Lesson 1: Grande Dames
DAME : “the title given to a woman equivalent to the rank of knight”
Oxford Language Dictionary
INTRODUCTION: Since the first proprietors arrived in Norwich, strong, adventurous women have built, nurtured, and supported and their families and community. This class will provide an overview of their many contributions.
GOAL: For students to learn of the courage, strength, and determination of several influential Norwich women who lived in Norwich during the period of 1659-1959
APPROACH:
1. Present overview of the contributions and lives of ten Norwich Dames
2. Take a quiz to determine retention of learned material
Sarah Kemble Knight (1666-1727)
Sarah Kemble Knight was a teacher and businesswoman, who is best remembered for a brief diary of a journey from Boston to New York City in 1704–1705. Her diary provides us with one of the few first-hand-accounts of travel conditions in Connecticut during colonial times.
Knight was born in Boston to Captain Thomas Kemble, a merchant in Boston, and Elizabeth Trerice. In 1689, she married Richard Knight. They had one child, Elizabeth. Having been left a widow after her husband’s death in 1703. Shortly after her husband’s death, she agreed to travel to New Haven to act on behalf of a friend in the settlement of her friend’s deceased husband’s will. Knight kept a journal of her trip.
Sarah chose to travel with a post rider or other reliable guide, so she was never alone on the road. Still, the difficulties she encountered speak volumes about the physical dangers of long-distance travel by horseback in that era. In crossing the Thames River in a ferry boat that carried both passengers and their horses, she wrote in an entry dated “Thirsday, Octobr ye 5th”: “Here, by reason of a very high wind, we mett with great difficulty in getting over—the Boat tos’t exceedingly, and our horses capper’d at a very surprizing Rate, and set us all in a fright.”
Sarah Knight first appeared in Norwich in 1698 where her status is listed as Shopkeeper, Innkeeper and widow. She owned and operated the Knight Tavern on Norwichtown Green. After a few years she returned to Boston where she kept a shop and taught school . However, by 1717 she returned to Norwich where she became the owner of a tavern at 8 Elm Avenue. The photo of the site of her tavern, shown above, was published in 1865 about 150 years after she operated the tavern.
*Place cursor over image to magnify
Sarah Knight Communion Cup
“On Aug. 12, 1717, Sarah Knight joined the church, and town records show that she was granted her liberty “to sitt in the pue where she use to sitt in ye meetinghouse.” Sarah apparently valued her membership at the church, because in 1722 she donated a silver goblet to be used as the communion cup. …”
“The Sarah Knight Communion Cup stayed in the possession of the church until the early 1900s when it was sold to George Palmer of New London for $1,000 to raise funds for the church. It is now at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.”
“Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Kemble, gift from her in 1722 to the Church of Christ, Norwich, Connecticut (became First Congregational Church)”
In accordance with Connecticut Colony law in the late 1600s and early 1700s, no taverns in the colony were allowed to sell “wine, liquors, cider, or any other strong drink” to Indians. In 1718, she and others were brought before Richard Bushnell, Justice of the Peace, for selling strong drink to the Indians. She accused her maid of selling the liquor, but refused to acquit herself under oath. She was sentenced to pay a fine of 20 shillings, about $300 in today’s $.
Sarah Knight lived a colorful life full of success and adventure. She is buried in New London in the Ancient Cemetery.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Sarah Knight” in the SEARCH box.
Lydia Huntley Sigourney (1791-1865)
Indian Names
by Lydia Huntley Sigourney
Ye say they all have passed away,
That noble race and brave,
That their light canoes have vanished
From off the crested wave;
That ’mid the forests where they roamed
There rings no hunter shout,
But their name is on your waters,
Ye may not wash it out.
’Tis where Ontario’s billow
Like Ocean’s surge is curled,
Where strong Niagara’s thunders wake
The echo of the world.
Where red Missouri bringeth
Rich tribute from the west,
And Rappahannock sweetly sleeps
On green Virginia’s breast.
Ye say their cone-like cabins,
That clustered o’er the vale,
Have fled away like withered leaves
Before the autumn gale,
But their memory liveth on your hills,
Their baptism on your shore,
Your everlasting rivers speak
Their dialect of yore.
Old Massachusetts wears it,
Within her lordly crown,
And broad Ohio bears it,
Amid his young renown;
Connecticut hath wreathed it
Where her quiet foliage waves,
And bold Kentucky breathed it hoarse
Through all her ancient caves.
