The capital city, like much of the nation, had adopted segregationist policies throughout all spheres of life. Reconstruction-era civil rights laws had either been repealed or were actively ignored. In an entry in American National Biography, historian David Marc wrote: “Hoping to return to private practice in Washington, Loguen was shocked by the sharp deterioration in race relations that had taken place in the United States. When she returned to Washington, D.C., she found that a lot had changed, making life more difficult for a person of her race and gender. ![]() Loguen-Fraser at her home in the Dominican Republic. She spent the next decade in the Caribbean, raising her daughter, Gregoria “Doe” Fraser, and practicing as the first female doctor in the Dominican Republic, earning the nickname “Miss Doc.” After her husband died in 1894, she gradually began planning to move back to the United States.ĭr. Fraser that while I would have been glad to have you here as long as I am in the land of the living, that I do not blame him a bit for taking you away. In a letter addressed on Oct 27, 1882, Douglass wrote a warmhearted farewell to his friend. The two were married in 1882, and Sarah Loguen-Fraser moved from the District to Puerto Plata, a city on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Within a year, Douglass also introduced Loguen to the person she would marry, a man named Charles Fraser, a pharmacist of Afro-Caribbean and Danish descent, who owned a plantation in the Dominican Republic. According to lore, Douglass brought a custom signboard for Loguen’s private practice on 13th St, NW, and nailed it up himself. Amelia was married to Frederick Douglass’ son, and as a result Sarah Loguen had a close relationship with the esteemed abolitionist. She moved in to her sister Amelia’s household. ![]() In 1881, her journey took her to practice medicine in the same place where she first vowed to become a doctor: the U.S. įor the next four years, she completed medical internships at hospitals in Boston and Philadelphia. Three years later, she graduated, becoming the first woman to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree from the university. On Oct 3, 1873, she was accepted into the Syracuse University College of Medicine. With his assistance, she learned the basics of biology and chemistry needed to apply to medical school. Īfter the incident where she was powerless to aid the injured child, she sought mentorship from her family physician, Michael Benedict, who had been surgeon in the Civil War. īefore becoming trained in the field of Western medicine, she grew acquainted with Iroquois healing practices as a child: a group of local Haudenosaunee women taught her family how to treat the ailments of fugitives escaping slavery. Her father was Reverend Jermain Wesley Loguen, who escaped slavery in his childhood to become a prominent abolitionist operating a safe house in the Underground Railroad, and becoming a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Sarah Marinda Loguen was born in Syracuse, New York on Jan 29, 1850. While she lived all around the world, including New York, the Dominican Republic and France, some of the most important landmarks of her life happened in Washington, D.C.īut, before delving into her life and times in the capital, let’s take a journey to some of the other cities that were important to her life. ![]() Indeed, she was the fourth Black woman in the United States to become a licensed physician. Sarah Marinda Loguen-Fraser lived an extraordinary life, as a healer, mother and advocate for Black health and wellbeing. from the Syracuse University College of Medicine, and is believed to be the fourth Black woman to become a licensed physician in the United States. Sarah Marinda Loguen was the first woman to receive an M.D. That day she made a solemn vow: “I will never, never see a human being in need of aid again and not be able to help.” This was Sarah Loguen’s first step on the road to becoming a doctor. The child was carried away, presumably dead. She frantically searched for a doctor, but to no avail. While a crowd gathered, Loguen was the only person to look for help. When she heard a child’s scream, she witnessed a horrible sight: a young boy was gravely injured by a wagon which had run over his leg. It was the spring of 1873, and Sarah Marinda Loguen was returning to her family home in Syracuse, New York after visiting friends and family in the nation’s capital. ![]() At 22 years old, a woman who went by “Tinnie” had an experience at a Washington train station that would forever change her destiny.
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