Page 387

“…signed Lorenzo’s will…”

Lorenzo’s will is held in the probate of King George County, Virginia, in King George, Virginia.

“…ninety dollars to Oliver…”

Lorenzo’s will is held in the probate of King George County, Virginia, in King George, Virginia.

Anarcha’s son William does not appear on Lorenzo’s will. Both appear to have left King George, for Washington D.C., and to have died childless.

“…fifty dollars to Delia and Louisa…”

Delia and Louisa, in all likelihood step-sisters, remained close for their entire lives.

Lorenzo’s will is held in the probate of King George County, Virginia, in King George, Virginia.

“He was duty-bound…”

From a letter from Sims to the Board of Governors, dated December 5, 1874. Davis included the letter in his autobiography in full.

Davis, G. T. M. (1891). Autobiography of the late Col. Geo. T.M. Davis: Captain and aid-de-camp Scott's army of invasion (Mexico), from posthumous papers. Pub. by his legal representatives. New York: Press of Jenkins and McCowan, p. 371.

“…a festive public event.”

From a letter from Sims to the Board of Governors, dated December 5, 1874. Davis included the letter in his autobiography in full. Sims later more plaintive letter (see “…he ought not speak at all,” above) reveals his certainty that his offer to resign would not be accepted.

Davis, G. T. M. (1891). Autobiography of the late Col. Geo. T.M. Davis: Captain and aid-de-camp Scott's army of invasion (Mexico), from posthumous papers. Pub. by his legal representatives. New York: Press of Jenkins and McCowan, p. 371.

“…the study on the Woman’s Hospital mortality rate…”

See “…investigation of rates of morality…,” above.

The study itself appears not to have survived, but it would seem that Sims published details of it in a vicious exchange of pamphlets between himself and his Woman’s Hospital colleagues in 1877, an episode not depicted in this book.

“…forwarded to the board of governors.”

The exact timing of the release of these statistics was disputed—it seems more likely to me that they would have been part of the reason to accept Sims’s resignation.

Sims, J. M. (1877). The Woman's Hospital in 1874: A reply to the printed circular of Drs. E.R. Peaslee, T.A. Emmet, and T. Gaillard Thomas, addressed "To the medical profession," "May 5th, 1877". New York: Kent & Co., p. 20.

EMMET T. A., PEASLEE, E.R, THOMAS, T.G. (1877). Reply to Dr. J. Marion Sims’s Pamphlet, Entitled ‘The Woman’s Hospital in 1874,’ by His Colleagues, New York: Trow’s Printing and Bookbinding, p. 9.

“…higher rate of fatal operations…”

In their flurried exchange of pamphlets, Sims attempted to argue that his percentage of fatality was lower than that of his colleagues, and from there it became an argument over the types of surgery being performed. The upshot was that Sims had a higher rate of fatality when compared to others performing the same types of surgery.

EMMET T. A., PEASLEE, E.R, THOMAS, T.G. (1877). Reply to Dr. J. Marion Sims’s Pamphlet, Entitled ‘The Woman’s Hospital in 1874,’ by His Colleagues, New York: Trow’s Printing and Bookbinding, p. 11.

“His offer to resign…”

EMMET T. A., PEASLEE, E.R, THOMAS, T.G. (1877). Reply to Dr. J. Marion Sims’s Pamphlet, Entitled ‘The Woman’s Hospital in 1874,’ by His Colleagues, New York: Trow’s Printing and Bookbinding, p. 9.

“News of Sims’s expulsion…”

An example from a medical journal in St. Louis, which reported that it had been following the controversy for several years. And Sims’s biographers’ characterization of the effort to venerate Sims.

“Editorial Interview with Dr. J. Marion Sims: A Full Exposition of the Points in the Controversy between Drs. Peaslee, Emmet, and Thomas, and Dr. Sims,” The St. Louis Clinical Record, Vol. 4, No. 6, September 1877, p. 153.

Harris, S. (1950). Woman's surgeon: The life story of J. Marion Sims. New York: Macmillan, p. 307.

“…rebuke of the actions of the Board of Lady Managers…”

I am reading between the lines of Harris’s characterization here. It was widely known that the rules over which Sims resigned had been insisted upon by the Board of Lady Managers.

Harris, S. (1950). Woman's surgeon: The life story of J. Marion Sims. New York: Macmillan, p. 308.