Dr. Amelia Yeomans (1842-1913)

Dr. Amelia Yeomans and her daughter Lillian were the first women physicians in Manitoba. She was born in Montreal on March 29,1842 and married Dr. Augustus Yeomans at the age of eighteen. When he died in 1878 Amelia did not remarry but decided to join her daughter Lillian at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in pursuit of a career in medicine. Amelia obtained her M.D. degree in Michigan in 1883, and was registered in Manitoba on Feb. 23, 1885.

Both Dr. Yeomans specialized in "Midwifery and the Diseases of Women and Children." There was plenty of work for them in Winnipeg. During the 1880s Winnipeg was being transformed from a frontier town into a bustling metropolis. Many social ills followed this rapid growth: "overcrowding in the city's north end, poverty, unemployment, prostitution and inadequate sewage, housing and medical facilities were only a few problems plaguing the new provincial capital." (1) Dr. Yeomans visited the city's slums, toured factories and prisons to treat the deprived and dispossessed, and worked to expose their conditions to the rest of society. Her practice of "social medicine" (public health) instilled in her the need for reform and "apart from medicine she had three principal causes: female suffrage, the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the fight against prostitution." (2) Her activities to stamp out prostitution and close houses of ill repute did not endear her to Winnipeg's upright citizens, since this was the Victorian era and some things just weren't discussed in polite society. Dr. Yeomans also campaigned for prohibition since drunkenness was often the cause of unemployment, child abuse and crime. She became a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), served as provincial president in 1896-97, and delivered lectures throughout Manitoba. Apparently she was a very good speaker who kept her audiences enthralled during her speeches and ready for action afterwards. As a result, she was able to enlist the help of many politicians, clergymen and leaders of the community.

Dr. Yeomans thought that giving women the right to vote was another way of curing social ills. This was a very unpopular cause at that time. Not only were most men totally opposed to women's suffrage and convinced it would cause the disintegration of the family, most women were either apathetic or hostile to the concept. This did not deter Dr. Yeomans. Having looked at the social ills around her, she concluded that "women were the most adamant protectors of community morals, purity and righteousness and would use their votes accordingly. Participation in the political process would enhance their authoritative influence over their children and inspire greater respect in husbands, sons and daughters." (1) She worked tirelessly to bring this about, including establishing a provincial suffrage association. Despite all her efforts women did not get the vote in her lifetime, and prohibition wasn't legislated until 1916. However, her efforts paved the way for both. The City of Winnipeg recognized her important role in our history by dedicating a plaque to her on the Broadway Avenue median at Hargrave Street.

1. Dr. Amelia Yeomans, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation, Historic Resources Branch, Winnipeg, 1985, p.6 (ISBN 0-7711-0074-4)
2. Dr. Amelia Yeomans, Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques.
3. "'Give us our due!' How Manitoba Women Won the Vote", Manitoba Historical Society.
4. Hacker, Carlotta. The indomitable lady doctors. Toronto, Clarke Irwin, 1974, p.90

Additional Reading

Dr. Amelia Yeomans. Winnipeg: Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation, Historic Resources Branch, 1985.

Hacker, Carlotta. The indomitable lady doctors. Toronto: Clarke Irwin, 1974.

Hind, E. Cora. "Amelia Yeomans." (June 1913) Manitoba Messenger: 9.

Mitchell, Ross. "The early doctors of Manitoba." Canadian Medical Association Journal v.32 (1935): 93.

Mitchell, Rosslyn Brough. Medicine in Manitoba: the story of its beginnings. Winnipeg: Stovel-Advocate Press, c1954.