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Women’s History Month
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n 1980, the week of March 8 was declared by then President Jimmy Carter to be National Women’s History Week. This recognition was renewed by later presidents until 1987, when Congress designated March as “Women’s History Month.” At a recent TDA Board meeting, I was reminded of the achievements, courage, and perseverance that women have similarly made in the profession of dentistry. For the first time in TDA history, the women on the TDA Board outnumber their male counterparts. As we take time to recognize and honor the growing diversity within the TDA, I would first like to honor the women who helped lay the foundation for myself and for countless others within the profession. Their contribution to the dental profession is invaluable. Emeline Roberts Jones, a New England native, married dentist Daniel
Jones in 1854 at the age of 18. Jones believed that women were not suited for the profession because of their “frail and clumsy fingers.” Emeline began to secretly study dentistry. After she had filled and extracted several hundred teeth, her husband allowed her to practice with him. At the time she was just 19. At the age of 23, she became his partner. She eventually took over the practice when her husband died in 1865. Emeline traveled around Connecticut and Rhode Island before settling in New Haven. She practiced for 6 decades and in 1914 was made an honorary member of the National Dental Association. While Emeline Roberts Jones was the first woman to practice dentistry, it wasn’t until 1866 that the first woman, Lucy Hobbs Taylor, earned her DDS at age 33. Dr Taylor and her 9 siblings were orphaned when she was just 12 years old and she spent much of her childhood supporting her family by working as a seamstress.
108 Texas TexasDental DentalJournal Journal || Vol Vol139 139 || No. No.33
Emeline Roberts Jones
Dr Lucy Hobbs Taylor
Dr Ida Gray
Dr Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch Photos courtesy of Wikipedia Creative Commons
