Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch
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| Born | November 27, 1882 Mason County, Texas, U.S.
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| Died | July 7, 1944 (aged 61) Oakland, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Marschall-Meusebach Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry Northwestern University Columbia University |
| Known for | Pioneer dentist |
Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch (born November 27, 1882 – died July 7, 1944) was an amazing American dentist from the early 1900s. She was one of the first women to become a dentist! Leonie worked in many different states, including Texas, Alaska, Arizona, and California. People also knew her as Leonie von Zesch or Leonie Zesch. In 2012, she was honored by being added to the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.
Leonie was a dental surgeon for the United States Army after the big 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Her mother helped the American Red Cross find and assist people after the disaster. Later, Leonie provided dental care on ships for sailors in both the United States Pacific Fleet and the United States Atlantic Fleet. During the Great Depression, she helped young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and later cared for people at the California Institute for Women.
She spent four years practicing dentistry in her home state of Texas, with an office in Mason. She also worked for three years in Arizona. There, she treated people from the Hopi and Navajo communities. To reach patients who lived far away, she attached her dental tools to her Model T car. This allowed her to set up mobile dental clinics all around the state!
For fifteen years, Leonie practiced in the Territory of Alaska. She had offices in places like Cordova, Nome, and Anchorage. To help people in faraway Inuit villages, she even flew in an airplane to islands in the Bering Sea. Once, her plane crashed on the way to Point Barrow. She tried to walk to Kotzebue before an Inuit person helped her. She also traveled by dog sled across Alaska's interior to bring dental care to both Inuit and non-native patients. She was so brave that she crawled across thin ice to save her sled dogs from drowning! Another time, she and her assistant got stuck, but they were rescued by a famous dog racer named Leonhard Seppala.
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Leonie's Early Life and Family
Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch was born on November 27, 1882, in Mason County, Texas. She was the older of two daughters born to Elizabeth and Leo Zesch. Her younger sister, Leota, was born in Loyal Valley in 1886.
Leonie's mother, Elizabeth, was born in Texas in 1862. She was one of many children of John O. Meusebach and Agnes of Coreth. John O. Meusebach had been a baron in Germany but gave up his noble title when he came to the United States. Elizabeth married Leo Burcheardt Zesch, who was born in Mason, Texas in 1859. After they married, Elizabeth and her daughter Leonie used the hyphenated name "von Meusebach–Zesch." Leo's parents, Robert Zesch and Lina Caroline Dangers, both came from Germany.
Becoming a Dentist in California
In 1888, when Leonie was six, her mother Elizabeth moved to California with Leonie and her sister Leota. They first lived in Stockton but later settled in San Francisco. Leonie finished her schooling in San Francisco. In 1902, she graduated from the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. This school was then known as the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
After passing her dental exam in June 1902, Leonie became a practicing dentist. She started working for Dr. Matson. At first, she was told she would work long hours, but the reality was even longer, seven days a week! She sometimes worked so much that she collapsed from tiredness. During this time, she also started studying how a patient's diet affected their teeth.
Helping After the San Francisco Earthquake
On April 18, 1906, a huge earthquake hit San Francisco, followed by a terrible fire. This disaster caused many deaths and left thousands of people without homes. The United States Army quickly started rescue efforts.
Leonie and her mother had to leave their home after the earthquake. They saw a lot of confusion and sadness in the city. They went to the Army station at the Presidio and offered to help. Her mother worked with the Army and the American Red Cross to help survivors. Leonie became a Dental Surgeon with the Army. She got paid for her work, and she and her mother were given a place to live.
Later, the city took over the rescue efforts, and Leonie was replaced by a male dentist. But a general named Frederick Funston helped her get her job back. As San Francisco began to rebuild in 1907, Leonie tried to start her own dental practice. She also worked as a dentist for the Children's Hospital and an orphanage. In 1908, she arranged to provide dental services to sailors on ships in the United States Pacific Fleet and the United States Atlantic Fleet. Even though she had a lot of work, she felt it wasn't very profitable for her.
Dental Adventures in Texas and Arizona
In 1908, Leonie and her mother moved back to Mason, Texas. Leonie applied for a license to practice dentistry in Texas. While waiting, she visited friends and family. She even took a train trip to Mexico to visit an uncle.
Leonie accepted a job at a dental practice in San Antonio. After she passed her state exam and got her Texas license, she returned to Mason to open her own practice.
In 1912, Leonie decided to move on and visit her sister in Alaska. On her way, she stopped in Winslow, Arizona, to visit friends. She ended up staying!
Mobile Dentistry in Arizona
Once Leonie got her license in Arizona, she opened an office in Winslow. She also started holding mobile dental clinics in faraway places. She traveled across the state in her Model T car, with her dental tools attached to the back. She treated all school-aged children for free.
Many patients traveled from other areas to her Winslow office. Once, while she and her mother were on their way to see the Petrified Forest National Monument, a patient found her needing urgent care. They unpacked her equipment, and she treated the patient right there on the open road before continuing their sightseeing trip. She also treated Hopi and Navajo patients in Walpi.
