Los Angeles
County
Biographies
MARY
J. GREEN, M. D.
The
late Dr. Mary J. Green, one of the best known women physicians of Los Angeles
and said to have been the first woman surgeon to practice here, enjoyed in
unusual degree the respect and confidence of her fellow practitioners and the
public at large. She was born near
Chillicothe, Missouri, September 11, 1856, a daughter of Preston Hemingway and
Lydia (Pace) Minor. Her grandparents
crossed the country from Virginia and Kentucky in pioneer days and established
the family in northern Missouri. She
supplemented her public school education by a course of study in Professor
Long’s Seminary. An earlier biographer
wrote: “The ordinary occupations of young womanhood did not entirely satisfy
one who from early life had cherished an ambition for a medical career. It may easily be believed that she received
but limited approval when her determination to prepare herself for this great
profession was made known, the idea of a woman’s independence still being
looked upon in most sections as revolutionary, but Dr. Green was not one to be
easily turned from a path she believed to be right, whether concerning herself
or others. Her medical education followed,
and in 1890 she graduated from the Kansas City (Mo.) Medical College with her
well-earned degree. For one year
afterward she served as house physician in the Kansas City Homeopathic
Hospital, and during the following year engaged in medical practice at Salt
Lake City, Utah.
Dr.
Green came to Los Angeles, California, in 1892 and here resided during the
remaining four decades of her life. A
close student and indefatigable worker, she soon became well known
professionally and received rapid recognition for her proficiency and skill in
treating diseases of the nervous system and in surgery for women and children,
being an authority along these special lines.
She confined herself entirely to an office practice. She established the first free medical
dispensary in Los Angeles, and was noted for her philanthropic work among the
poor, being known to them as their guardian angel. She was honored several years prior to her
death, while on a trip abroad, when she was commended for her ability as a
surgeon by the staff of the St. Thomas Hospital in London. She continued active in her profession until
about a year before her death, when she found the work too strenuous for her
advancing years and retired. Dr. Green
received a certificate from the government for valuable professional services
for the Red Cross during the World War.
She was a charter member of the Wilshire Boulevard Christian Church and
also belonged to a number of scientific organizations, including the Southern
California Homeopathic Medical Society and the American Institute of
Homeopathy. She likewise belonged to the
Delphinian Club of Los Angeles and was a charter
member of the Friday Morning Club. Her
death occurred at the Rock Haven Rest Home, in the Verdugo hills, September 8,
1933, when she was seventy-six years of age.
Dr.
Green was married in her native state to William A. Green and two children were
born to them, a son and daughter, the former having died a number of years
ago. The daughter first became the wife
of Judge C. D. Breese, of Los Angeles, by whom she had one child, Dean. She is now the wife of Dr. David D. Thornton,
in whose home at 8918 Holly Place, Laurel Canyon, Dr. Green spent her last days
in well-earned ease. Mrs. Thornton
devotes much of her time to writing, being particularly interested in the drama. She has delivered many interesting lectures
on welfare work among the Indians and devoted three and a half years to the
writing of the Indian music-drama, “Zuniana.” She has also written a book of lyrics
entitled “Songs of the Sky Line.” The
Indians call Mrs. Thornton “Sunrise.”
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. V, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 431-432,
Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES
BIOGRAPHIES