Wachuset hides its lingering voice
Within his rocky heart,
And Alleghany graves its tone
Throughout his lofty chart;
Monadnock on his forehead hoar
Doth seal the sacred trust,
Your mountains build their monument,
Though ye destroy their dust.
Ye call these red-browned brethren
The insects of an hour,
Crushed like the noteless worm amid
The regions of their power;
Ye drive them from their father’s lands,
Ye break of faith the seal,
But can ye from the court of Heaven
Exclude their last appeal?
Ye see their unresisting tribes,
With toilsome step and slow,
On through the trackless desert pass
A caravan of woe;
Think ye the Eternal’s ear is deaf?
His sleepless vision dim?
Think ye the soul’s blood may not cry
From that far land to him?
Lydia Huntley Sigourney, a Norwich native, was an American poet during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the ‘Sweet Singer of Hartford’.
She was educated in Norwich and Hartford. With her friend Nancy Maria Hyde, Sigourney opened a school for young ladies in Norwich in 1811. Frances Manwaring Caulkins entered the Norwich school in September 1811, and remained a very warm friend and frequent correspondent with Sigourney thereafter.
On June 16, 1819, she married Charles Sigourney, and after her marriage chose to write anonymously in her “leisure” time. It was not until her parents were in dire need and her husband had lost some of his former affluence that she began to write as an occupation. When she was referred to as the probable author of the anonymous “Letters to Young Ladies By a Lady” she admitted authorship and began to write openly as Mrs. Sigourney.
She was one of the most popular writers of her day, both in the United States and in England. Her writings were characterized by fluency, grace and quiet reflection on nature, responsibility, domestic and religious life, and philanthropic questions.
She described the view of Norwich from the east as: “like a citadel, guarded by parapets of rock, and embosomed in an amphitheater of hills whose summits mark the horizon with a waving line of forest green.”
Among her most successful poems are “Niagara” and “Indian Names”. The latter was set to music by Natalie Merchant for the 2010 album, “Leave Your Sleep”. She contributed more than two thousand articles to many periodicals and some 67 books. Her poem “Sailor’s Hymn At Parting”, from her book “Poems for the Sea” (1850) is repeatedly quoted in the 2019 film “The Lighthouse”.
You can hear Natalie Merchant sing ‘Indian Names’ by clicking on the link below.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Lydia” in the SEARCH box.
Frances Manwaring Caulkins (1795-1869)
Frances Manwaring Caulkins was a well-known genealogist and author of the history of the towns of both Norwich and New London. Her book ”History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866” still serves today as fundamental documentation for most of Norwich’s history prior to 1866. She was a direct descendant of one of the first proprietors of Norwich, Deacon Hugh Calkins.
During 1806, she became the pupil of Rev. Joshua Williams, who taught a select school for young ladies in Norwichtown. While attending this school, before she turned twelve years old, she patiently wrote out from memory a volume of educational lectures as they were delivered, from week to week.
Later, on January 4, 1820 she opened a select school for young ladies in Norwichtown. As her talent for teaching was developed, her scholars increased, and the school acquired an excellent reputation and was well sustained for 9 years.
The desk where Caulkins wrote most of her books is on display at the Leffingwell House Museum in Norwich.
In a time when history was a field dominated by men, Caulkins broke social barriers and served as an inspiration for other female authors. In 1849, she was the first woman elected to become a member of the oldest historical society in the United States, the Massachusetts Historical Society.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Frances Manwaring” in the SEARCH box.
Harriet Peck Williams (1795-1880)
Harriet Peck Williams was one of Norwich’s most generous philanthropists in the late 1870s. She donated numerous gifts in support of cultural, religious and educational institutions.
In 1859, her gift Norwich Free Academy (NFA), of $5,000 ($166,000 in today’s dollars) established the Peck Library at the NFA, which was named in honor of her father, Captain Bela Peck, a wealthy Norwichtown businessman.
Park Congregational Church was built in 1874 on land donated by Mrs. Williams.
For many years she and her husband, William Williams, lived in the Teel House, a mansion located very near NFA and present-day Park Congregational Church. After the death of her husband, she became the last surviving member of this well-known Norwich family; all three of her children having predeceased her husband.
During her widowhood Mrs. Williams offered large contributions for the construction of Park Church. She donated the building lot for the church, the tower clock, a carillon of ten bells, and the west stained glass window in the sanctuary. These gifts were given by Harriet Williams in the declining years of her life.
