Today in Wheeling History: May 27—Dr. Eliza Hughes, a Wheeling native and one of the first female M.D.s in Virginia and West Virginia, passed away (1882).
Dr. Eliza Clark Hughes (1817–1882) was one of the first female medical doctors in Virginia and West Virginia. Born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), she was raised in a family that valued education and commerce. Her father, a successful merchant, provided her with a strong academic foundation. Inspired by her brother, Dr. Alfred Hughes, she pursued medicine despite societal opposition to women in the field.
Hughes began studying medicine in 1855 and attended the Homoeopathic Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio, before graduating from Pennsylvania Medical College in Philadelphia in 1860. She returned to Wheeling, where she specialized in treating women and children. During the Civil War, she and her family supported the Confederacy, leading to her arrest in 1862 for refusing to take the oath of allegiance. She later resumed her practice but faced ostracization due to her political stance.
In the 1880s, she moved to Baltimore but returned to Wheeling before passing away in Portland, Ohio, in 1882. She was buried in Mt. Wood Cemetery in Wheeling. Hughes was not only a physician but also a writer, contributing literary works to local publications.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/jefxcf46), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2rnjax55), WVGW.net (https://tinyurl.com/5k4acmpz), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/4c4m5mwv), Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/mpm8ct37)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV
Dr. Eliza Clark Hughes (1817–1882) was one of the first female medical doctors in Virginia and West Virginia. Born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), she was raised in a family that valued education and commerce. Her father, a successful merchant, provided her with a strong academic foundation. Inspired by her brother, Dr. Alfred Hughes, she pursued medicine despite societal opposition to women in the field.
Hughes began studying medicine in 1855 and attended the Homoeopathic Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio, before graduating from Pennsylvania Medical College in Philadelphia in 1860. She returned to Wheeling, where she specialized in treating women and children. During the Civil War, she and her family supported the Confederacy, leading to her arrest in 1862 for refusing to take the oath of allegiance. She later resumed her practice but faced ostracization due to her political stance.
In the 1880s, she moved to Baltimore but returned to Wheeling before passing away in Portland, Ohio, in 1882. She was buried in Mt. Wood Cemetery in Wheeling. Hughes was not only a physician but also a writer, contributing literary works to local publications.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/jefxcf46), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2rnjax55), WVGW.net (https://tinyurl.com/5k4acmpz), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/4c4m5mwv), Weelunk (https://tinyurl.com/mpm8ct37)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV
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