Dr. Elizabeth H. Bates died at her
home in New York city last week Wednesday,
aged 66 years. She was the
daughter of Dr. William Bates who practiced
medicine in Morris many years ago.
She was born at Morris and left there
when about thirty-six years of age. She
has since lived in New York, following
her profession until her health failed.
She frequently visited Morris since her
removal from that place and was well
known there.
Both her father and mother are buried
at Morris and she has no brothers or
sisters. Two aunts , Mrs. C.K. Hawkes
and Miss Mary A. Hanners, and a cousin,
T.H. Sayre, all of New York, accomp-
panied the body to Morris on Monday of
this week.
from The Otsego Farmer
published at Cooperstown, NY
15 April 1898, page 5.
DR. ELIZABETH H. BATES
Dr. Elizabeth H. Bates, who died April 6, 1898, at Port Chester, New York, left her fortune of $125,000.00 to the medical department of the University of Michigan for the endowment of the Bates Professorship of the diseases of women and children. This is the largest bequest ever given to the University and will yield an income of $6,000 a year. Even in the early years of Dr. Bate's practice when her income was small, she planned to leave whatever she might accumulate in the future to the University of Michigan, because it was the first in admitting women to its medical school on a par with men.
Dr. Bates was born April 1, 1832, at Charlemont, Massachusetts. She was of English ancestry on her father's side, of Scotch descent on mother's. Her great grandfather, Benjamin Hanners, came over from Scotland before the Revolution, settling in Boston. Disguised as an Indian, he assisted at the Boston Tea Party, and it was a family tradition that his chaise carried General Warren to the battle of Bunker Hill. Three generations of ancestors in the Hanners family lie in a vault under King's Chapel in Boston.
Dr. Bate's father, her grandfather, and her father's brother were all physicians. Her father was practicing at Charlemont, Mass., when she was born. He was a man of superior ability, clear and precise in expression, acutely observant, and of a medical judgment almost unerring in serious cases. Her mother was an invalid for many years. Dr. Bates was an only child, and when a little girl was so delicate that her father kept her out-of-doors and took her driving with him through the country districts included in his extensive practice.
She began her education in the public school of Charlemont, but when eight years old her father removed to Morris, N.Y., where she in a parochial school for some time, afterwards attending an academy in Gilbertsville. At sixteen she entered Mrs. Willard's Seminary at Troy, from which she graduated July 24, 1852. On returning from Troy she was twenty years old and so inured to regular occupation that she confessed that "she felt lost without it and did not want to do nothing as other girls did." She told her father that she wanted to study medicine, an ambition which she had cherished from her girlhood. He answered: "If you do, you must do it desperately. I want no halfway work. Think it over for two weeks, but do not speak to me of it until then." With a decision apparently characteristic, Dr. Bates answered that she was ready now, and her father at once started her in the work. She had read with him a year before even intimate friends knew of it. The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania was the only medical school open to women at this time and from this Dr. Bates was graduated in 1854.
For twenty years thereafter she practiced with her father in Owego. Both were successful in general practice, and she especially so in diseases of women and children. Her mother's death in 1872, and her father's two years afterward, were severe blows to Dr. Bates, and broke down her health, never robust and always taxed beyond its capacity. She missed the support of her father's experience and his companionship, but she continued to work, removing in 1882 to Port Chester, New York. In this community, where she lived until her death, she was a notable influence. The presidency of the board of health was given to her and she was a trustee of the Congregational Church, being largely instrumental in founding and supporting it. While not emotional or demonstrative in her religion, almost the last words she spoke were to ask about the success of a church entertainment given that evening to assist in payment of the church debt.
Dr. Bates contributed no writings to medical annals, though she wrote for local medical societies papers which she was urged to publish. She was well-read in scientific and professional literature and was a good literary critic. On the whole, however, she was a woman of deeds rather than words. The large fortune accumulated entirely through her own efforts is sufficient evidence of her medical skill and shrewd management. As as pioneer in women's practice of medicine, her dominant will and energy, and decided personal opinions, were leading factors in her success.
[The above biography is from "The Michigan Alumnus, Vol 4, pages 369-370, published in 1898 by the University of Michigan Alumni Association.]
home in New York city last week Wednesday,
aged 66 years. She was the
daughter of Dr. William Bates who practiced
medicine in Morris many years ago.