Harriet Peck William excelled in private offerings as well. In her last will she bequeathed a major portion of her fortune toward the foundation of a high school for girls in New London to be dedicated in memory of her oldest son, Thomas W. Williams, who at the time of his death lived there. Founded in 1891, this progressive high school was dedicated to the promotion and advancement of female education at a time when few saw such a goal to be a priority. Today the Williams Memorial Institution (The Williams School) is a private prep school for grades 6 – 12 located on Mohegan Ave in New London.
*Place cursor over image to magnify
She died October 1880 at the age of 85. The Williams family memorial is located in the Yantic Cemetery in Norwich. She is buried alongside her husband William Williams.
A photo of the monument is shown on the left. When you place your cursor over the photo, you’ll be able to read the inscription, just below the date of her death. It reads :
“HER WORKS Do FOLLOW HER”
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Harriet Peck” in the SEARCH box.
Eliza Wait Huntington (c1796-1871)
Eliza Wait Huntington was a lady with a warm heart and open hand. It is written that “the poor and the afflicted were ever drawn towards her by her deep and tender sympathy for them.” Her exact birthdate is unknown, however, it was sometime between April 1795 and April 1796.
Eliza’s early life was most certainly filled with heartache and disappointment. Her sister Patty died when Eliza was 2 years old, her sister Hannah died when Eliza was 3, her brother Marvin died when she was 7, her mother died when she was 8, her first step-mother died when Eliza was 12, and her father died when she was 19.
In June, 1819, Eliza married Jedediah Huntington. At the time she was approximately 23 years old.
Jedediah Huntington was a wealthy and successful mercantile businessman in the Norwich community known for his “unbending integrity and large and frequent donations to religious and benevolent objects.” He was also a director of the Norwich Bank for almost 50 years, a trustee and director of the Society for Savings, and one of the projectors and managers of the Norwich Water Power Company. Jedediah Huntington also took an active part in building the railroad from Norwich to Worchester, and when the company was near failure, he helped save it by extended them a personal line of credit.
Mr. and Mrs. Huntington lived together for more than fifty years. They celebrated their golden wedding in June, 1869.
ELIZA HUNTINGTON MEMORIAL HOME: 99 Washington Street
The Eliza Huntington Memorial Home sits on land that was initially owned by Elijah Lathrop. Ownership changed hands several times, but finally, Jonathan Dodge bought the parcel and built his home with a Greek Revival Ornament above the front doorway in 1832.
In 1836 Jedediah Huntington purchased the property, the house, and the barn. He and Eliza lived in the home for thirty-five years.
*Place cursor over image to magnify
Eliza wanted to render a public benefit to Norwich and made her wishes known before she died in 1871. Accordingly, her husband bequeathed the property to memorialize her in his will. He donated their dwelling-house, estimated to be worth $25,000 ($625,000 in 2023 dollars) and an additional $35,000 ($875,000 in 2023 dollars).
In 1872 Jedediah founded the “Eliza Huntington Memorial Home,” and placed the management of the home in the hands of his executors, John T. Wait, James A. Hovey, and, the rectors of Christ and Trinity Churches, Samuel C. Morgan, Jeremiah Halsey, Lafayette S. Foster, Henry Bill, and Reverend Norris G. Lippitt.
Eliza and Jedediah’s gift has benefitted the women of Norwich for more than 150 years!
Today it is a retirement and assisted living facility for women over the age of 60.
*Place cursor over image to magnify
Eliza and Jedediah are buried in Norwich’s Yantic Cemetery.
Father: Judge Marvin Wait of New London (1746-1815)
Mother: Patty Jones Wait (1763- April 25, 1779)
First Step-Mother: Harriet Saltonstall Wait (1766-1808)
Second Step-Mother: Nancy Turner Wait (1772-1851)
Siblings: Marvin, Patty, Hannah (Eliza was youngest child)
Husband: Jedediah Huntington (1791-1872)
It is unknown if Eliza and Jedediah had any children
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Eliza Wait Huntington” in the SEARCH box.
Sarah L. Huntington Smith (1802-1836)
Sarah Lanman Huntington, born in Norwich in 1802, led an extraordinary, exemplary, admirable life. She was a capable, creative young woman, who decided at the age of twenty-five that she would become a missionary. Her first outreach was to the Mohegans in Uncasville, Connecticut. She started a Sabbath school there, raised funds, and eventually moved to the area to teach.
Later, she married Reverend Eli Smith, and they accepted a mission from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) . They sailed to Beirut, (Syria at the time) and served as a missionaries. Sarah established and taught in the first girls school in the area and Eli became the first person to translate the Bible from English to Arabic.
