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aunt in Pennsylvania, whose usefulness with the sick was continually sought, I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others.” By 1852, the young woman had moved to Massachu- setts, where she worked as a nurse. She wrote of this period in her book, “Later in life I devoted my time, when best I could, to nursing as a business, serving under different doctors for a period of eight years (from 1852 to 1860), most of the time at my adopted home in Charlestown, Middle- sex County, Massachusetts. From these doctors I received letters commending me to the faculty of the New England Female Medical College, whence, four years afterward, I received the degree of doctress of medicine.” It was highly unusual for even a black man to be admitted to medical school—a fact that makes apparent the high level of skill she must have demonstrated as a self-taught nurse. As a medical student, she had few role models: of the more than 54,000 doctors working in the U.S. in 1860, only about 300 were women, and of those women, none were black. Her academic career did not always go smoothly. She had been at the medical college for only a year when the Civil War broke out, interrupting her studies. Then, she re- turned in 1863, only to find out that her financial aid was no longer available, BenjaminWade, an abolitionist fromOhio, heard of her plight and provided her with a scholarship, allowing her to complete her studies in 1864. At about the time of her graduation, she married a man named Arthur Crumpler, whom many sources refer to as a fellow doctor.

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Black Achievement in Science: Medicine