Fifteen Years in Alaska
In December 1915, after three years in Winslow, Leonie visited her sister and brother-in-law in the Territory of Alaska. She had planned to go back to Arizona. Alaska had become a U.S. territory in 1912. Leonie spent Christmas in Cordova, Alaska with her family. In February 1916, she filled in for a dentist who was on vacation. She soon realized that Alaska needed many dentists, and it could be a great place for her career.
Exploring Alaska's Interior
Leonie wanted to see more of Alaska. She arranged to travel with the Alaska Commercial Company on their mail delivery route. She started on a freight train in Cordova. Her transportation changed many times depending on the weather, from horseback to wagons, and even crossing icy rivers. She traveled through many towns like Chitina and Fairbanks. She rode on dog sleds, sometimes getting strapped in for safety. They stopped at many "roadhouses," which were like inns that provided food and shelter. After 24 days, she arrived in Fairbanks.
After visiting a gold mine, she finished her trip with a boat ride along the Yukon River. By the end of her journey, Leonie had decided to move to Alaska.
Further Studies and Moving to Anchorage
In 1918, Leonie took a break from Alaska to study at Northwestern University in Chicago. She also got sick with the 1918 flu pandemic while in San Francisco. This flu spread to Alaska and caused many deaths, especially among the Inuit people. The dentist she had filled in for in Cordova died from the flu, and Leonie bought his equipment for her own office.
When copper mining slowed down in Cordova, she moved her practice to Anchorage. There, she also worked with the local PTA to help improve dental care for children. In 1923, she closed her Anchorage practice to study at Columbia University in New York until the end of 1924. After her studies, Leonie traveled in Europe and Egypt before returning to Alaska.
Dentistry in Remote Villages and Close Calls
In 1925, Leonie tried to mine for gold in Nome. She hired a man named Mr. Johnson to do the mining, but no gold was found. She ended up being sued by the claim owner. Her only way to make money was to open a dental practice in Nome.
She started doing mobile dental clinics again, just like she had in Arizona. She was put in charge of dental care for children in Inuit villages. She had a special 16-foot sled built and hired Mr. Johnson, who owed her money from the mining problem, to drive the dog team. They traveled through many villages, where she was welcomed with parties. She stayed in Kotzebue for a month. In Noorvik, they stayed overnight with an Inuit family in a barabara, a type of sod house.
On their way back, they saw the beautiful aurora borealis. Half of their dog team fell through the ice near Cape Douglas. Mr. Johnson suggested leaving them, but Leonie crawled flat on her stomach across the thin ice to save the dogs herself!
Leonie also provided dental care to Inuit people on Little Diomede Island, Saint Lawrence Island, King Island, and Cape Prince of Wales. In 1929, she chartered a plane to Point Barrow. The plane crashed, but she survived! She walked part of the way to Kotzebue before an Inuit person gave her a ride in their boat, which was pulled by dogs on the beach.
In March 1928, Leonie and her assistant, Mrs. Cheney, planned dental clinics at the White Mountain School for Inuit children and other locations. It was late in the season, and the ice and snow were starting to melt. Leonie had trouble finding dogs for her sled and a man to drive them. So, she and Mrs. Cheney set off alone with a dog team. A blizzard hit them, and Leonie became snow blind and had to stay in bed for a week.
After they finished their work, they were warned not to travel back to Nome because of the bad weather. But they decided to go anyway and got stranded about 30 miles from Nome. The dogs were too tired to go on, and they couldn't even reach the nearest roadhouse. Leonie started to think they might not survive. Luckily, Leonhard Seppala, a famous dog sled racer, heard about their dangerous trip. He hired a special tractor to search for them and rescued the women on March 31, 1928.
Later Years in California
In 1930, Leonie returned to California. In 1931, she went with her mother to Texas while her mother recovered from an illness. Leonie then returned to Oakland. The Great Depression was happening, and she worried that not many people could afford her dental services.
She joined a group called the Unemployed Exchange Association (UXA). This group helped unemployed people trade services instead of money. For example, Leonie would provide dental care, and in return, she would get "points" that she could trade for other services from members. She stayed with the UXA until at least 1934.
Helping the Civilian Conservation Corps
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This program hired young men aged 17 to 28 to work on projects like improving forests, fighting fires, planting trees, and building parks. In California, millions of young men worked for the CCC, improving the state's environment and creating many parks. They earned $30 a month and received an education.
In 1933, Leonie and her mother moved to Railroad Flat in Calaveras County. Leonie made a deal with the CCC to provide dental services to the young men at their camps. The government paid for emergency dental care, and the men paid for other services themselves. For four years, she treated about 4,000 young men. She also helped people in unemployment camps and school children.
When the CCC decided to use military dentists, Leonie tried to keep her job, but she was turned down because she was a woman.
On July 2, 1937, Leonie became the dentist for the California Institute for Women in Tehachapi. She also had a private practice there. She provided dental care to migrant workers and to people in prison labor camps.
Death and Legacy
Leonie's mother, Elizabeth, passed away in 1943 at age 81. Leonie died in Oakland on July 7, 1944, when she was 61 years old. Her sister, Leota, died in 1979 at age 93. All three women are buried together in the Marschall–Meusebach Cemetery in Cherry Spring, Texas.
In 2012, Leonie was recognized for her amazing life and work by being inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. She was a true pioneer who brought dental care to many people in challenging places.
Images for kids
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Leonie von Meusebach–Zesch in 1902