The stained glass windows shown below, located in Norwich’s Park Church, are a memorial to Sarah, her father and mother. Park Church also owns a spectacular oil portrait of Sarah.
Her deep family roots in Norwich helped prepare Sarah for a remarkable lifetime of achievements. She was the daughter of a Norwich attorney, Deacon Jabez Huntington (1767-1848), and was educated with missionary sympathies and feelings. All her relatives, on the side of father and mother, were active promoters of the work of God. Sarah was an active member of the Second Congregational Church in Norwich.
Being of a delicate constitution as a child, there was some difficulty in training and governing her. A protracted sickness when she was about six years old confined her to a cot by the fireside. During the first twelve years of her life, she was like other thoughtful and pleasant girls of her age, and spent her time in the amusements and pursuits of youth. At school she was industrious, studious, but not remarkably rapid in her progress.
It was at the age of fifteen that she went to a boarding school in Boston, where she remained a year. After returning to her father’s house, her life was spent surrounded by much company. She was also educated in Lydia Huntley’s Norwich Female Academy.
At the age of twenty-five, she initiated a mission to the Mohegans, helping to establish a school and the Mohegan Congregational Church.
*Place cursor over images to magnify
In 1894, Edward W. Hooker wrote: “She usually rode from Norwich on horseback, and, taking a little girl with her into the saddle, passed from house to house, using the child as guide, interpreter, and adviser. When she met in the road a few ragged natives, or a knot of men and women, die would stop her horse, and converse awhile with them, and slip a tract into the hand of each, and with a smile pass on.”
In 1834 Sarah Lanman Huntington married Reverend Eli Smith, and they travelled to Beirut. She immediately established the American School of Girls and became its first teacher. Sarah learned Arabic, French, and Italian. This allowed her to better understand cultural context and to help her husband’s Bible translation effort.
American School for Girls in Beirut, Lebanon
Established 1835
Missionaries Sarah L. Smith and her husband Eli sailed to Syria in 1835. Noticing the prevalent illiteracy among girls in Beirut, Sarah decided to offer classes to the local population. With a handful of students, she started what soon became known as the American School for Girls.
As shown in the photo below, Sarah was its first teacher. Even though Sarah passed away less than a year after the school was founded, the educational institution continues to thrive today. The name for the original American School for Girls changed several times throughout history, and is known today as the Lebanese American University.
This monument stands today at the National Evangelical Church in Beirut. The inscription refers to the American School for Girls, established in Beirut in 1835 by Sarah L. Smith. The ASG inaugurated an important shift in education for women in Syria and the surrounding region.
Over decades it became known as the best female boarding school in the region as it drew more and more students from various locations.
In June 1836 Sarah’s health was failing due to a severe case of tuberculosis. So she and her husband set sail for for Smyrna (today’s Turkey) for treatment. Unfortunately, her suffering increased because the vessel in which they sailed was old and uncomfortable. During the fifth night after leaving Beirut, the vessel wrecked on the north side of the island of Cyprus and the voyagers barely escaped. Eventually, they landed on a sandy shore, in a destitute condition. Sarah and her husband arrived at Smyrna 33 days after they left Beirut. Her strength gradually failed and Sarah passed away on September 30, 1836.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Huntington Smith” in the SEARCH box.
Sarah Harris Fayerweather (1812-1878)
Twenty nine years before the Civil War began, Sarah Harris Fayerweather, stood up for her rights and provided a fine example for how to begin to swing the pendulum of needed change. Simply put, she deeply desired to learn and to be able to teach others, and she was willing to stand up to the establishment to help make it happen. However, her journey, which began in Norwich, was anything but simple or easy.
Perhaps her bravery and actions displayed in 1832 sowed seeds of fairness in the hearts Norwich citizens who congregated at Breed Hall to discuss issues of slavery and pending war in 1861.
Sarah Harris was born on April 16, 1812 in Norwich. She was the daughter of William Monteflora Harris and Sally Prentice Harris, both of whom were free farmers and resided in the Jail Hill section of Norwich.
At the age of 20 Sarah Harris requested admission to the Canterbury Female Boarding School operated by Prudence Crandall. In a letter to William Lloyd Garrison’s newspaper, The Liberator, Crandall recalls Sarah’s visit: “A colored girl of respectability – a professor of religion – and daughter of honorable parents, called on me sometime during the month of September last, and said in a very earnest manner, ‘Miss Crandall, I want to get a little more learning, enough if possible to teach colored children, and if you will admit me into your school I shall forever be under the greatest obligation to you. If you think it will be the means of injuring you, I will not insist on the favor.'”
