Authorized to Heal: Gender, Class, and the Transformation of Medicine in Appalachia, 1880-1930

239 Pages·2000·1.12 MB·English

by  Sandra Lee Barney

A U T H O R I Z E D T O H E A L
Authorized
to Heal
Gender, Class,
and the
Transformation
of Medicine
in Appalachia,
1880–1930
Sandra Lee Barney
The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill and London
∫ 2000 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by April Leidig-Higgins
Set in Monotype Joanna
by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for perma-
nence and durability of the Committee on Production
Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barney, Sandra. Authorized to heal : gender, class, and the
transformation of medicine in Appalachia, 1880–1930 /
Sandra Lee Barney.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-8078-2522-0 (cloth : alk. paper).
isbn 0-8078-4834-4 (paper : alk. paper)
1. Women in medicine—Appalachian Region—History.
2. Medicine—Appalachian Region—History. I. Title.
r692.b67 2000 362.1%0974—dc21 99-30433 cip
04 03 02 01 00 5 4 3 2 1
C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1 Bringing Modern Medicine to the Mountains 15
2 Physicians and the Quest for Professional Identity 41
3 What the Women’s Clubs Can Do 71
4 Women, Health Care, and the Community 100
5 Limiting Public Health 122
Conclusion 152
Notes 161
Bibliography 193
Index 215
I L L U S T R AT I O N S
19 Map: Central Appalachian Counties of
Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia
62 Elderly midwife from eastern Kentucky
77 O≈cers of the Southern District of the
West Virginia Federation of Women’s Clubs
94 Lucy Furman and Linda Neville
114 Mountain mother from Kentucky
118 Linda Neville
125 Dr. W. J. Hutchins, Dr. J. A. Stucky,
and Dr. Arthur T. McCormack
156 Coal miner and physician
TA B L E S
34 1.1 Number of Physicians in Central Appalachian
Sections of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia,
1886–1917
35 1.2 Percentage of Physicians in Central Appalachian
Sections of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia
Reporting Medical Degrees to Polk’s Medical Register,
1886–1917
36 1.3 Number of Medical Schools Attended by Physicians
in Central Appalachian Sections of Kentucky, Virginia,
and West Virginia, 1886–1917
47 2.1 Number of Internships Reported by Members of
West Virginia State Medical Association, pre-1890–1925
49 2.2 Percentage of Members of West Virginia State
Medical Association Who Attended Graduate School,
1900–1925
63 2.3 Percentage of Reported Deliveries by Midwives,
Logan County, West Virginia, 1890–1900
64 2.4 Percentage of Reported Deliveries by Most Active
Midwives, Logan County, West Virginia, 1890–1900
65 2.5 Number of Deliveries by Most Active Midwives,
Logan County, West Virginia, 1890–1900
67 2.6 Percentage of Reported Deliveries by Named
Physicians, Logan County, West Virginia, 1890–1900