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Is this Sarah Loguen, MD?
Is this Sarah Loguen, MD, class of 1876? This 3 3/8-inch tintype was published in John Ravage's book, "Black Champions" (University of Utah Press, 2002) and is in the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian Institution.
BY SUSAN KEETER
“AN UNIDENTIFIED TINTYPE in our collection bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Sarah Loguen,” wrote Emily Houf of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Could someone from Upstate Medical University help with identification?
Upstate responded to the museum’s request, providing biographical timeline information on Loguen, digital photographs at various ages (from the her family papers at Howard University), a copy of her painted portrait, and the book, “Three Nineteenth Century Doctors” (Hofmann Press, 2007). The photos and portrait can be used for comparison, and all items will be filed at the museum for scholarly use.
Sarah Loguen, MD, was an 1876 graduate of the college of medicine that is now part of Upstate. The university has scholarships and a lecture, street and building named in her honor. Her painted portrait hangs in the Health Sciences Library, and two photographs of her hang in the Sarah Loguen Center at 650 S. Salina St. in Syracuse.
Loguen was one of the nation’s first African-American female physicians and the first to graduate from a coeducational medical school. After graduation, Loguen practiced medicine in Washington, D.C., and Frederick Douglass hung up her doctor’s shingle. In 1882, Loguen moved to the Dominican Republic and became the first female doctor in that country. Later in life, she traveled, lived again in Syracuse from 1901 to 1907 and resettled in Washington, resuming her medical practice there.
Can it be determined whether the tintype at right portrays Loguen? Based on clothing, the photo in question appears to have been taken in the 1890s.
This is one identified photograph of Sarah Loguen, MD
COURTESY OF THE GOINS COLLECTION, MOORLAND-SPINGARN RESEARCH CENTER, HOWARD UNIVERSITY.
This is another identified photograph of Sarah Loguen, MD.
COURTESY OF THE GOINS COLLECTION, MOORLAND-SPINGARN RESEARCH CENTER, HOWARD UNIVERSITY.
Compare the tintype with authenticated images of Loguen, above: the image on top was taken during high school or medical school and the second was taken in the Dominican Republic in the 1880s or 1890s. The same deep-set eyes, long nose and strong chin appear in all three images.
Could the tintype show someone else? William Pretzer, PhD, of the national museum wrote, “Loguen was one of about 100 black women doctors at the time.” That means 99 other possible subjects. The former owner of the tintype, historian and author John Ravage, PhD, remembers buying it at an antique shop in Wyoming or Texas 25 years ago. In her travels, did Loguen visit the Western United States? Was the photograph taken elsewhere and transported out West sometime in the last 130 years?
As Houf wrote, we may never know for certain who is pictured in this tiny photo made of silver and iron (enlarged, at top of story). But the gloved hand grasping a medical bag, the fine clothes and the determined face look like Upstate’s trailblazing graduate, Sarah Loguen, MD.
As the painter of her portrait and the author of her biography, the face is the same. I believe it is Dr. Loguen. ●
Susan Keeter is associate director for creative services at Upstate.
In addition to the tintype above, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has another object from a famous Syracusan: A Syracuse Nationals basketball jersey owned by hall-of-famer Earl Lloyd — the NBA’s first African-American player (1950) and assistant coach (1968) and one of the NBA’s first head coaches (Detroit Pistons).
