Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler, MD was the first African-American woman to earn the Doctor of Medicine degree in the United States. Born in Christiana, Delaware to Matilda Webber and Absolum Davis, she was raised in Pennsylvania by an aunt who cared for infirm neighbors. Rebecca later attended West Newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts, one of the finest secondary schools in the northeast at the time with students from all over the United States and and from such far away places as Hawaii, Paris, Cuba, and China.
She married Wyatt Lee, a Virginia native, on April 19, 1852 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and began an eight year career as a nurse. A number of physicians with whom she worked recognized her dedication and talent and encouraged her to seek advanced medical training. On their recommendation and advice she entered the New England Female Medical College in Boston in 1860 and was awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1864. Her husband Wyatt had died in 1863 before her graduation. On May 24, 1865 in St. John, New Brunswick, Rebecca was again married, this time to Arthur Crumpler, an escaped slave from Virginia.
Dr. Crumpler began to practice medicine in Boston, but at the close of the Civil War she moved to Richmond, Virginia to serve the black community there as a medical missionary. In New Castle and Wilmington Delaware she served as a physician and teacher with the Freedman's Bureau. By 1869 she and Arthur had returned to Boston where she later opened a medical office at 67 Joy Street on Beacon Hill. In mid-December, 1870, their daughter, Lizzie Sinclair Crumpler, was born at their 20 Garden Street home.
By 1880 the couple had moved to Hyde Park, Massachusetts and it was there that Dr. Crumpler researched and wrote "A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts", which was published in 1883. In it Crumpler briefly describes some of her early personal life and especially the experiences that led her, first to nursing, and then to a career as a physician. Crumpler died on March 9, 1895 in Hyde Park, and is buried nearby at Fairview Cemetery. Her husband, Arthur, survived her and died in 1910.
Bio by H. Lee Price (2016).
NOTES: Date of Burial: March 13, 1895, Undertaker: Smith & Higgins.
Rebecca Crumpler, MD (1883). A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts. Boston: Cashman & Keating. OCLC 14773801.
She married Wyatt Lee, a Virginia native, on April 19, 1852 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and began an eight year career as a nurse. A number of physicians with whom she worked recognized her dedication and talent and encouraged her to seek advanced medical training. On their recommendation and advice she entered the New England Female Medical College in Boston in 1860 and was awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1864. Her husband Wyatt had died in 1863 before her graduation. On May 24, 1865 in St. John, New Brunswick, Rebecca was again married, this time to Arthur Crumpler, an escaped slave from Virginia.
Dr. Crumpler began to practice medicine in Boston, but at the close of the Civil War she moved to Richmond, Virginia to serve the black community there as a medical missionary. In New Castle and Wilmington Delaware she served as a physician and teacher with the Freedman's Bureau. By 1869 she and Arthur had returned to Boston where she later opened a medical office at 67 Joy Street on Beacon Hill. In mid-December, 1870, their daughter, Lizzie Sinclair Crumpler, was born at their 20 Garden Street home.
By 1880 the couple had moved to Hyde Park, Massachusetts and it was there that Dr. Crumpler researched and wrote "A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts", which was published in 1883. In it Crumpler briefly describes some of her early personal life and especially the experiences that led her, first to nursing, and then to a career as a physician. Crumpler died on March 9, 1895 in Hyde Park, and is buried nearby at Fairview Cemetery. Her husband, Arthur, survived her and died in 1910.
Bio by H. Lee Price (2016).
NOTES: Date of Burial: March 13, 1895, Undertaker: Smith & Higgins.
Rebecca Crumpler, MD (1883). A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts. Boston: Cashman & Keating. OCLC 14773801.
Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler, MD was the first African-American woman to earn the Doctor of Medicine degree in the United States. Born in Christiana, Delaware to Matilda Webber and Absolum Davis, she was raised in Pennsylvania by an aunt who cared for infirm neighbors. Rebecca later attended West Newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts, one of the finest secondary schools in the northeast at the time with students from all over the United States and and from such far away places as Hawaii, Paris, Cuba, and China.