After brief deliberation, Crandall admitted her to the school in September 1832 as the first black student. Shortly thereafter many parents of the other students demanded that Miss Crandall expel Sarah. When she refused, most of the other students withdrew. Faced with severe opposition from the Canterbury community, Crandall closed the existing school – only to reopen in 1833 in order to teach a group of solely African-American students.
in South Kingston Rhode Island
Sarah continued to attend the school in the face of harassment and adversity until Crandall, afraid for her pupils’ safety, after a mob converged on the school on the evening of Sarah’s marriage, closed the school permanently.
On September 9, 1834 Sarah married George Fayerweather Jr. in a double wedding ceremony with her brother and his bride in Canterbury. George was an accomplished blacksmith. The couple moved to New London in 1841 and then later to South Kingston Rhode Island in 1855. They lived in George’s blacksmith shop shown in the photo above. The house/shop was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Sarah Fayerweather joined the Kingston Anti-Slavery Society, attended antislavery meetings held by the American Anti-Slavery Society in various cities across the North, maintained a correspondence with her former teacher Prudence Crandall and former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and subscribed to The Liberator until Garrison ceased publishing it in 1865. She also maintained an active church life, joining the Sunday school class at Kingston’s Congregational church.
Sarah gave birth to five children. She named her first child Prudence Crandall. Sarah Harris Fayerweather is buried in South Kingston, Rhode Island in the Old Fernwood cemetery.
In 1970 Fayerweather Hall, a dormitory on the campus of University of Rhode Island, was named in honor of Sarah Harris Fayerweather. The Fayerweather Craft Guild, located in Kingston at the site of the Fayerweather family’s former home and blacksmith shop, is also named in her honor.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Sarah Harris” in the SEARCH box.
1861-1865 SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY
LIZZIE GREENE, CARRIE THOMAS & ELIZA PERKINS
The women of Norwich supported the Civil War effort in countless ways. Before, during and after the war they provided support and comfort to the men who had volunteered to serve.
When the call for volunteer soldiers first arrived in Norwich, the ladies immediately began to meet daily in Breed Hall to outfit their soldiers. By the time Captain Frank Chester and his men embarked on their duty, the women were credited with having made 1,600 flannel and checked cotton shirts and other articles of clothing.
The Soldiers’ Aid Society was organized in September 1861 in response to a request for socks from the soldiers. Elizabeth C. (Lizzie) Greene (William P. Greene’s younger daughter) led the organization and shared its management with Carrie L. Thomas and Eliza P. Perkins. During the latter part of the war Emeline Norton also held a responsible position in the Society’s management and gave of her time and strength to keep up its efforts.
From October 1861 through September 1865 the group raised more than $7,100 ($191,000 in today’s dollars). According to their records they expended $7,909 ($212,750 in today’s dollars) over the years. The bulk of their expenditures were from flannel, sheeting and yarn.
More than 60% of the deaths of Union soldiers came as a result of disease. The items provided by the Soldiers’ Aid Society were sorely needed by the soldiers. To help offset the soldiers’ physical needs the Society contributed much more than money. According to the group’s records, they sent thousands of personal items to the troops. Some of these were: 6,587 socks; 1,213 quilts; 2,018 pillow cases; 1,993 flannel shirts; 2,359 cotton shirts; 793 second hand shirts; and, not to be forgotten 1,519 drawers. These were but a few of many items sent.
A Civil War Union Hospital
*Place cursor over photo to magnify
Another important role for the Soldier’s Aid Society was to support regimental hospitals. At Governor Buckingham’s suggestion, an arrangement was made with the Society to supply regimental hospitals. The women of Norwich assumed special care for the soldiers of the 6th, 8th, 11th, and 13th CVI regiments. They invited women from Windham County and the rest of New London County to also join them in meeting the soldiers’ needs.
The Soldiers’ Aid Society also supported the war effort in other states. Dr. C.B. Webster sent a request from Washington to Norwich on February 7, 1863. His letter mentioned that his medical facility, the Contraband Camp Hospital, had 1,100 refugees from slavery, of which 300 were sick and under medical treatment. They were also treating 200 small pox patients.
