FINDING REBECCA

The story of the first Black American female physician is lifted from obscurity.

Rebecca Lee Crumpler was born in 1831 to free parents in Delaware. Little is known about her childhood except that, early on, she went to live with an aunt in Philadelphia who raised her. When Rebecca was 17, she enrolled in the West Newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts. In Boston, she worked as a nurse, both with doctors and in her own practice. Rebecca received letters of commendation from doctors and was the first Black student admitted to the New England Female Medical College, completing her medical degree in 1864. In 1865, Rebecca married Arthur Crumpler, and together they relocated to Richmond, Virginia, where she worked for the Freedmen’s Bureau. In 1869, the couple returned to Boston, where she maintained a nursing practice. Upon retirement, she continued to teach, and wrote a book, Medical Discourses, published in 1883. The book’s introduction provides much of our knowledge about her life and work. With this intriguing look at a woman who made great strides, King demonstrates the difficulty of finding information about lesser-known historical figures. He seamlessly incorporates quotes from Rebecca’s book and uses what is known about the times and places she inhabited to craft his detailed narrative. Rebecca’s support and care for her community come through clearly in Tadgell’s warm watercolor illustrations.

A study in perseverance—both that of the book’s subject and the author who unearthed her story.