Susan Anderson (January 31, 1870 – April 16, 1960) was an 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 ...

and one of the first women to practice medicine in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Biography

Anderson was born in 1870 in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, and later moved to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she lived with her father, younger brother, and grandmother. After she graduated from high school in 1891, her family moved to

Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States census. Cri ...

after gold had been discovered there. Although she originally wanted to work as a telegraph operator, she was encouraged by her father to attend medical school at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Anderson became a licensed physician after graduating from medical school in 1897. She returned to Cripple Creek before moving around Colorado in attempt to practice in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Greeley and Eaton, but found it difficult to find work. She was briefly engaged but was left at the altar by her fiancé in 1900. In 1904, she was appointed Coroner of

Grand County, Colorado Grand County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,717. The county seat is Hot Sulphur Springs, and the largest community is Granby. History When Grand County was created on Febru ...

, during which time she investigated many of the deaths involved in the construction of the Moffat Tunnel railroad. After contracting

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1907, Anderson relocated to

Fraser, Colorado The Town of Fraser is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, Statutory Town located in Grand County, Colorado, Grand County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,400 at the 2020 United States census, a +14.38% increas ...

, where residents affectionately nicknamed her "Doc Susie"; for 49 years, she was the only physician in Fraser. She tended to a range of patients and medical conditions including childbirth, skiing injuries, and particularly

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

during the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

. Although most of her work involved making house calls to patients, Anderson never owned a horse or car, and she was usually paid in food or firewood rather than money. During the 1950s, Anderson was the focus of several newspaper and magazine stories. Actress

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

offered to make a film about Anderson's life, but the latter declined. Anderson retired in 1956 and was admitted to Denver General Hospital with poor health in 1958, where she stayed until her death; she died in 1960, aged 90, and was buried in Cripple Creek. Anderson was inducted into the

Colorado Women's Hall of Fame The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the ...

in 1997. There are unsubstantiated claims that the television character hero of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is based on Doc Susie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Susan 1870 births 1960 deaths American women physicians American coroners People from Grand County, Colorado People from Cripple Creek, Colorado People from Fort Wayne, Indiana Physicians from Colorado University of Michigan Medical School alumni Colorado pioneers