Cassandra Pickett Windsor Durham (May 21, 1824 – October 18, 1885) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and the first woman to earn a medical degree in the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Biography

Durham was born Cassandra Pickett in 1824 to John Jeptha Pickett Sr. and Nancy Boulware in

Fairfield County, South Carolina Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,948. Its county seat is Winnsboro. Fairfield County is part of the Columbia, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History 18 ...

. She grew up in

Stewart County, Georgia Stewart County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,058. The county seat is Lumpkin. The county was created on December 23, 1830. History The area was inhabi ...

and married Jonathan Windsor in 1845; after Windsor's death six years later, she married John Pryor Durham, a physician, in 1854. Cassandra Durham would often accompany her second husband when he tended to patients, and together they had four children. After her husband died in 1869, she sent her children to live with relatives and moved to Macon, Georgia to attend its Reform Medical College. After graduating from the Reform Medical College, Durham became the first woman in the state of Georgia to have earned a degree in medicine. She moved to

Americus, Georgia Americus is the county seat of Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,230. It is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley an ...

and took up

eclectic medicine Eclectic medicine was a branch of American medicine that made use of botanical remedies along with other substances and physical therapy practices, popular in the latter half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. The term was coined by ...

, gathering and preparing

medicinal herbs Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...

herself. In 1871, a local newspaper in Americus referred to her as a "Doctress in Medicine" and "a professional acquisition to the city". She practiced in Americus for over 15 years, and although some male doctors objected to her practice, she built a successful patient base in and around Americus. A local journalist wrote at the time that Durham "has as good a knowledge of medicine as most of the gentlemen who practice. She commands the respect of every gentleman and lady of this section and is doing good business." Durham died suddenly in 1885 when she developed acute

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleed ...

while treating a patient.

Legacy

After Durham's death, four successive generations of her family continued the practice of medicine. She was inducted into the list of

Georgia Women of Achievement The Georgia Women of Achievement (GWA) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Georgia for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. The concept was first proposed by Rosalynn Carter in 1988. The first induction ...

in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durham, Cassandra Pickett 1824 births 1885 deaths People from Americus, Georgia People from Stewart County, Georgia People from Fairfield County, South Carolina Physicians from Georgia (U.S. state) 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians