Ella Blaylock Atherton (January 4, 1860 – September 4, 1933) was a British-born American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. Atherton was the first woman in the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

to earn a diploma in medicine from a Canadian institution. She was the first woman admitted to a medical society in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, the first to be president of a local medical society in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and the first woman to perform

abdominal surgery The term abdominal surgery broadly covers surgical procedures that involve opening the abdomen (laparotomy). Surgery of each abdominal organ is dealt with separately in connection with the description of that organ (see stomach, kidney, liver, e ...

in New Hampshire.

Early years and education

Ella Blaylock was born January 4, 1860, at

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park and j ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. She was the daughter of William and Margaret (Schollick) Blaylock, and granddaughter of Thomas Blaylock. Atherton was educated by private tutors, and also at Georgeville Academy and McGill Normal School in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. She graduated with honors from McGill Normal School in 1881. Atherton's desire to study medicine was reportedly met with opposition from all of her friends except her mother. She therefore decided to educate herself, serving for two years as principal of Mansonville Academy in Quebec, and tutoring during her whole college course. While there, she studied medicine with Dr. J. McMillan, of Mansonville. The following year, Atherton entered a medical school at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. Her first course of lectures was at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she studied alongside male students. Much friction resulted, leading to the founding of the Woman's Medical College, affiliated with

Queen's University, Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...

. At the women's college, Atherton attended three courses of lectures, and earned diplomas in medicine and surgery from Queen's University in 1887. While in college, Atherton served assistant demonstrator of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

for one year, and later for one year had led the practical anatomy class. Atherton was the first woman in the province of Quebec, and the eighth in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, to earn a diploma in medicine from a Canadian institution.

Career

In 1887, Atherton was refused a license to practise in Quebec due to her gender. Her experience is of interest from the fact that three years later, 1890, the census gave 3,555 women physicians in the United States. She was also physician in charge, for six months, to the Kingston City Dispensary. During the year following her graduation, Atherton moved to Newport, Vermont to practice medicine. She later practiced in

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...

. Her papers from 1898 onwards are held at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. Beginning in 1889, Atherton served as physician to the Home for Aged Women in Nashua, and in 1894, Atherton joined the staff of the Nashua Emergency Hospital. Atherton focused her work on diseases affecting women and children, and performed all the minor and some of the capital

gynecological Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

operations. Atherton was the first woman admitted to a medical society in the state of Vermont, first to serve as president of a local medical society in New Hampshire; and the first woman to perform abdominal surgery in New Hampshire. During the summer of 1926, Atherton toured the hospitals of Europe with a group of other American physicians.

Affiliations

Atherton was a member of the Orleans County (Vermont) Medical Society; the

New Hampshire Medical Society New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

; the

Nashua Medical Association Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places Australia * Nashua, New South Wales, a town United States * Nashua, Iowa, a city * Nashua, Minnesota, a city * Nashua, Kansas City, a ...

, secretary from 1892; the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

; the

Congress of Medico-Climatology A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

; and the

Nashua Fortnightly Club Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places Australia * Nashua, New South Wales, a town United States * Nashua, Iowa, a city * Nashua, Minnesota, a city * Nashua, Kansas City, a ...

. She was also a member of the New Hampshire Surgical Club, the Hillsborough County Medical Society, the Nashua Emergency Hospital Association, and the Nashua Home for Aged Women.

Personal life

In 1898, in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

, Atherton married the widower, Capt. Henry B. Atherton, a lawyer, newspaper editor and Civil War veteran; she was his second wife. The couple had two children:

Blaylock Atherton Blaylock Atherton (1900–1963) was an American politician from Nashua, New Hampshire. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1937 and 1939. He then served as a state senator for the twelfth district in the New Hampsh ...

(b. 1900) and Ives (b. 1903). Atherton traveled extensively with her husband to

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

and other parts of Canada. Atherton was a member of the Woman's Auxiliary and the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

. She supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

and was a member of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Society. She was also a charter member of the Woman's Auxiliary of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

and the Fortnightly Club. In religion, she was

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

, and attended the Church of the Good Shepherd in Nashua. She was widowed when Capt. Atherton died in 1906. Atherton died in New Hampshire, September 4, 1933, and was buried at Edgewood Cemetery in Nashua Her son

presided over the New Hampshire state senate from 1951 to 1952, and was acting governor briefly in 1952."Ex-Senate Head, Atherton, Dies Saturday at Home"
''Telegraph'' (March 18, 1963): 2.

References

Attribution

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atherton, Ella Blaylock 1860 births 1933 deaths People from Ulverston 19th-century English medical doctors 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians McGill University Faculty of Education alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Physicians from New Hampshire Physicians from Vermont British emigrants Immigrants to Canada Immigrants to the United States 19th-century English women medical doctors