Annetta Ayers Saunders
Annetta Ayers Saunders | |
|---|---|
 Annetta Ayers Saunders, from a 1922 publication | |
| Born | Annetta Ayers December 16, 1861 Urbana, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 20, 1938 (age 76) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupations | Physician, clubwoman |
Annetta Ayers Saunders (December 16, 1861 – June 20, 1938) was an American physician and clubwoman, based in Chicago. Her significant estate was donated to her alma mater, the University of Illinois, after her death.
Early life and education
Ayers was born in Urbana, Illinois,[1] the elder daughter of Homer W. Ayers and Lorinda Jane McConoughey Ayers.[2] Her father was a lawyer who practiced with Abraham Lincoln, and a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War.[3] She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1884.[4] She trained for a medical career at National Medical College,[5] Harvey Medical College, Dunham Medical College, and Hering Medical College.[1]
Career
Saunders assisted University of Illinois botany professor Thomas Jonathan Burrill after college, and with him she developed a process for making colored slides of plant tissue samples.[6]
She was assistant resident physician at National Emergency Hospital from 1896 to 1897. She taught bacteriology at medical colleges, and at the University of Illinois.[1] She recommended that women see female physicians,[7] and that churches be better ventilated.[8] During World War I, she provided free medical care to the families of servicemen from the Chicago area.[9] In 1927, she unveiled a bronze statue of Lincoln in Urbana, donated by her uncle, judge J. O. Cunningham.[10][11]
Saunders was a member of the Illinois Homeopathic Medical Society and the Chicago Medical Society, and president of the University of Illinois Alumni Association of Chicago. She was also president of the Social Economics Club, a women's club in Chicago.[12] She made gifts to the University of Illinois' library and museum of natural history.[13] She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.[14]
Publications
- "Lincoln's Life in My Home Town"[1]
Personal life and legacy
Ayers married physician Charles Boulson Saunders in 1896. He died in 1926. She died in 1938, at the age of 76, in Chicago.[15] In 1943, after the death of her only nephew, Saunders' estate, valued at more than $164,000, was left to the University of Illinois.[6] Her medical library and two paintings were also left to the university.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d History of medicine and surgery and physicians and surgeons of Chicago. 1922. p. 793.
- ^ University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) (1906). The Alumni Record of the University of Illinois at Urbana: Including Annals of the University and Biographical Notices of the Members of the Faculties and of the Board of Trustees. University of Illinois. p. 76.
- ^ "Obituary for Homer W. Ayers". Chicago Tribune. 1909-01-22. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Annetta Ayers, Mrs. Charles Boulson Saunders". University of Illinois Archives Holdings Database. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
- ^ "Another Grist of Doctors". The Inter Ocean. 1896-03-19. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "U. of I. Receives $164,000 Estate of Dr. Saunders". Chicago Tribune. 1943-11-03. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "What Man Doctors Know; Woman Physician Says it is Not a Wonderful Lot". Chicago Tribune. 1907-03-06. p. 18. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jottings". The American Israelite. 1908-01-30. pp. P7. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ The Alumni Quarterly and Fortnightly Notes of the University of Illinois. November 1917. p. 55.
- ^ "Unveiling of Statue Takes Place Sunday". The Urbana Daily Courier. 1927-07-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Anniversary of Marriage Noted". The Champaign Daily News. 1910-10-31. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "With the Club Women". The Inter Ocean. 1913-07-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ University of Illinois (System) Board of Trustees (1921). Transactions of the Board of Trustees. University of Illinois. p. 82.
- ^ Daughters of the American Revolution (1922). Lineage Book. The Society.
- ^ "Obituary for Annetta Ayres Saunders". Chicago Tribune. 1938-06-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U. of I. to Get $105,000 Estate Left by Doctor". Chicago Tribune. 1938-07-02. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-10-13 – via Newspapers.com.