Sophia B. Jones

Sophia B. Jones (May 16,1857 – September 8, 1932) was a Canadian-born American medical doctor, the first black woman to graduate from the University of Michigan Medical School. She founded the Nursing Program at Spelman College and was the first black faculty member at Spelman College.[2]

Sophia Bethena Jones
Born1857 (1857)
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
DiedSeptember 8, 1932(1932-09-08) (aged 74–75)
Alma materUniversity of Michigan Medical School
OccupationPhysician, educator
Notable work
Fifty Years of Negro Public Health, published in 1913[1]
Nurses at Spelman College Seminary in 1897

Early life

Sophia Bethena Jones was born in Chatham, Ontario, the daughter of James Monroe Jones and Emily F. Francis Jones. Her father, who was a gunsmith by trade, was born in North Carolina and was one of the first black graduates of Oberlin College. He was born into an enslaved family and purchased their freedom in 1843.[3] In the year Sophia was born, he was involved with John Brown's abolition activities in Canada.[4][5][6]

She had three sisters: Anna Jones, Fredericka Jones, and Emma Jones, and two brothers: George Jones and James Jones.[7] Her sisters Anna H. Jones (1855–1932) and Fredericka F. Jones (1860–1905) both became teachers.[8][9]

Sophia B. Jones attended the University of Michigan Medical School, finishing in 1885 as the school's first black female graduate.[10]

Career

Sophia B. Jones became the first black faculty member at Spelman College when she was hired in 1885.[11] While at Spelman, she organized the school's nurses training program and led their infirmary.[12]

After her time at Spelman, Jones worked at Wilberforce University, and practiced medicine in St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Kansas City.[13] She also earned a patent in 1890 for a "Barrel trunk."[14]

She had a passion for prioritizing public health and attaining health equity. Her article, "Fifty Years of Public Negro Health," was published in 1913.[12]

Personal life

Late in life, Jones retired with her sister Anna to Monrovia, California, where they ran an orange grove.[15] Sophia and Anna both died in 1932; Sophia B. Jones was 75 years old.[16]

Legacy

The University of Michigan Medical School offers a lectureship in infectious diseases named for Sophia B. Jones. There is also a Fitzbutler Jones Alumni Society, an organization established to provide financial support to students and faculty by black alumni in 1997.[2] They honor her and the school's first black graduate, William Henry Fitzbutler.[17] There's also a conference room at Michigan named for Dr. Jones.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Sophia B. Jones Charts a Course of Success for African-American Doctors". Spelman College. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  2. "Sophia B. Jones Charts a Course of Success for African-American Doctors". www.spelman.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  3. "Jones, Sophia Bethena". Oxford African American Studies Center. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.37266. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  4. Gwen Robinson, "Grandfather Arrived in North Carolina Aboard Slave Ship" Chatham Daily News (February 25, 2017).
  5. Steven Lubet, The "Colored Hero" of Harper's Ferry: John Anthony Copeland and the War against Slavery (Cambridge University Press 2015): 38, 102. ISBN 9781316352205
  6. Jacqueline L. Tobin, From Midnight to Dawn: The Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad (Doubleday 2007): 50. ISBN 9780385514316
  7. "Jones, Sophia Bethena". Oxford African American Studies Center. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.37266. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  8. Vivian M. May, Anna Julia Cooper, Visionary Black Feminist: A Critical Introduction (Routledge 2012): 23–28. ISBN 9781135911553
  9. "An Appreciation", Rising Son (March 17, 1905): 5. via Newspapers.com
  10. Ruth Bordin, Women at Michigan: The Dangerous Experiment, 1870s to the Present (University of Michigan Press 2001): 38. ISBN 9780472087938
  11. "Sophia B. Jones Charts a Course of Success for African-American Doctors" Our Stories Spelman College (April 2016).
  12. "Dr. Sophia B. Jones and Ludie Clay Andrews, Class of 1906". www.spelman.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  13. Untitled news item, Rising Son (December 18, 1903): 5. via Newspapers.com
  14. U. S. Patent CA 34906 A, "Barrel Trunk", issued to Sophia Bethena Jones on Aug 25, 1890.
  15. The Michigan Alumnus (January 1921): 255.
  16. Necrology, Michigan Alumnus (January 1933): 236.
  17. M. F. "Building the Next Generation of African-American Physicians" Medicine at Michigan (Fall 2002): 34-35.
  18. Sophia B. Jones Room, University of Michigan.
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