Katherine Isabel Hayes was born in Irasburg, Vermont back in 1845 to Henry and Anna. She attended the Adams Academy in Derry, New Hampshire, after graduating she marked William in 1863. The couple moved to India where they worked as missionaries, William died in 1865. Katherine stayed for another 6 months completing her missionary work before returning to the United States.
After returning to the States she was trained in hydropathy where she met her second husband Samuel. The moved to New York City, where they were married in 1867. They hadn’t been there long before they moved to Washington, D.C. While Samuel remained in Washington she moved back to New York City where she enrolled at the Woman’s Medical College studying ophthalmology.
What you may not know about Isabel Barrows is that she accomplished many things in her life. She was the first woman employed by the United States State Department, the first woman to work for Congress as a stenographer, the first woman to attend the University of Vienna to study ophthalmology, the first American female ophthalmologist and the first woman to have a private practice in medicine in Washington, D.C. Now I don’t care, but that is a lot of firsts..
Until tomorrow give someone the free gift of a smile
