its professional
members. This award recognizes a woman dentist who has contributed to the
advancement, enrichment, and betterment of the role of women in the field of
dentistry through her achievements in civic, cultural, humanitarian and
academic areas."
Interestingly,
the Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award for the year 2000 was presented in Chicago on
October 15, the day following the opening of this exhibit in Lawrence to donors
and guests. The winner that year was Dr. Barbara Mousel. This date also falls
very near the date of Lucy Hobbs Taylor's passing (October 3) and near the
birthday of Vance Roberts (October 11). Additional websites providing
information about Taylor can be found through a search of her name in the Google search engine. A Wikipedia article
about her is available here.
Photos and additional information linked with Dr. Taylor and her era can be
found at this link on the Kansas State Historical Society website.
LAWRENCE, KANSAS SITES ASSOCIATED WITH DR. TAYLOR
First
office and residence (1868-1872), 800 Massachusetts. The current building at this location, now
housing a travel agency, was built in 1915. (NOT PICTURED)
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Second office and residence (1872-1886, 1898-1910), 809 Vermont. This Italianate brick building, erected in 1872, today houses a hair-cutting salon. Dr. Lucy Taylor and her husband had this home built to provide professional quarters on the first floor and living space above. This property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. (SEE PHOTO AT LEFT) |
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Third residence (1886-1898),
701 Ohio. Also of
Italianate design, this home was built as a brick duplex with identical upper
and lower floor plans in 1881. After her husband's death in 1886, Dr. Lucy
Hobbs Taylor lived on the upper floor. In 1898 she moved her living quarters
back to 809 Vermont. The home at 701 Ohio was later covered in stucco,
probably in the 1920's. A bronze plaque on the front porch, installed by
relatives of then-owner Vance Roberts in 1998, commemorates the historic
significance of the home. (SEE PHOTO AT RIGHT) |
701
Ohio Street |
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Gravesite, Old Section 5, Oak Hill Cemetery, east end of 13th Street. The stone marking the graves of both Dr. Lucy and her husband features a vine wrapped around a tree trunk -- an appropriate symbol of their life together and their roles as pioneers in Lawrence. (SEE PHOTO AT LEFT) |
IN GRATEFUL APPRECIATION
We
thank the generous donors and supporters who made this exhibit possible.
(Please accept our apologies for errors in this list.)
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Anonymous Dorothy D. Anderson Kelly Brainard Peter and Rosalea Carttar Joe and Mary Chadbourne Georgeana O. Crabb Betsy Cummings Bob and Donna Dickerson DISC Employees Club Don and Jane Flessing Dr. and Mrs. Paul Getto Karen Gilchrist Mildred Gilchrist William and Darlene
Gilchrist Phillip and Phoebe Godwin Golf Course Supt
Association Martha and Robert Green Dorothy Green Terry and Mary Ann Henry James and Clenece Hills Robert and Eileen Honse Elizabeth Hoover
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Lauren James John and Betty Jennings Eileen and Alice Johnson Arnie and Karen Johnson Victoria Kimbrough Dorothy Koch Rebekah Leibengood Peggy Maczuga John and Dinah McClymonds Elizabeth McConville Jean McKinney Betty Meadows Jane Miller Dean and Jean Milroy Robert and Eileen Honse Elizabeth Hoover Lauren James John and Betty Jennings Eileen and Alice Johnson Arnie and Karen Johnson Victoria Kimbrough Dorothy Koch
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Rebekah Leibengood Peggy Maczuga John and Dinah McClymonds Elizabeth McConville Jean McKinney Betty Meadows Jane Miller Dean and Jean Milroy Austin and Marianna
Nothern John Oliver Sally Postma Dr. and Mrs. John Reese Bruce and Harlanne Roberts Bryson and Debbie Roberts Caitlin M. Roberts Tod and Denise Roberts Wave Shaver Mikal and Lisa Stuart The Venice Foundation Max Williams Sean Williams Ruth Woods Sara Woods |
In
addition, we gratefully acknowledge Steve Jansen, Director of the Douglas
County Historical Society, and his staff; Tom Swearingen, Exhibits Director,
University of Kansas Museum of Natural History; and John Chorn, Research
Assistant at the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, for their
guidance and help. This web page was prepared by Tod Roberts, a former Lawrence
resident and the son of Vance Roberts.
Copyright © 2000, 2009, Tod
Roberts and Douglas County Historical Society, 1047 Massachusetts St., Lawrence
KS 66044 (page updated 6 May 2009), Phone 785-841-4109 • web: http://www.watkinsmuseum.org/