c. 1845 – 1924
Dr. Eleanor Haines was the first woman admitted to the Essex County Medical Society, a branch of the Medical Society of NJ in 1876; the second woman admitted in the State, though she is often listed as the first. Eleanor practiced in Newark for over 50 years, one of the first woman doctors in the City.
New Jersey Medicine wrote, “She had an unusual record in that she [almost] never lost a case of pneumonia, scarlet fever or diphtheria…Dr. Haines had a large circle of personal friends…she gave much time to the poor…She never lost her childhood love of life or her passion for flowers…When she graduated from Medical School it required high determination to adopt a profession then deemed entirely inappropriate for her sex. Dr. Haines not only overcame this prejudice but made a place for herself equal to any of her contemporaries.”
Eleanor spent her childhood in Burlington County NJ. She graduated Women’s Medical College of PA in 1871. She soon settled in Newark, opening her practice at 41 Bank St, which later moved to 934-936 Broad.
Eleanor was also affiliated with the NJ Historical Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames. In 1928, a wing of the Baptist Home for the Aged was named in her honor.
Bibliography
Baker, Mariana Narrative for tableaux; Newark Women of the Century.
“Dr. Haines Dies” Trenton Evening Times Apr 24 1924
Essex County Medical Society Records
New Jersey History, 1923, p 295
“Eleanor Haines” New Jersey Medicine
“Dr. Eleanor Haines Dies, Pioneering Woman Physician” Newark News Apr 23, 1924
“Dedicate Eleanor Haines Memorial…” Newark News May 9, 1928
“The Woman Physicians of Newark” Sunday Call Mar 27, 1910