Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920
Biography of Annah Hurd, 1871-1958
By Emily Molloy, student, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI
Annah Hurd was born in Humboldt, Kansas on November 20, 1871, to Tyrus and Ethel (Edgerton) Hurd. During the 1880s, the Hurd family moved from Kansas to Minnesota. In Minnesota, Annah and Ethel became prominent members of medical, and women's suffrage, organizations. Annah completed her medical education during this period, receiving degrees from the College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, in 1896, and the College of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery, University of Minnesota, in 1900. After graduating, Annah interned at the Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia, before returning to Minneapolis to practice medicine with her mother.
Annah and Ethel both fought for women's suffrage. For a period in the early twentieth-century, their office served as the headquarters of the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA). Annah also served as the Recording Secretary and Chairman Lecture Bureau for the MWSA, organizing speech itineraries and lecturing at many Association meetings. Annah was interested in social reform as well as women's suffrage. She joined the Women's Welfare League and the Women's Auxiliary group to the Civic Federation. The latter group strove to achieve "civic purity" and clean up "immorality" in Minneapolis.
Annah was a successful medical practitioner. She was an assistant physician at Maternity Hospital, a women-run hospital in Minneapolis that provided maternity services for poor, unmarried, or widowed women. She was also an active participant in the medical community, holding memberships in: the American Institute of Homeopathy, the Minnesota Institute of Homeopathy, and the Minneapolis Medical Society. She served as President of the Medical Woman's Club of Minneapolis and as a member of the University of Minnesota College of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery Alumni Association. In 1916, she was elected the State Medical Examining Board President. She was the only woman on the Board, and held the position of President for six years.
Annah Hurd died on July 24, 1958 in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Sources:
American Institute of Homeopathy. The Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, Vol. 8, Issues 8-12. Chicago, Illinois: American Institute of Homeopathy, 1916. pp. 355.
Barsness, Nellie. "Highlights in the Careers of Women Physicians in Pioneer Minnesota," Journal of the American Medical Women's Association. vol. 13, no. 1, January 1958/ pp. 19-23.
Harper Husted, Ida, ed. The History of Woman Suffrage, Vol. 6: 1900-1920, New York: J.J. Little & Ives Company, 1922. pp. 318-320.
Leonard, John, ed. Woman's Who's Who of American: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915. New York: American Commonwealth Company, 1914. pp. 417.
"Minnesota People Records Search." Minnesota Historical Society, 13 Nov. 2017, http://www.mnhs.org/search/people#?fn=Annah&fnt=prefix&ln=Hurd&lnt=prefix&mnt=prefix&rnt=prefix&birthindex.pg=1&deathindex.pg=1&census.pg=1&vgri.pg=1&goldstar.pg=1&wotr.pg=1&ep=birthindex,deathindex,census,vgri,goldstar,wotr&fromD=&fromM=&fromY=&toD=&toM=&toY=&st=last_name_slim&sd=asc&cs=default&cd=asc#deathRecords
Stuhler, Barbara. Gentle Warriors: Clara Ueland and the Minnesota Struggle for Women Suffrage. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society, 1995. pp. 66-67.
Unknown Author. "Twenty-Fifth Annual Convention, Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association." The Minneapolis Tribune, November 11, 1906.
Unknown Author. "Maternity Hospital is Passing Through Twentieth Anniversary More Room is Needed." The Minneapolis Tribune, June 16, 1907.
Unknown Author. "Minneapolis on Eve of Purity Campaign." The Minneapolis Tribune, January 19, 1909.
Unknown Author. "State Homeopaths Elect Officers." The Minneapolis Tribune, May 20, 1908.
Unknown Author. "Clubs and Charities – Club Notes." The Minneapolis Journal, May 29, 1905.