New York’s First African American Female Homeopathic Doctor

The first female African-American medical homeopath doctor in the state of New York was Susan Maria McKinney Steward (1847 – 1918). In that era, men openly criticized women who attempted to attend medical school; however Susan was determined to become a homeopath physician.

 

The New York Medical College for Women was founded by Dr. Clemence Sophia Lozier and opened in November, 1863. This was a homeopathic medical school. Susan became a close friend of Clemence, who was also Susan’s mentor, and remained so until Clemence’s death in 1888.  Susan earned her medical degree in 1870 and in the same year opened her own private clinic in Brooklyn, which she ran from 1870 to 1895. During this time she co-founded the Brooklyn Women’s Homeopathic Hospital and Dispensary that served many people successfully with homeopathic medicine.

To get a better idea about the success rate of homeopathy during Dr. Susan Steward’s time, it is important to mention that in the year 1873, independent statistical reports were presented by Dr. E. Kellogg for New York, for Philadelphia by Dr. P. Dudley, and for Boston by E. Russell. The following table is a summary of their general statistics that were published in the Medical Investigator, volume 10, page 401, 1873.

General Statistics:

City	Year	Number of Deaths under Allopathic	Ratio	Number of Deaths under Homeopathic	Ratio
New York	1870	14,869	15	1,287	9
New York	1871	15,526	15	1,243	7
Boston	1870	3,872	17	402	10
Boston	1871	3,369	14	363	8
Boston	1872	4,575	19	446	8
Philadelphia	1872	12,468	19	2,162	12
		Total: 54,679		Total: 5,903

 

General Statistics from 1874 to 1877 in U.S.:

Disease type in hospitals	Mortality under Allopathic Treatment	Mortality under Homeopathic Treatment
General diseases	10%	5%
Cholera	54%	27%
Pneumonia	14%	6%
Typhus Fever	21%	10%

 

Thanks to homeopathy and her own strong will and powerful determination, Susan’s practice was busy and her clinic well-known.  Susan was also involved in and contributed to the Kings County Homeopathic Medical Society and the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of New York.  In 1898, Dr. Steward was hired by Wilberforce University in Ohio as a resident physician and faculty member to teach health and nutrition. Her involvement in public service included local missionary work and women’s suffrage advocacy.  She was president of the Brooklyn Women’s Christian Temperance Union. A well regarded public speaker, she addressed the first Universal Race Congress at the University of London in 1911. Her presentation was about Coloured Women in America. In 1914 she gave a lecture about the role of women in medicine at the National Association of Coloured Women’s Clubs Convention.

Dr.  Susan Steward practiced medicine for 48 years; and her advice was that: recovery is better through homeopathic treatment.

God bless her soul.

 

References, Credit and Sources:

The Brooklyn Public Library.

Women in History. Susan McKinney Steward biography. 

Hine, Darlene Clark. Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Indiana University Press, 1994.