Dr. Jane Wells Craven (born January 25, 1875, in India, but lived primarily in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

) was an American doctor, prize winning

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

player,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. ambulance driver and medic. Craven won the 1899 U.S. National Championships in women's doubles tennis, alongside her teammate Myrtle McAteer. She was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

in 1917 for her medical service in France during World War I. She later became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is ...

and took the name Sister Elizabeth.

Early life and education

Jane Wells Craven was born on 25 January 1875 in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...

, India, to Jane Maria (née Wells) (d. 1914) and Reverend Thomas Craven. Her parents married in 1870, her mother was from

New York state New York, officially the State of New York, is a U.S. state, state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the List of U.S. ...

and her father was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

-born

Methodist Missionary Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

. "Jennie," as she was known in the family, had three siblings: Theodora (b. 1872), Henry (b. 1874) and Merritt (b. 1876). The Craven family immigrated to the United States in 1879 and had settled in Evanston,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

by 1880, where Jane Wells Craven attended

Evanston Township high school Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202, is a four-year public high school occupying a campus in Evanston, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston ...

. She studied medicine at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

in Evanston, graduating around 1898 with a

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become lic ...

(D.O.) degree. Her siblings Theodora and Henry also attended Northwestern. Craven eventually began playing

lawn tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

and won the 1899 US Women's National Championship in women's doubles with Myrtle McAteer. They later played together on 30 June 1909 and won a qualifying match in the Western Pennsylvania Tennis Association tournament. In 1900, Craven narrowly escaped marrying a serial bigamist when one of his wives wrote to her and warned her of the situation. She replied "''Thank you for your warning. Have learned the truth in time''".

Medical career

By 1899, Dr. Craven was living and working in

osteopathic medicine Osteopathy () is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. Practitioners of osteopathy are referred to as osteopaths. Osteopathic manipulation is the core set of techniques in ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

, as listed in the city's directory. By 1905, Craven had returned to her birthplace of Lucknow in India and was using her medical expertise to help to plague victims there. She spoke

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

. Before 1910, she worked in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, again as part of medical teams fighting contagious diseases and plague. By 1911, Craven had returned to Pittsburgh, when she was runner-up to Hazel Hotchkiss in a tennis event. Whilst living in Pittsburgh, Craven visited the Iron City Fishing Club in Moon Bay, Woods Bay in the Massasauga Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. She purchased Island B69 in 1912, built a cottage on it and called it

Dilkusha Dilkusha is a residential colony in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, India. Near the banks of the River Gomti, the colony has been the residence of government officials for more than a hundred years. Dilkusha is situated 2 km f ...

, from Hindi. Craven sold the island in 1920, having reportedly found solace there from the traumas of her medical work in World War One.

World War One

Craven was instrumental in raising funds in Pittsburgh to take a field ambulance and crew to the French front during

. She drove the ambulance herself. In December 1917, she was awarded the

for her work during the war. She is thought to be the first American woman to be honored with the award.

Tennis

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 title)

Mixed doubles (1 runner-up)

Other finals

Doubles (1 runner-up)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Jane 1875 births Year of death missing Date of death missing 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians 19th-century female tennis players American female tennis players United States National champions (tennis) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles People from Lucknow 19th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois People from Pittsburgh Osteopathic physicians