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Cora Belle Brewster

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American physician
Cora Belle BrewsterM.D.
Portrait from "A Woman of the Century"
BornSeptember 6, 1859 (or February 16, 1859)
Almond, New York, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 1937, Dover
Dover, New Jersey, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
Occupations
  • physician
  • surgeon
  • medical writer
  • editor
ChildrenVictor Brewster (né Victor Hamilton)
Relatives
Medical career
Notable works
  • The Baltimore Family Health Journal
  • The Homeopathic Advocate and Health Journal
Signature

Cora Belle Brewster (1859 – July 25, 1937) was an American physician, surgeon, medical writer, and editor. She worked as a gynecological surgeon and co-founded two medical journals with her sister, Flora Alzora Brewster, M.D.

Early life and education

Cora Belle Brewster was born in Almond, New York, September 6, 1859. She was the third daughter of Ephraim J. Brewster (d. 1868) and Mary Burdick Brewster. Mary Brewster was a member of the Seventh Day Baptists.

On the paternal side of her family, Brewster was descended from the Campbells of Scotland, hence a mixture of English and Scotch heritage. She was a lineal descendant of Elder William Brewster, chief of the Pilgrim Fathers. Her lineage was traceable into English history before the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers.

Brewster's siblings included sisters, Alice Delphine Brewster (b. 1861), Fidelia Adeline Brewster (b. 1865), Flora Alzora Brewster, M.D., as well as brothers, Luther Palmer Brewster (b. 1858) and Leonard Thorpe Brewster (b. 1868).

While in preparatory school, Brewster was known by her middle name, "Belle." She was educated partly at Alfred University, where she studied for five years.

Early career and medical school

Brewster left school and worked as a teacher for several years, including at the high schoolin Smethport, Pennsylvania.

In 1877, Brewster moved to Chicago and took a special course in the Northwestern University. After leaving school, she began working as purchasing agent for a large millinery in Chicago.After three years in Chicago, she fell ill and moved to Baltimore, Maryland. There, her health improved, and she began to study of medicine.

Brewster graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Boston in May, 1886. During her course of study, she spent eighteen months working in Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She then went to Paris, France and finished her studies.

Baltimore

Cora Belle Brewster's Sanatorium

On her return from Europe, in 1886, Brewster moved to Baltimore, and began the practice of her profession in the treatment of female diseases, establishing a sanatorium at 1027 Madison Avenue. It was completely fitted up with all that was required for a fully-equipped institution of this character, and included a corps of trained physicians and nurses. Surgical and electrical treatment was administered as well as medicated baths.

In 1889, in partnership with her sister, Dr. Flora A. Brewster, she began in 1889 the publication of The Baltimore Family Health Journal in partnership with her sister, Dr. Flora A. Brewster. In 1901, the name of the journal was changed to The Homeopathic Advocate and Health Journal, and made a hospital journal with a corps of ten editors. The partnership between the sister physician was dissolved in 1892.

In 1890, Brewster was elected gynecological surgeon to the Homeopathic Hospital and Free Dispensary of Maryland, under the auspices of the Maryland Homeopathic Medical Society. She was a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Clinical Societies, of the Maryland State Medical Society, and of the American Institute of Homeopathy.

Personal life

Brewster never married. In July 1898, she adopted an infant, Victor Hamilton, and changed his surname to Brewster. She was a member of the Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Brewster was involved in several personal lawsuits. In 1900, Flora Brewster alleged that her sister, Cora, opened Flora's letters without authority, but did not prosecute. In 1903, Christiana Burrlls sued Cora Brewster in the Superior Court to recover US$5,000 damages for injuries allegedly sustained while engaged in carrying coal from Dr. Brewster's cellar. In 1905, Cora and Flora each had a servant arrested on charge of larceny. In 1906, Cora Brewster was charged with striking a child in her employ and fined US$5.

Cora Belle Brewster died July 25, 1937, at Dover, New Jersey of chronic myocarditis.

Selected works

  • Family Health Journal
  • Homeopathic Advocate and Health Journal

Notes

  1. According to The Salisbury Truth (1898), Brewster was born February 16, 1859.

References

  1. ^ Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 118.
  2. ^ Shepherd 1898, pp. 694–99.
  3. ^ "Cora Belle Brewster's Sanatorium". The Salisbury Truth. Salisbury, North Carolina. 21 September 1898. p. 9. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Woman Dead on Tracks - Miss Fidelia Brewster Crushed Under North Avenue Bridge". The Baltimore Sun. 2 January 1903. p. 12. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Jones 1908, p. 412.
  6. "1871 Catalog" (PDF). Alfred, New York: Alfred University. p. 11. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  7. Willard & Livermore 1893, p. 119.
  8. "A Degree Of Adoption". The Baltimore Sun. 4 July 1898. p. 7. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Did Not Prosecute". The Baltimore Sun. 30 January 1900. p. 10. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "$32,500 Damaged Wanted". The Baltimore Sun. 8 October 1903. p. 10. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Sisters In Court. Each Has A Servant Arrested On Charge Of Larceny". The Baltimore Sun. 25 March 1905. p. 7. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Dr. Brewster Fined $5. Charged With Striking Child In Her Employ". The Baltimore Sun. 7 March 1906. p. 7. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "United States Deceased Ph...ian File (AMA), 1864-1968". familysearch.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

Attribution

External links

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