Dr. Elizabeth Catherine Rex Keller (April 4, 1837 – November 29, 1912) was an American physician, surgeon, and civic leader who served as Senior Operating Surgeon at the
New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston.Queer Places:
Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, 627 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Forest Hills Cemetery and Crematory, 95 Forest Hills Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02130 United States
Dr. Elizabeth Catherine Rex Keller (April 4, 1837 – November 29, 1912) was an American physician, surgeon, and civic leader who served as Senior Operating Surgeon at the
New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston.
Born Elizabeth Catharine Rex near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, she was the eighth of twelve children in a Lutheran farming family.
After seven years as a schoolteacher, she married Matthias McComsey in 1857. Within two years, she became both a mother and a widow. In 1860, she took charge of the Lancaster Orphans' Home (later the Soldiers' Orphans' Home), serving for seven years as both superintendent and healthcare provider for hundreds of children.
In 1867, she married George L. Keller and moved to Philadelphia. Immersed in the supportive environment of the Woman’s Hospital, she pursued formal medical education, graduating from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1871.
In 1871 she opened a hospital and dispensary in Philadelphia; appointed attending physician at the Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia following Dr. Ann Preston.
In 1875 she was appointed resident physician and subsequently Senior Attending Surgeon at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston. For over two decades, she performed major abdominal surgeries, amputations, and fracture treatments in an era when female surgeons were exceedingly rare.
In 1877 she established a prominent private practice in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
In the 1890–1900s she was active in public governance, serving on the Boston School Committee and managing text books, hygiene, and regional grammar schools.
As highlighted in Lillian Faderman's seminal historical study, To Believe In Women: What Lesbians Have Done For America, Dr. Elizabeth Keller belongs to a notable group of 19th-century female medical trailblazers.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women pursuing medicine faced intense hostility from male-dominated medical establishments. To build sustainable careers and personal lives, many entered into lifelong domestic and professional partnerships with other women—often termed "Boston marriages."
The New England Hospital for Women and Children—founded by Dr. Marie Zakrzewska—became a pivotal hub for these partnerships. Dr. Keller served as Senior Surgeon alongside resident director Dr. Lucy Sewall and other pioneering women doctors.
Historians like Faderman point out that these long-term partnerships were essential for survival and success: they shared households, co-managed practices, provided mutual emotional and financial support, and created independent institutions that advanced women's health and education.
References:
 To Believe In Women: What Lesbians Have Done For America - A History – A Compelling Landmark Account of 19th and 20th Century Rights by Lillian Faderman |
Other references:
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