Female Physicians in the 1800s
Loading...
Loading...

Description: 

Madame Restell was one of the most notorious names in New York during the mid-nineteenth century—so much so that she came to be known as the “Wickedest Woman of New York”.  Her real name was Ann Lohman, and her business really stirred the pot in the mid-nineteenth century. She was a “female physician”, meaning she was not formally trained in medicine (which had just started to become a more official process of schooling), but more reliant on tried and true remedies that women had been making for themselves and each other forever. Many people who were against Restell were not as concerned with the dangers of her medicine on the body as they were with the freedom it provided to the women who sought her out. She did not even advertise to all women, but specifically tried to code her advertisements for married women who already had too many children and could not handle any more. Many other copycat female physicians popped up with French-sounding names and pill advertisements. Victorian women at that time, with often no kind of birth control, could quickly find themselves in an unsustainable position. Restell’s advertisements then, in the paper, were never explicitly selling “abortifacents” but would offer "desired information” that was available at Restell’s office location. The public felt that this encouraged sexual promiscuity (a similar argument is made today) and did not approve. Restell was able to keep her business going for so long in part due to her husband’s status, so having friends in high places and being close with the mayor allowed her to run this illegal business behind the scenes. However, she ran into trouble with the law multiple times and even spent some time in prison. Some people really had it out for her, and she eventually was so disturbed by it that she ended up committing suicide, wearing all her diamonds. 

Abbott, Karen. “Madame Restell: The Abortionist of Fifth Avenue.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 27 Nov. 2012, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/madame-restell-the-abortionist-of-fifth-a....

Bowery Boys Media. "#211 The Notorious Madame Restell: The Abortionist of Fifth Avenue." The Bowery Boys: New York City History, Spotify, 18 Aug. 2016. https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2016/08/notorious-madame-restell-abort...

Horwitz, Rainey. “The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.” Trial of Madame Restell (Ann Lohman) for Abortion (1841) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 10 Oct. 2017, embryo.asu.edu/pages/trial-madame-restell-ann-lohman-abortion-1841.

Associated Place(s)

Layers

Timeline of Events Associated with Female Physicians in the 1800s

Trial of Madame Restell

Spring 1841

Madame Restell, or Ann Lohman, was arrested, tried, and convicted of performing an illegal abortion in the spring of 1841. The late Maria Purdy, who died of tuberculosis, made a death bed confession about the abortion operation she'd had at Madame Restell's. She blamed the complications from the abortion as the reason she developed tuberculosis and subsequently died. She had taken some of Madame Restell's "pills" but stopped because she was wary of the ingredients, and then asked her to perform an abortion. Madame Restell would be the female physician performing the operation, and it would be her last. She spent some time in prison, and would continue to run her business upon her release, but she would only sell pills and would never again perform a surgical abortion. 

References:

Abbott, Karen. “Madame Restell: The Abortionist of Fifth Avenue.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 27 Nov. 2012, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/madame-restell-the-abortionist-of-fifth-a....

Horwitz, Rainey. “The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.” Trial of Madame Restell (Ann Lohman) for Abortion (1841) | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 10 Oct. 2017, embryo.asu.edu/pages/trial-madame-restell-ann-lohman-abortion-1841.

Trial of Madame Restell

Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan.
March
April
May
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Nov. 2
Nov. 3
Nov. 4
Nov. 5
Nov. 6
Nov. 7
Nov. 8
Nov. 9
Nov. 10
Nov. 11
Nov. 12
Nov. 13
Nov. 14
Nov. 15
Nov. 16
Nov. 17
Nov. 18
Nov. 19
Nov. 20
Nov. 21
Nov. 22
Nov. 23
Nov. 24
Nov. 25
Nov. 26
Nov. 27
Nov. 28
Nov. 29
Nov. 30
Dec. 2
Dec. 3
Dec. 4
Dec. 5
Dec. 6
Dec. 7
Dec. 8
Dec. 9
Dec. 10
Dec. 11
Dec. 12
Dec. 13
Dec. 14
Dec. 15
Dec. 16
Dec. 17
Dec. 18
Dec. 19
Dec. 20
Dec. 21
Dec. 22
Dec. 23
Dec. 24
Dec. 25
Dec. 26
Dec. 27
Dec. 28
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
Dec. 31
Jan. 2
Jan. 3
Jan. 4
Jan. 5
Jan. 6
Jan. 7
Jan. 8
Jan. 9
Jan. 10
Jan. 11
Jan. 12
Jan. 13
Jan. 14
Jan. 15
Jan. 16
Jan. 17
Jan. 18
Jan. 19
Jan. 20
Jan. 21
Jan. 22
Jan. 23
Jan. 24
Jan. 25
Jan. 26
Jan. 27
Jan. 28
Jan. 29
Jan. 30
Jan. 31
Feb. 2
Feb. 3
Feb. 4
Feb. 5
Feb. 6
Feb. 7
Feb. 8
Feb. 9
Feb. 10
Feb. 11
Feb. 12
Feb. 13
Feb. 14
Feb. 15
Feb. 16
Feb. 17
Feb. 18
Feb. 19
Feb. 20
Feb. 21
Feb. 22
Feb. 23
Feb. 24
Feb. 25
Feb. 26
Feb. 27
Feb. 28
March 2
March 3
March 4
March 5
March 6
March 7
March 8
March 9
March 10
March 11
March 12
March 13
March 14
March 15
March 16
March 17
March 18
March 19
March 20
March 21
March 22
March 23
March 24
March 25
March 26
March 27
March 28
March 29
March 30
March 31
April 2
April 3
April 4
April 5
April 6
April 7
April 8
April 9
April 10
April 11
April 12
April 13
April 14
April 15
April 16
April 17
April 18
April 19
April 20
April 21
April 22
April 23
April 24
April 25
April 26
April 27
April 28
April 29
April 30
May 2

Image Date: 

19th century