Gleason, Rachel Brooks (1820–1905)

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Gleason, Rachel Brooks (1820–1905)

American physician. Born Rachel Brooks, Nov 27, 1820, in Winhall, Vermont; died Mar 17, 1905, in Buffalo, NY; sister of Zippie Brooks Wales (Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumna, class of 1873); Central Medical College, MD, 1851; m. Silas O. Gleason, 1844; children: 2, including Adele Gleason (who earned a medical degree from University of Michigan, 1875).

The 4th woman in America to earn a medical degree (Feb 20, 1851), was a classmate of Sarah Adamson Dolley and Lydia Folger Fowler; worked as a teacher until marriage (1844); owned a water cure facility with husband (1847); created the Glen Haven Water Cure near Scott, NY, with husband and 2 others (1847); with husband, created the Elmira Water Cure (Elmira, NY, 1852), which was known as the Gleason Sanitarium (1893–1903) and then the Gleason Health Resort (after 1904); advocated the importance of good nutrition and activity for women's health; funded several female students through medical school; wrote a home medical reference book for women, Talks to My Patients, Hints on Getting Well and Keeping Well (1870), as well as articles for such journals as Water-Cure Journal, Herald of Health and Syracuse Medical and Surgical Journal.