Dr. Mary (Marie) Sorensen was a pioneer in medicine and one of the first doctors in Polk County, Wisconsin. Perhaps her courage and drive came from her direct descendant, Vitus Bering, a navigator and explorer of the sea and strait near Alaska that bears his name. Mary was born in Denmark on September 17th, 1839, the daughter of Morten Hansen Bering and Elizabeth Eleonore Carlsdotter.
Mary moved to the United States at the age of 22. She settled in Chicago, where she married Jens Peter Sorensen in the spring of 1863. J. P. Sorensen was a carpenter and cabinet maker. Mary and Jens had four children together, two boys and two girls. Mary always dreamed of becoming a doctor, so after four children she decided to pursue her medical degree at Hahnemann College in Chicago.
In nineteenth-century Chicago, a medical degree was not always needed to practice medicine. Many doctors learned medicine by apprenticeships or by reading medical texts. Other students obtained formal medical training by the newly developed medical schools at this time. The Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago was one of these schools and opened in 1860. Except for its focus on homeopathic therapeutics, the instruction was similar to other “regular” medical schools.
American homeopathy had an early acceptance of women in medical training which was not accepted by many “regular” medical schools during this time. By 1900, it is estimated that 12% of homeopathic physicians were women. In contrast, female physicians only numbered between 4 and 5% of the entire medical profession by the end of the 1900’s. The Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago began accepting women to its program in 1871 and was an early institution to become co-educational. It was many years before all medical schools accepted women students. In 1904 there were 160 medical schools in the United States, of which 97 (61%) admitted women. In 1920 there were 85 medical schools, of which 64 (75%) were coeducational. It wasn’t until 1960, when all medical schools became coeducational.
Mary Sorensen completed her courses at Hahnemann Medical College, through sacrifice and hard work, and graduated with the degree of M.D. She first practiced in Chicago, later in Racine, Wisconsin, and then in Tacoma, Washington. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s when there were very few woman physicians, many big city hospitals were reluctant to hire female doctors. For this reason, many of Wisconsin’s early woman doctors took their practice to small, rural towns. It was in these rural communities where the talents of woman doctors where appreciated and welcomed.
The Sorensen’s settled in Polk County, Wisconsin around 1877. Dr. Sorensen set-up her practice where the local newspaper reported she had opened a homeopathic and electrical office. She opened offices in St. Croix, Taylors Falls, and Osceola. In 1879 the family moved to Milltown, but her services continued to extend over a large part of Polk County. She held the position of county physician for several years. It was not long before she proved her ability and fitness for the hardships of this profession.
“They saw patients in their kitchens and made house calls on snowshoes. Wisconsin’s first female doctors battled discrimination to make their mark in medicine, serving with particular distinction in rural areas. – Earl R. Thayer, Wisconsin Academy Review (2005)”
Dr. Sorensen truly lived the life of a pioneer doctor. She wore bobbed (short) hair, which was uncommon at this time in history for women. Dr. Mary had broken her arm and found it impossible to “put up” her hair. She also discovered that it was a time-saver when she was called to a sick bed in a hurry, so she kept it this way. There were no telephones at this time, so when Dr. Mary was needed, someone would come to her farm home by horseback, buggy or lumber wagon to get her or the medicine she would prescribe. This is also why Mr. Sorensen always kept two teams of horses ready, so there would be a fresh team when needed.
One time she was summoned to a logging camp outside the county, many miles away, to help a patient with a broken leg. On these long trips, Mary’s husband went with her. It was winter, so a horse and sleigh were used to make the trip through the snow. When night came, they had still not reached the logging camp and found themselves in an Indian village. The Indians blanketed and fed the horses. They provided a wigwam for Dr. Sorensen and her husband to sleep in and keep warm through the night. The trip was completed the next day, the fractured leg was set, and Mary and her husband began their long trip home.
Dr. Mary Sorensen was called into many homes where there were contagious diseases, but never contracted any, despite often working day and night during an epidemic. Her payment was anything from vegetables to furs. If she thought her patient couldn’t afford to pay, she would accept nothing. She was remembered by older settlers of the area as “one of the finest persons ever to have lived there.”
Both of the Sorensen’s sons followed in their mother’s footsteps and went on to medical school. The oldest son, Martin, also went to Hahnemann Medical College, but died in his senior year. Seward, the next son, graduated from Chicago Medical College and practiced at Prentice until he was stricken with tuberculosis and died in 1954. The Sorensen’s also had two daughters. Sarina, died as an infant. Elnora graduated from the Chicago Conservatory of Music and Valparaiso University in Indiana. She taught in the public schools of Polk County and gave piano lessons for many years. She married Nels Nielsen and lived in Milltown.
Dr. Mary Sorensen was a true pioneer physician and practiced until she was 65. She remained active in the Polk County community and spent her declining years on the farm she had inherited from her father, Morten Bering. Dr. Mary died on July, 28, 1926 at the age of 87 and is buried in the Milltown cemetery. Many artifacts and medical instruments used by Dr. Mary Sorensen are displayed in the Polk County Museum and donated by Mrs. Carl Sorensen, the granddaughter of Dr. Mary.
Learn More:
Doctor or Doctress: Explore American history through the eyes of woman physicians (Drexel Legacy Center)
Doctor or Doctress presents primary source sets ("stories") composed of the sources left behind by women physicians from history. Complete with both student and teacher supports, each story may provide a valuable and engaging angle from which to study significant moments and themes in the historical timeline.
First in their Class: Wisconsin’s Pioneering Women Physicians (Wisconsin Academy Review)
A discussion of early women physicians in Wisconsin and the trials and triumphs of breaking through the medical barriers. This article also includes a brief discussion of Dr. Mary Sorensen (spelled ‘Sorenson’ in this article).