Annie Keeler Explained

Annie Keeler
Birth Name:Annie Keeler Bailey
Birth Date:6 November 1855
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York, US
Death Place:Danbury, Connecticut, US
Burial Place:Ridgefield, CT, USA
Education:Connecticut State Normal School

Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary
Occupation:Physician and Surgeon
Years Active:1885–1927
Known For:Early woman physician
Mother:Emily Bailey
Father:Halcyon Gilbert Bailey

Annie Keeler (November6, 1855March6, 1927) was an American physician in Danbury, Connecticut at the turn of the 19th century. She was a prolific writer on the topics of medicine, Christianity, and temperance.[1] [2] [3]

Biography

Keeler was born on November 6, 1855, in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Halcyon Gilbert Bailey and Emily Keeler Bailey.[4] Her parents moved to Ridgebury, Connecticut in 1862, when she was about 7.[5] [6] Her 5-year old brother Clayton died shortly after, in 1863.[7] Her parents divorced in 1872 and Keeler remained with her mother and her mother's family.

Education

Keeler went to college at the Connecticut State Normal School (now Central Connecticut State University). She graduated from the Normal School as part of the class of 1876 and taught in Ridgebury, CT for a few years.[8] In 1885 at age 30, Annie Keeler graduated from the Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary.

Career

She practiced medicine for "nearly one year" at the New York Infirmary, then moved back to Western Connecticut in 1886. She set up a practice in Danbury, CT. She was one of the first three women physicians in that city.[9] She taught at the Danbury Hospital Training School for Nurses for 11 years and, in 1892, was instrumental in the formation of the Danbury Graduate Nurses' association. Meetings were held in her home for years, until regular meeting rooms were obtained.

In 1901, she predicted the end of the world based on an astronomical confluence.[10] [11]

Name change

In 1908, after both her parents had died, Keeler petitioned the Superior Court for a name change. At the time, she was known as "Annie Keeler Bailey" and she wished to drop her father's name to (as the newspapers put it) "free the honor of her mother's family from the taint arising from the name of her father". She said "Father was a man addicted to excessive dissipation, shocking immorality, and profanity. He was a disgrace to the family." Her petition was granted.[12] [13]

Death

In 1927, Keeler was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street at a crosswalk, a block from her home. She died of her injuries shortly afterward.[14]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Book: Connecticut State Medical Society . Proceedings of the Connecticut Medical Society . 133 . 1925 . 249 . en. She was not only a doctor but also a preacher, a writer of tracts, a temperance lecturer, a Sunday school teacher, and all kinds of an ardent suffragist..
  2. Web site: Haponik . Stacy . Stevens . Brian . Three Women Physicians in Danbury, CT (1871–1935) . WCSU Archives . WCSU . 8 December 2023.
  3. Web site: Sanders . Jack . Dr. Annie Keeler Bailey: Pioneering Physician . Old Ridgefield . 12 December 2023 . en.
  4. Book: Genealogy of the Families of John Rockwell, of Stamford, Connecticut 1641, and Ralph Keeler, of Hartford, Connecticut 1939 . 1903 . W.F. Jones . en.
  5. News: Business Growth of the 'Burgh . 8 December 2023 . 18 Jun 1873 . Brooklyn, New York . 2 . en.
  6. News: Copartnerships . 8 December 2023 . The New York herald . 27 October 1862 . New York, NY . 7.
  7. News: Died . 8 December 2023 . New York Daily-Tribune . Nov 16, 1863 . New York, NY . 5 . en.
  8. Book: Alumni Association Records, volume 3 . 1895 . Central Connecticut State University . 22.
  9. Book: Bailey . James Montgomery . History of Danbury, Conn., 1684–1896 . 1896 . Burr Print. House . 377 . en.
  10. Web site: Cartoons and Comments. Puck Magazine. November 27, 1901.
  11. Web site: As In the Days of Noah. Waterbury Democrat. November 14, 1901.
  12. News: Dissown Dissolute Father . The Washington Herald . 18 May 1908 . Washington, DC . 3.
  13. News: Changed Her Name . Waterbury evening Democrat . 16 May 1908 . 4.
  14. News: Fatally Hurt on Crosswalk: Dr. Annie Keeler, Struck by Automobile, Dies Within Few Hours . Danbury News-Times . 1927-03-27 . Danbury, CT.

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