Born: 8 March 1807, United States
Died: 16 August 1901
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Mehitable Ewins
The following is republished with permission from the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail.
Mehitable Sunderland (1807-1901) is recognized as the first physician in Hyde Park. She was married to LeRoy Sunderland, a minister and well-known orator who was prominent in the abolitionist movement. They divorced after Mehitable moved to Hyde Park in 1857, where she lived the rest of her life. She was active in the abolitionist movement and was part of the 1837 Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women. She was an advocate for women’s suffrage and was one of the group of women who marched to the voting place in Hyde Park in March of 1870.
Sunderland did not have training as a doctor but was the most experienced medical person in Hyde Park in her time. She was called upon by many people for help in sickness and was often present at the birth of babies. She was a businesswoman as well and built about 16 houses in town and rented them out. She rented to African Americans and was one of the only landlords to do so.
One of her daughters, Margaret Sunderland Cooper, was a spiritualist and an animal rights activist and was Inspector of Cattle Transportation for the state of New Hampshire. Cooper received a gold medal in 1883 from the American Humane Association.