Kitty Barry Blackwell

Kitty Barry Blackwell
Kitty (left) with Elizabeth Blackwell, c. 1905
Born	Katherine Barry c. 1847 (1847) Ireland
Died	c. 1936 (aged 88) United States
Parent	Elizabeth Blackwell (adoptive)

Katherine "Kitty" Barry Blackwell (born c. 1847) was an Irish immigrant to the United States and the adopted daughter of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. She served as Elizabeth Blackwell's companion and secretary.

Barry's diary and correspondence have provided scholars with greater insight into the life of Elizabeth Blackwell.^[1][2][3]

Biography

Kitty Barry Blackwell was born Katherine Barry in Ireland in approximately 1847. She was orphaned, and in 1854, at the age of seven, she was adopted by Elizabeth Blackwell in New York City. Barry was partially deaf, which reportedly affected her confidence.

Barry lived with Blackwell until Blackwell's death in 1910. In 1921, Barry began living with Elizabeth Blackman's niece Alice Stone Blackwell.^[2]

References

1. Lonnes Nolen, Anita (October 1975). "The Feminine Presence: Women's Papers in the Manuscript Division". The Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress. 32 (4): 348–365 – via JASTOR.
2. "By the People Kitty Barry Blackwell: Diary (The Blackwells: An Extraordinary Family)". crowd.loc.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
3. "OHJ Archive". resources.ohiohistory.org. Retrieved 2023-07-17.