Sigourney Trask (June 14, 1849 - March 20, 1936) was an American physician and missionary. She is remembered as being the first woman physician at

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

, China sent by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

missionaries.

Biography

Trask was born June 14, 1849, in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania. Her mother died while Trask was young, and thereafter, she was raised by her paternal grandparents, who resided in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14, she joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. She graduated from the Pennsylvania Female College (now

Chatham University Chatham University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally founded as a women's college, it began enrolling men in undergraduate programs in 2015. It enrolls about 2,110 students, including 1,002 undergraduate students and ...

) in Pittsburgh, and then at the

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was an English-American physician, notable as the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the Un ...

Woman's Medical College of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1874, Trask received her appointment to Fuzhou. In January 1875, the mission asked for US$5,000 to build a hospital and residence for Trask, which was appropriated by the General Executive Committee the following May. The hospital officially opened in 1877. At the close of the second year, Trask reported the number of patients registered as 1,208. After six years, she made a visit to the US in 1880 for a few months, and then returned to China. Her student during this time was a local

Fuzhounese The Fuzhou language ( zh, t=福州話, s=福州话, p=Fúzhōuhuà; Foochow Romanized, FR: ), also Foochow, Hokchew, Hok-chiu, or Fuzhounese, is the Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of Min Chinese spoken ...

girl named Hü King Eng, who Trask saw much promise in. She wrote to her colleagues at the Woman's Mission in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, who made arrangements for Hü to receive her medical education in the US. Trask's intention was for Hü to run the hospital after completing her education.* January 6, 1885, Trask married John Phelps Cowles, Jr., in Fuzhou. His parents, Rev. John and Eunice Cowles, were presidents of

Ipswich Female Seminary Ipswich Female Seminary was an American female seminary in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The institution was an early school for the secondary and tertiary education of young women. Enrollment averaged 116 students. According to Academy records, 88 of t ...

. while his sister,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, was an educator and philanthropist. Trask died March 20, 1936, in Barcroft, Virginia.

References

Attribution

* *

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trask, Sigourney 1849 births 1936 deaths American Methodist missionaries American women physicians Christian medical missionaries Female Christian missionaries People from Warren County, Pennsylvania Methodist missionaries in China American expatriates in China