She was born at Morris and left there
when about thirty-six years of age. She
has since lived in New York, following
her profession until her health failed.
She frequently visited Morris since her
removal from that place and was well
known there.
Both her father and mother are buried
at Morris and she has no brothers or
sisters. Two aunts , Mrs. C.K. Hawkes
and Miss Mary A. Hanners, and a cousin,
T.H. Sayre, all of New York, accomp-
panied the body to Morris on Monday of
this week.
from The Otsego Farmer
published at Cooperstown, NY
15 April 1898, page 5.
DR. ELIZABETH H. BATES
Dr. Elizabeth H. Bates, who died April 6, 1898, at Port Chester, New York, left her fortune of $125,000.00 to the medical department of the University of Michigan for the endowment of the Bates Professorship of the diseases of women and children. This is the largest bequest ever given to the University and will yield an income of $6,000 a year. Even in the early years of Dr. Bate's practice when her income was small, she planned to leave whatever she might accumulate in the future to the University of Michigan, because it was the first in admitting women to its medical school on a par with men.
Dr. Bates was born April 1, 1832, at Charlemont, Massachusetts. She was of English ancestry on her father's side, of Scotch descent on mother's. Her great grandfather, Benjamin Hanners, came over from Scotland before the Revolution, settling in Boston. Disguised as an Indian, he assisted at the Boston Tea Party, and it was a family tradition that his chaise carried General Warren to the battle of Bunker Hill. Three generations of ancestors in the Hanners family lie in a vault under King's Chapel in Boston.
Dr. Bate's father, her grandfather, and her father's brother were all physicians. Her father was practicing at Charlemont, Mass., when she was born. He was a man of superior ability, clear and precise in expression, acutely observant, and of a medical judgment almost unerring in serious cases. Her mother was an invalid for many years. Dr. Bates was an only child, and when a little girl was so delicate that her father kept her out-of-doors and took her driving with him through the country districts included in his extensive practice.
She began her education in the public school of Charlemont, but when eight years old her father removed to Morris, N.Y., where she in a parochial school for some time, afterwards attending an academy in Gilbertsville. At sixteen she entered Mrs. Willard's Seminary at Troy, from which she graduated July 24, 1852. On returning from Troy she was twenty years old and so inured to regular occupation that she confessed that "she felt lost without it and did not want to do nothing as other girls did." She told her father that she wanted to study medicine, an ambition which she had cherished from her girlhood. He answered: "If you do, you must do it desperately. I want no halfway work. Think it over for two weeks, but do not speak to me of it until then." With a decision apparently characteristic, Dr. Bates answered that she was ready now, and her father at once started her in the work. She had read with him a year before even intimate friends knew of it. The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania was the only medical school open to women at this time and from this Dr. Bates was graduated in 1854.
For twenty years thereafter she practiced with her father in Owego. Both were successful in general practice, and she especially so in diseases of women and children. Her mother's death in 1872, and her father's two years afterward, were severe blows to Dr. Bates, and broke down her health, never robust and always taxed beyond its capacity. She missed the support of her father's experience and his companionship, but she continued to work, removing in 1882 to Port Chester, New York. In this community, where she lived until her death, she was a notable influence. The presidency of the board of health was given to her and she was a trustee of the Congregational Church, being largely instrumental in founding and supporting it. While not emotional or demonstrative in her religion, almost the last words she spoke were to ask about the success of a church entertainment given that evening to assist in payment of the church debt.
Dr. Bates contributed no writings to medical annals, though she wrote for local medical societies papers which she was urged to publish. She was well-read in scientific and professional literature and was a good literary critic. On the whole, however, she was a woman of deeds rather than words. The large fortune accumulated entirely through her own efforts is sufficient evidence of her medical skill and shrewd management. As as pioneer in women's practice of medicine, her dominant will and energy, and decided personal opinions, were leading factors in her success.
[The above biography is from "The Michigan Alumnus, Vol 4, pages 369-370, published in 1898 by the University of Michigan Alumni Association.]
Dr. Elizabeth H. Bates died at her
home in New York city last week Wednesday,
aged 66 years. She was the
daughter of Dr. William Bates who practiced
medicine in Morris many years ago.
