Living her life her way - Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster

One of the most distinguished-looking local rural schools still in existence is the one that was called Stone School or SS#7 Morris. It is situated along the bank of the Maitland River on Stone School Road (formerly the second concession of Morris). It was here in 1928 that a grand reunion was held, calling back students from days of yore. 

 

One of the distinguished alumni was Mary Robina Findlater who was being recognized as the first woman doctor from Morris Township. Dr. Findlater travelled from her home in Washington D.C. to be one of the keynote speakers. In addition, she donated a large flag, an American one, to the ceremonies.

 

What was the journey that took Mary from Morris Township? She was born Feb. 12, 1873 in Ayr, Ontario to William Findlater, who was born in the United States and Jeanette Cavers Findlater, a native of Scotland. Mary was the seventh child born of this union. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Lot 2 Conc. 2 South, Morris Township. Three more children were born there.
Mary proved to be a good scholar, as shown by her placing well in the Senior Second class’s honour roll at the Stone School in 1881. She went on to attend both Clinton High School and Model School. (A Model School was a public school that was a practical training ground for student teachers.)

 

After teaching at various local schools for a few years, she attended Normal School in Ottawa for more advanced training. After that, she was the first teacher at USS#8 Turnberry and Morris, which was known as the Wingham Junction School. It had been built in early 1897 and Mary taught there for three years. When she left the Junction School, in January of 1901,to attend medical college, she was presented with a gold watch chain. The accolades of a farewell speech to her draw the conclusion that she was an exemplary teacher who would be missed.

 

Like many of her contemporaries, as a person who had done well in school, Mary’s first career was teaching. Perhaps it was her plan to use her savings from teaching to finance a different career. Alternatively, maybe the desire to become a doctor came to her later.

 

Although it would have been possible for Mary to train as a doctor in Ontario, she chose to travel to the United States for her training. Beginning in 1883, the Woman’s Medical College in Toronto offered a four-year course for women, but did not grant degrees. At that point, the women had to write their final exams at the University of Trinity College. Mary attended the Woman’s Medical College of Philadelphia, an institution that was founded in 1850 by Quakers. It was here that women had the opportunity to learn in a hospital setting that allowed women to teach, perform research, and learn to manage and run a medical school. When she graduated in May of 1905, Mary accepted an appointment as a resident physician at the New England Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

Dr. Findlater moved west around 1912 and began a practice in the prosperous gold-mining town of Lead (pronounced “Leed”), South Dakota. She found the scenery there to be very beautiful and the citizens kind and opened-minded. Mary settled into this community quite well and, in 1914, was elected as a member of the board of education there. By 1917, she was on the move once again, this time to Washington, D.C. where she also set up a practice.

 

Ever the learner, Mary used some of her holiday time on trips to places like Ireland, Wales, Germany and Belgium. Some of her letters to the folks back home made their way into the Wingham Advance-Times. These letters reveal that Mary was curious, adventuresome and eager to learn all she could about the countryside she was visiting. Even though she had the means and the interest to travel about the world, her favourite place of all was the home place in Morris Township. Here she visited with her aging father until his passing in 1921. Her brother, William, and sister, Annie, neither of whom had married, carried on the operation of the farm and it was to them that Mary made extended summer visits. 

 

One of the neighbours of the Findlaters was the Golley family. In 1976, Dorothy Golley Thornton (1916-2017) recalled her special relationship with Mary. It would be in the 1920s that little Dorothy started to spend time with Mary on those regular summer-long visits from Washington. Dorothy described Mary as “a tall bony person, with a large round face and merry eyes.” Her glasses were carried on a chain attached to her lapel and were held on her nose by a pinch spring. She had a heap of soft, snow-white hair piled high on her head, held in place with ivory combs. The time that Mary spent with Dorothy was magical to the child, as Mary opened up her eyes to works of literature, the beauty of nature and of the scope of the world far beyond young Dorothy’s experience.

 

Mary’s plan to return to the area to live never was fulfilled, as she passed away in Brookland, Washington D.C. in 1942 at the age of 69 after living a full life on her terms. Her cremated remains were interred in Wingham Cemetery. Dorothy recalled that, “My dear Dr. Mary had passed away, sad at heart and very lonely.... Her special gift of love and encouragement and concern for a wholesome way of life is much needed to build up our hopes (for future generations).”

 

To read more about Dorothy Thornton’s memories of her kind mentor, go to the Huron County Museum’s website and choose “Digitized Newspapers”. Under “Magazines” opt for the November 1976 edition of the Village Squire pages 16 to 21.