Dr. Webb requested clothing, shoes and socks. The Soldiers’ Aid Society at once issued their call for contributions, and with the usual success. Many items were sent to the camp, which attested to the wide sympathy of the ladies and the promptness of their reply.
A Civil War Square Meal
*Place cursor over photo to magnify
In November 1862 Colonel J.H. Almy requested the Society to furnish pies of the Thanksgiving dinner of the Connecticut soldiers encamped on Long Island. The troops received 160 pies of various kinds; carefully packed in boxes.
Two years later when a second appeal for Thanksgiving, the Society once again generously supported their men with both food and money. The contributions filled 21 barrels and seven boxes, and were forwarded to the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 21st and 29th regiments. $300 was spent on turkeys and chickens, $100 was spent on medical supplies, and $174 was spent on the comfort of the sick and wounded soldiers.
Lizzie Greene and Eliza Perkins also supported the fallen soldiers of Norwich after the war. In January 1869 it was resolved that a committee of seven would be appointed to solicit and collect funds for the erection of a monument to the Norwich soldiers and seamen who had fallen. This distinguished committee included William A. Buckingham, Elizabeth Greene and Eliza Perkins. The committee’s efforts, along with a city tax of assessment, and the sales of the “The Norwich Memorial” book (Info Source 1 below), funded the Civil War Soldiers’ Monument.
Much more detailed information about the Soldiers’ Aid Society can be found in Info Source 2.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Soldiers’ Aid Society” in the SEARCH box.
Edith Carow Roosevelt (1861-1948)
Edith Kermit Carow was born in Norwich on August 6, 1861. She was born in her maternal parent’s mansion, 130 Washington Street. Her middle name was the surname of a paternal great-uncle Robert Kermit.
She married Theodore Roosevelt on December 2, 1886 who became the 26th President of the United States
in 1901. She served as First Lady from 1901-1909.
Edith led a very interesting life. In 1869-1871 she was schooled in the Dodsworth School for Dancing and Deportment, in New York City. In 1871-1879 she attended the Louise Comstock Private School, also in New York City. As a child, she attended private kindergarten and primary school at the Theodore Roosevelt Sr. home on Park Avenue in New York City.
She joined Theodore in many outdoor sporting activities, such as tennis, swimming long-distance, bicycling, and rowing. She also became an expert horsewoman.
She and her husband had four sons and one daughter.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Edith” in the SEARCH box.
Dr. Ier J. Manwaring (1872-1958)
Dr. Ier J. Manwaring was one of Norwich’s first women medical doctors and one of the first female medical doctors to go overseas during an international conflict.
She was born in Montville but she and her parents moved to a 100-acre farm located on East Great Plain (present-day site of Three Rivers Community College) in Norwich when she was five years old. She was educated at the Broadway School, the East Greenwich Academy in Rhode Island, the Mary Baldwin College in Virginia, and the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia. Upon completion of her education, she established her own medical practice in Norwich and was the physician at Connecticut College from 1916 until she left for France.
Dr. Manwaring, along with a contingent of other women doctors, was determined to serve her country after the United States entered World War I. The women doctors formed the American Women’s Hospitals Service (AWHS). It’s mission was to raise money to operate a hospital, staff it with doctors and nurses, and acquire and equip ambulances. Manwaring raised $5,000 in Connecticut.
AWHS established the first hospital in Neufmoutiers-en-Brie France in July 1918. When members of the first women’s hospital unit arrived, they could hear the thunder of artillery as the Allies in the Marne region stopped the Germans’ final offensive of the war. The women wore custom-designed khaki uniforms modeled after those of British officers.
Manwaring and 25 other doctors, nurses and drivers formed the second unit. Their destination, assigned by the French, was Luzancy on the Marne River. Residents of the area were returning to their homes from the war when the doctors opened their hospital in an old chateau — a place that the Germans had also used as a hospital.
During their service in France, the group treated more than 20,000 people in 195 villages, at an average cost of less than $1 per patient. From November 1918 to August 1919, the dispensary doctors made 8,348 house calls. They treated skin diseases, hernias, heart and kidney troubles in the old, and malnutrition in babies. They dressed abscesses and treated ulcers.
As the doctors prepared to leave Luzancy in March 1919, a ceremony was held in their honor. They were named honorary citizens of Luzancy and four of the doctors, including Manwaring, received medals, equivalent to the French Legion of Honor.
After her 14 month tour of duty she returned to Norwich to resume her medical practice.
She is buried in Maplewood Cemetery.
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then typing “Dr. Ier” in the SEARCH box.
