Charlotte Whitehead

Charlotte studied for five years at the medical college, graduating in 1875.[11] Initially, she decided to leave her children in Montreal to be raised by her husband's family,[12] but decided to bring her two younger daughters to Philadelphia with her in 1871.[1] She was prevented from attending the college in the season between 1872 and 1873 due to a difficult pregnancy, from which she gave birth to her fourth daughter Edith.[1] She finished her education with a thesis on the topic of abortion and women's health, and three months after her graduation she gave birth to her first son, Hales.[13]

Charlotte initially decided not to join her husband out west, and stayed in Montreal, instead running a medical practice to treat women and children, becoming the first female doctor to practice within that city.[4] She did not obtain a medical license in Montreal despite applying for one, but was able to practice under the patronage of Dr. Hingston.[14] While she was successful in her work, she was not welcomed by everyone, and on one occasion returned to her buggy after visiting a patient to find bones scattered across the seat.[10]

By 1880, her husband and father had been relieved of their jobs with the Canadian Pacific Railway after encountering difficulties with construction around Cross Lake, and Charlotte's father enabled Ross to take over a lumber mill in the area. Ross moved the lumber mill to the Whitemouth River to the location that is now Whitemouth, Manitoba, before sending for his wife and children in 1881.[15]

Eventually, loggers would clear the area and settlers would begin to move in, at which point Charlotte's practice began to evolve and incorporate more families[20] As the only doctor within a 100-mile radius, Charlotte was responsible for a great many people, and would often go above and beyond the call of duty in treating her patients. To get to them, Charlotte would often have to travel great distances without roads, using canoes, ox-teams, horses or sleighs to reach her destinations.[21] Once at her patients homes, she would often not only treat their injury, but also remain at the household for hours in order to clean it and prepare food for the family.[4]

In 1887, despite having practiced medicine for years without a license, Charlotte applied to the Manitoba Legislature for registration as a physician, and upon her refusal she instructed a Winnipeg legal firm to file an application for a private act that would authorize her to practice medicine.[22] The license itself was somewhat contentious, as there had been a recent border dispute between Manitoba and Ontario, with Whitemouth being near the border.[23] The act was brought forward in the Legislative Assembly by way of a Private Members Bill in 1888, and was opposed by William Fisher Luxton, arguing on the grounds that women doctors should only treat women and children, that Charlotte ought to be grouped with midwives in terms of her profession and that the matter ought to ultimately be decided by the College of Physicians and Surgeons.[1] The bill was withdrawn before second reading, but Charlotte continued to practice medicine in Whitemouth for decades despite it.[24]

Charlotte was an important member of the Whitemouth community, and as a devout Presbyterian she ran the Sunday school that her husband had constructed.[25] She welcomed preachers of all major denominations, including Roman Catholic missionary Albert Lacombe, whom she treated for pleurisy in the early 1880s.[1]

In addition to her work at the Sunday school, Charlotte enjoyed baking, embroidery, knitting and music, especially the piano, and was responsible for cultivating roses which was thought to be an impossible feat in the climate of that part of Manitoba.[1]

In 1912, her husband David, who had been suffering from rheumatism, died, and Charlotte moved to Winnipeg.[1] She lived there for four years, dying on February 21, 1916 at the age of 74.[4] She was buried by the Knox Presbyterian church, and floral tributes came across Canada in acknowledgement of her career.[1]