Isabel Cobb facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Isabel Cobb
|
|
|---|---|
Isabel Cobb, M.D.
|
|
| Born |
Isabel Cobb
Oct 25, 1858 |
| Died | Aug 11, 1947 |
| Nationality | Cherokee, American |
| Other names | Belle |
| Occupation | Physician (M.D.), Educator |
| Known for | First female physician in Indian Territory |
Isabel "Belle" Cobb (born October 25, 1858 – died August 11, 1947) was a brave Cherokee woman. She became a doctor and a teacher. Cobb is famous for being the first woman doctor in Indian Territory. This area is now part of Oklahoma.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Isabel Cobb was born near Morgantown, Tennessee. She was the oldest of seven children. Her parents were Joseph Benson and Evaline Clingman Cobb.
She went to school in Cleveland, Tennessee. In 1870, when she was 12, her family moved. They moved to the Cooweescoowee District of the Cherokee Nation. This area is now near Wagoner, Oklahoma.
Isabel was a very good student. She won awards while in school in Tennessee. This made her want to learn even more. It also helped her do well in her studies later.
Soon after moving, her youngest sister was born. It was a very hard birth for her mother. The family had to call a midwife because there were no doctors nearby. Her mother survived, but this event deeply affected young Isabel. It made her want to become a doctor.
Schooling in Indian Territory
There were not many schools in Indian Territory then. Isabel went to the Cherokee Female Seminary in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She graduated from there in 1879.
She continued her education at Glendale Female College in Glendale, Ohio. She graduated again in 1881. By this time, Isabel had more education than most women of her era.
Isabel returned to Indian Territory. She taught at the Cherokee Female Seminary from 1882. The school was destroyed by fire in 1887.
She never forgot how her mother struggled during childbirth. She also remembered the great need for doctors in her area. So, she left the territory again. In 1888, she enrolled in the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. This was only the second school in the world to offer medical degrees to women. Isabel earned her M.D. degree in 1892.
Medical Career and Helping Others
After medical school, Isabel Cobb worked for six months. She did an internship in New York at Staten Island Nursery and Child's Hospital.
In 1893, she came back home. She started her medical practice in the countryside of Wagoner County. She worked from a farmhouse on her family's land. She saw about 200 patients each year.
"Dr. Belle," as people called her, mostly helped women and children. She often performed surgeries in patients' homes. She traveled many miles in her horse-drawn buggy. She often did not charge money for her help.
Later Life and Legacy
Isabel Cobb continued her medical work until 1930. She fell and broke her hip that year. Her health got worse, so she retired soon after.
Isabel never got married. However, she adopted a six-year-old Italian orphan in 1895. She was a member of the Presbyterian church. She also belonged to many literary societies in Wagoner County.
Isabel Cobb passed away on August 11, 1947. She died from natural causes in Wagoner. She was buried at Pioneer Memorial Cemetery.
Honoring Dr. Belle Cobb
In 2015, students at Northeastern State University voted. This university is on the land where the Cherokee seminaries once stood. Students voted to name a new student housing building after Cobb. She received 43% of the votes.
Isabel Cobb Hall was officially opened on September 19, 2016. Only one other building on campus is named after a woman.
On March 26, 2016, Mayor Albert Jones of Wagoner made a special announcement. He declared that day "Dr. Belle Cobb Day." An event was held at the Wagoner Historical Museum. Many of Cobb's family members attended.
The mayor's declaration said, "Today, we celebrate Dr. Belle Cobb... The city of Wagoner honors Dr. Cobb for making a definitive mark on history."
