PARIS — Maine author Annette Dorey will give a talk on Thursday, July 25, sponsored by the Paris Hill Historical Society. She will tell about the women in her new nonfiction book, “Miss Dr. Lucy and Maine’s Pioneering Female Physicians, 1850s–1920.” Extensive research resulted in more than 180 biographical profiles of Maine’s earliest female medical practitioners.

Dorey’s presentation will follow a luncheon at noon at the First Baptist Church on Paris Hill Road.

This is the second in the society’s summer focus on medical history. Last month Ben Conant, local history authority, spoke about the lives of the earliest male physicians of the Paris area.

Dorey’s book tells the stories of the personal and professional lives of women long forgotten. It was an era when women had to be very determined to earn their medical degrees and practice medicine. Despite the uphill struggle to gain admission to medical schools, these Maine women graduated from more than 20 different medical schools.

Some were Maine natives who traveled far for their medical training, but then did not return to Maine to apply their healing skills. Others were born and raised out of state and chose to establish medical careers in Maine. Doctors Charlotte Hammond and Merinda Houghton treated residents of Paris. Norway was home to Drs. Edna (Stephens) Delano and Annette Bennett. Rumford residents had several female physicians, including the Noyes women.

The women varied in background, family life, medical training and disciplines. They were allopathic, botanic, clairvoyant, chiropractic, Christian Science, eclectic, homeopathic, magnetic, metaphysical and osteopathic practitioners. They primarily represented three fields: allopathic, homeopathic and osteopathic.

“It’s time to remember these women,” says Dorey. “Their struggles and legacies have been lost or neglected all these years.”

Sign up at the Norway, Paris Cape or Paris Hill Historical Societies or by calling Nancy Schlanser, president of the Paris Hill Historical Society, at 743–0359. The luncheon and talk are a benefit for the First Baptist Church. All donations will go toward renovations and maintenance of this historic church.

Books will be available for purchase and signing. The 246-page book with 115 illustrations is available through the author’s website, Annette-Writes.com.

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