Partner Lilian Welsh
Queer Places:
Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, United States
University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
Bryn Mawr School, 109 W Melrose Ave, Baltimore, MD 21210, United States
Briggs Cemetery, 146-148 Brookline Rd, Ballston Spa, NY 12020, United States
Mary J. Sherwood (March 31, 1856 - May 24, 1935) was born on March 31, 1856, in Ballston Spa, New York, to Thomas Burr Sherwood and Mary Frances Beattie, and she was one of
three children. Her siblings included a sister, Margaret Pollock Sherwood, who became an English professor at Wellesley
College, and a brother, Sidney Sherwood, who became a professor at Johns Hopkins University. Initially pursuing a career in education after attending the State Normal School
in Albany and earning her AB degree from Vassar College in 1883, she taught chemistry before shifting her focus to medicine. She traveled abroad to attend the
University of Zurich, where she obtained her medical degree in 1890.
After returning to the United States, she moved to Baltimore, where she built her life and career. Though she faced initial barriers as a woman attempting to secure a
residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, she worked with prominent male physicians in their hospital wards and laboratories. In 1892, she opened a medical practice with her
close friend and long-term companion, Dr. Lilian Welsh, whom she had met while studying at the University of Zurich. Together,
Sherwood and Welsh took over the Evening Dispensary for Working Women and Girls, providing medical care and expanding health opportunities for women.
Throughout her career, Sherwood emerged as a prominent physician, educator, and advocate for preventive medicine, public health, women's health, and childcare. She served
as the medical director of the Bryn Mawr School for girls in Baltimore starting in 1894 and later became the first director of the Baltimore City Health Department's Bureau
of Child Welfare, heading the bureau until 1924. Her extensive civic and public health involvements included working with the Maryland Tuberculosis Commission, serving as
the first chairman of the obstetrics section in the National Association for the Prevention of Infant Mortality, and holding leadership roles within the Maryland State
Medical Society and the Baltimore Babies' Milk Fund Association.
Sherwood was also heavily active in women's organizations, social movements, and political advocacy in Baltimore. She was a member of the Baltimore Association for the
Promotion of the University Education of Women, a charter member and original board manager of the Arundell Club, and a participant in the Arundell Good Government Club. A
dedicated supporter of women's suffrage, she acted as Susan B. Anthony's personal physician during a convention visit and later joined the League of Women Voters. Sherwood
never married or had children, maintaining her permanent domestic relationship and close bond with Lilian Welsh throughout their lives. She passed away on May 24, 1935, at
the age of 79 due to a coronary occlusion in Baltimore, Maryland.
References:
Other references:
- Encyclopedia.com: Sherwood, Mary (1856–1935) and Welsh, Lilian (1858–1938) from Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia and other reference compilations.
- Goucher College Special Collections and Archives: Lilian Welsh Papers, including the memoir Reminiscences of Thirty Years in Baltimore (Baltimore, 1925).
- Goucher Alumnae Quarterly: July 1935 commemorative and obituary issues containing memorial tributes and articles regarding Dr. Mary Sherwood (including contributions by Sabin and Lewis).
- Garrett, John W., & Carnes, Mark C., eds.: American National Biography (Oxford University Press).
- James, Edward T., ed.: Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary (Harvard University Press).
- Singer, Sandra L.: Adventures Abroad: North American Women at German-Speaking Universities, 1868–1915 (Praeger, 2003).
- Creese, Mary R. S.: Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in Science, 1800–1900: A Survey of Their Contributions to Research (Scarecrow Press, 2000).
- Archival & Institutional Blogs: Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Archives & Special Collections blog feature: Mary Sherwood and the Struggle for Women's Medical Education (March 2018), documenting primary correspondence from the College of Physicians and Surgeons records.
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