She married Wyatt Lee, a Virginia native, on April 19, 1852 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and began an eight year career as a nurse. A number of physicians with whom she worked recognized her dedication and talent and encouraged her to seek advanced medical training. On their recommendation and advice she entered the New England Female Medical College in Boston in 1860 and was awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1864. Her husband Wyatt had died in 1863 before her graduation. On May 24, 1865 in St. John, New Brunswick, Rebecca was again married, this time to Arthur Crumpler, an escaped slave from Virginia.
Dr. Crumpler began to practice medicine in Boston, but at the close of the Civil War she moved to Richmond, Virginia to serve the black community there as a medical missionary. In New Castle and Wilmington Delaware she served as a physician and teacher with the Freedman's Bureau. By 1869 she and Arthur had returned to Boston where she later opened a medical office at 67 Joy Street on Beacon Hill. In mid-December, 1870, their daughter, Lizzie Sinclair Crumpler, was born at their 20 Garden Street home.
By 1880 the couple had moved to Hyde Park, Massachusetts and it was there that Dr. Crumpler researched and wrote "A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts", which was published in 1883. In it Crumpler briefly describes some of her early personal life and especially the experiences that led her, first to nursing, and then to a career as a physician. Crumpler died on March 9, 1895 in Hyde Park, and is buried nearby at Fairview Cemetery. Her husband, Arthur, survived her and died in 1910.
Bio by H. Lee Price (2016).
NOTES: Date of Burial: March 13, 1895, Undertaker: Smith & Higgins.
Rebecca Crumpler, MD (1883). A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts. Boston: Cashman & Keating. OCLC 14773801.
She married Wyatt Lee, a Virginia native, on April 19, 1852 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and began an eight year career as a nurse. A number of physicians with whom she worked recognized her dedication and talent and encouraged her to seek advanced medical training. On their recommendation and advice she entered the New England Female Medical College in Boston in 1860 and was awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1864. Her husband Wyatt had died in 1863 before her graduation. On May 24, 1865 in St. John, New Brunswick, Rebecca was again married, this time to Arthur Crumpler, an escaped slave from Virginia.
Dr. Crumpler began to practice medicine in Boston, but at the close of the Civil War she moved to Richmond, Virginia to serve the black community there as a medical missionary. In New Castle and Wilmington Delaware she served as a physician and teacher with the Freedman's Bureau. By 1869 she and Arthur had returned to Boston where she later opened a medical office at 67 Joy Street on Beacon Hill. In mid-December, 1870, their daughter, Lizzie Sinclair Crumpler, was born at their 20 Garden Street home.
By 1880 the couple had moved to Hyde Park, Massachusetts and it was there that Dr. Crumpler researched and wrote "A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts", which was published in 1883. In it Crumpler briefly describes some of her early personal life and especially the experiences that led her, first to nursing, and then to a career as a physician. Crumpler died on March 9, 1895 in Hyde Park, and is buried nearby at Fairview Cemetery. Her husband, Arthur, survived her and died in 1910.
Bio by H. Lee Price (2016).
NOTES: Date of Burial: March 13, 1895, Undertaker: Smith & Higgins.
Rebecca Crumpler, MD (1883). A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts. Boston: Cashman & Keating. OCLC 14773801.
Inscription
FRONT: Rebecca Crumpler /1831-1895/ The first black woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S. 1864 || BACK: The Community and the / Commonwealth's Four / Medical Schools Honor Dr. Rebecca Crumpler / for her Ceaseless Courage / Pioneering Achievements, and / Historic Legacy as a Physician / Author, Nurse, Missionary and / Advocate for Health Equity / and Social Justice.
Gravesite Details
No grave marker existed here until July 16, 2020. Friends of Hyde Park Library and the Hyde Park Historical Society launched a fundraiser to place these headstones honoring Dr. Rebecca Crumpler and her husband Arthur.