She was born at Morris and left there
when about thirty-six years of age. She
has since lived in New York, following
her profession until her health failed.
She frequently visited Morris since her
removal from that place and was well
known there.
Both her father and mother are buried
at Morris and she has no brothers or
sisters. Two aunts , Mrs. C.K. Hawkes
and Miss Mary A. Hanners, and a cousin,
T.H. Sayre, all of New York, accomp-
panied the body to Morris on Monday of
this week.
from The Otsego Farmer
published at Cooperstown, NY
15 April 1898, page 5.
DR. ELIZABETH H. BATES
Dr. Elizabeth H. Bates, who died April 6, 1898, at Port Chester, New York, left her fortune of $125,000.00 to the medical department of the University of Michigan for the endowment of the Bates Professorship of the diseases of women and children. This is the largest bequest ever given to the University and will yield an income of $6,000 a year. Even in the early years of Dr. Bate's practice when her income was small, she planned to leave whatever she might accumulate in the future to the University of Michigan, because it was the first in admitting women to its medical school on a par with men.
Dr. Bates was born April 1, 1832, at Charlemont, Massachusetts. She was of English ancestry on her father's side, of Scotch descent on mother's. Her great grandfather, Benjamin Hanners, came over from Scotland before the Revolution, settling in Boston. Disguised as an Indian, he assisted at the Boston Tea Party, and it was a family tradition that his chaise carried General Warren to the battle of Bunker Hill. Three generations of ancestors in the Hanners family lie in a vault under King's Chapel in Boston.
Dr. Bate's father, her grandfather, and her father's brother were all physicians. Her father was practicing at Charlemont, Mass., when she was born. He was a man of superior ability, clear and precise in expression, acutely observant, and of a medical judgment almost unerring in serious cases. Her mother was an invalid for many years. Dr. Bates was an only child, and when a little girl was so delicate that her father kept her out-of-doors and took her driving with him through the country districts included in his extensive practice.
She began her education in the public school of Charlemont, but when eight years old her father removed to Morris, N.Y., where she in a parochial school for some time, afterwards attending an academy in Gilbertsville. At sixteen she entered Mrs. Willard's Seminary at Troy, from which she graduated July 24, 1852. On returning from Troy she was twenty years old and so inured to regular occupation that she confessed that "she felt lost without it and did not want to do nothing as other girls did." She told her father that she wanted to study medicine, an ambition which she had cherished from her girlhood. He answered: "If you do, you must do it desperately. I want no halfway work. Think it over for two weeks, but do not speak to me of it until then." With a decision apparently characteristic, Dr. Bates answered that she was ready now, and her father at once started her in the work. She had read with him a year before even intimate friends knew of it. The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania was the only medical school open to women at this time and from this Dr. Bates was graduated in 1854.
For twenty years thereafter she practiced with her father in Owego. Both were successful in general practice, and she especially so in diseases of women and children. Her mother's death in 1872, and her father's two years afterward, were severe blows to Dr. Bates, and broke down her health, never robust and always taxed beyond its capacity. She missed the support of her father's experience and his companionship, but she continued to work, removing in 1882 to Port Chester, New York. In this community, where she lived until her death, she was a notable influence. The presidency of the board of health was given to her and she was a trustee of the Congregational Church, being largely instrumental in founding and supporting it. While not emotional or demonstrative in her religion, almost the last words she spoke were to ask about the success of a church entertainment given that evening to assist in payment of the church debt.
Dr. Bates contributed no writings to medical annals, though she wrote for local medical societies papers which she was urged to publish. She was well-read in scientific and professional literature and was a good literary critic. On the whole, however, she was a woman of deeds rather than words. The large fortune accumulated entirely through her own efforts is sufficient evidence of her medical skill and shrewd management. As as pioneer in women's practice of medicine, her dominant will and energy, and decided personal opinions, were leading factors in her success.
[The above biography is from "The Michigan Alumnus, Vol 4, pages 369-370, published in 1898 by the University of Michigan Alumni Association.]
home in New York city last week Wednesday,
aged 66 years. She was the
daughter of Dr. William Bates who practiced
medicine in Morris many years ago.
She was born at Morris and left there
when about thirty-six years of age. She
has since lived in New York, following
her profession until her health failed.
