Female GP

[Davran]

I have in my family a Florence Elizabeth Sexton b1878, who is supposed (by family lore) to be the first woman GP. She is supposed to have trained as a doctor and not been allowed to practice, so became a vet. However, the family moved to Jersey, Channel Islands, where she is recorded as working as a doctor. I have her as an art student in Glasgow in 1901!! - her father was a professor at the university.

Does anyone know if/where there are records of medical practitioners at this time. I have tried Google, but no luck

[Peter Goodey]

If she was an art student in 1901 she could hardly have been among the first women to qualify. After all, female doctors were well established at the time of the Great War.

I'd check the Medical Register if I were you. The Society of Genealogists' library has a good run of them. I believe the General Medical Council regulates the Channel Islands although I'm not clear if that was always the case.

[Peter Goodey]

The Times
Wed 5 Jan 1938

ORDER OF ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM

The King has been graciously pleased to sanction the following promotions in and appointments to the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem:-

among many names -

As Serving Sister

Miss Florence Elizabeth Sexton, M.B.

(Serving Sister is the sixth class of the order - it appears to be awarded for "good works" of one sort or another)

The same notice is in the London Gazette of 4 Jan 1938, Issue 34470.

[Davran]

Thanks very much Peter

[Davran]

Information for anyone looking for female doctor ancestors:

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to be included on the British Medical Register in 1859, though she had to qualify in America. In 1865 Elizabeth Garrett (later Anderson) succeeded in getting her name onto the register after she qualified by diploma from the Society of Apothecaries. In 1876 medical licensing bodies were required to open their examinations to women, but only at their discretion. By 1900 about 200 women had qualified as medical practitioners and most of those worked in the cities. By the 1930s, there were about 8,500 women doctors.

There is apparently a book entitled "Records of the Medical Profession" by S Bourne and AH Chicken, which goes into the background in more detail.

NB Florence Elizabeth Sexton was registered as a doctor in 1910 (University of Glasgow) and was practising in Jersey in 1913