Rachel Gleason | gildedage

Dr. Rachel Gleason

Dr. Rachel Brooks Gleason graduated from the Central Medical College in Rochester, New York in 1851. One year later, she and her husband, Dr. Silas O. Gleason, opened the Elmira Water Cure. This hydropathic health resort, where Dr. Rachel Gleason specialized in women’s health, catered to the upper classes.

The Gilded Ideal

While women of her class were expected to marry and remain in the home, Rachel Gleason demonstrated that it was possible to have both a family and a profession. She treated female patients at the Cure, while reaching a broader audience through her lectures and publications. Gleason was an activist who worked to change the medical profession’s treatment of women and encouraged women to advocate for their own health.

The Tarnished Ideal

Unlike hydropathy, mainstream medicine was less accepting of female physicians. Although Rachel Gleason’s specialty was perceived by many as insignificant, her contributions were responsible for a large portion of the Cure’s income and success. Many women’s health issues were dismissed by prominent male physicians as hysteria or nerves.

Portrait of Rachel B. Gleason Rachel Gleason was the fourth woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. She operated the Elmira Water Cure with her husband, where she treated “lady troubles.”
Drs. Silas and Rachel Gleason, 1890s Silas and Rachel Gleason were married in 1844. They ran a Sanitorium in Cuba, NY and a Water Cure in Cayuga Lake before they opened the Elmira Water Cure.
Water Cure The Elmira Water Cure opened in 1852 and catered to middle and upper class families who visited for the benefits of the Elmira spring waters.
Hints to Patients, Mrs. R.B. Gleason This booklet provided information about a day at the Cure, the institution’s rules, and how patients could further their own health.
Talks to My Patients, 1880 Rachel Gleason’s popular book gave hints and tips on a variety of women’s health issues and was republished multiple times.
“Book Notices,” Aquae Gloria, 1878 Dr. Gleason’s book was frequently praised in water cure journals which reflected the desire for more information about women’s health.
Surgical Kit from Gleason’s Cure Hydrotherapy, or treatment with water, was popular in the late nineteenth century, but the Cure also used some mainstream medical practices.
“Letters to Ladies,” 1867 Rachel Gleason regularly contributed to journals, writing about topics such as dress reform, travelling, and women’s health.

Dr. Rachel Gleason

Portrait of Rachel B. Gleason

Rachel Gleason was the fourth woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. She operated the Elmira Water Cure with her husband, where she treated “lady troubles.”

Drs. Silas and Rachel Gleason, 1890s

Silas and Rachel Gleason were married in 1844. They ran a Sanitorium in Cuba, NY and a Water Cure in Cayuga Lake before they opened the Elmira Water Cure.

Water Cure

The Elmira Water Cure opened in 1852 and catered to middle and upper class families who visited for the benefits of the Elmira spring waters.

Hints to Patients, Mrs. R.B. Gleason

This booklet provided information about a day at the Cure, the institution’s rules, and how patients could further their own health.

Talks to My Patients, 1880

Rachel Gleason’s popular book gave hints and tips on a variety of women’s health issues and was republished multiple times.

“Book Notices,” Aquae Gloria, 1878

Dr. Gleason’s book was frequently praised in water cure journals which reflected the desire for more information about women’s health.

Surgical Kit from Gleason’s Cure

Hydrotherapy, or treatment with water, was popular in the late nineteenth century, but the Cure also used some mainstream medical practices.

“Letters to Ladies,” 1867

Rachel Gleason regularly contributed to journals, writing about topics such as dress reform, travelling, and women’s health.