She frequently visited Morris since her
removal from that place and was well
known there.
Both her father and mother are buried
at Morris and she has no brothers or
sisters. Two aunts , Mrs. C.K. Hawkes
and Miss Mary A. Hanners, and a cousin,
T.H. Sayre, all of New York, accomp-
panied the body to Morris on Monday of
this week.
from The Otsego Farmer
published at Cooperstown, NY
15 April 1898, page 5.
DR. ELIZABETH H. BATES
Dr. Elizabeth H. Bates, who died April 6, 1898, at Port Chester, New York, left her fortune of $125,000.00 to the medical department of the University of Michigan for the endowment of the Bates Professorship of the diseases of women and children. This is the largest bequest ever given to the University and will yield an income of $6,000 a year. Even in the early years of Dr. Bate's practice when her income was small, she planned to leave whatever she might accumulate in the future to the University of Michigan, because it was the first in admitting women to its medical school on a par with men.
Dr. Bates was born April 1, 1832, at Charlemont, Massachusetts. She was of English ancestry on her father's side, of Scotch descent on mother's. Her great grandfather, Benjamin Hanners, came over from Scotland before the Revolution, settling in Boston. Disguised as an Indian, he assisted at the Boston Tea Party, and it was a family tradition that his chaise carried General Warren to the battle of Bunker Hill. Three generations of ancestors in the Hanners family lie in a vault under King's Chapel in Boston.
Dr. Bate's father, her grandfather, and her father's brother were all physicians. Her father was practicing at Charlemont, Mass., when she was born. He was a man of superior ability, clear and precise in expression, acutely observant, and of a medical judgment almost unerring in serious cases. Her mother was an invalid for many years. Dr. Bates was an only child, and when a little girl was so delicate that her father kept her out-of-doors and took her driving with him through the country districts included in his extensive practice.
She began her education in the public school of Charlemont, but when eight years old her father removed to Morris, N.Y., where she in a parochial school for some time, afterwards attending an academy in Gilbertsville. At sixteen she entered Mrs. Willard's Seminary at Troy, from which she graduated July 24, 1852. On returning from Troy she was twenty years old and so inured to regular occupation that she confessed that "she felt lost without it and did not want to do nothing as other girls did." She told her father that she wanted to study medicine, an ambition which she had cherished from her girlhood. He answered: "If you do, you must do it desperately. I want no halfway work. Think it over for two weeks, but do not speak to me of it until then." With a decision apparently characteristic, Dr. Bates answered that she was ready now, and her father at once started her in the work. She had read with him a year before even intimate friends knew of it. The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania was the only medical school open to women at this time and from this Dr. Bates was graduated in 1854.
For twenty years thereafter she practiced with her father in Owego. Both were successful in general practice, and she especially so in diseases of women and children. Her mother's death in 1872, and her father's two years afterward, were severe blows to Dr. Bates, and broke down her health, never robust and always taxed beyond its capacity. She missed the support of her father's experience and his companionship, but she continued to work, removing in 1882 to Port Chester, New York. In this community, where she lived until her death, she was a notable influence. The presidency of the board of health was given to her and she was a trustee of the Congregational Church, being largely instrumental in founding and supporting it. While not emotional or demonstrative in her religion, almost the last words she spoke were to ask about the success of a church entertainment given that evening to assist in payment of the church debt.
Dr. Bates contributed no writings to medical annals, though she wrote for local medical societies papers which she was urged to publish. She was well-read in scientific and professional literature and was a good literary critic. On the whole, however, she was a woman of deeds rather than words. The large fortune accumulated entirely through her own efforts is sufficient evidence of her medical skill and shrewd management. As as pioneer in women's practice of medicine, her dominant will and energy, and decided personal opinions, were leading factors in her success.
[The above biography is from "The Michigan Alumnus, Vol 4, pages 369-370, published in 1898 by the University of Michigan Alumni Association.]
Inscription
ELIZABETH H.
BATES M.D.
DAUGHTER OF
Dr.Wm.R.AND F.L.
BATES.
BORN APR.1,1832,
DIED APR.6,1898.
_______________
SHE WAS ONE OF THE
CLASS THAT FIRST RE-
CEIVED A DIPLOMA
FROM THE WOMANS
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF
PHILADELPHIA,PA
Family Members
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