GB 0120 GC/228 - Miller, Florence Fenwick (1854-1935): autobiography 'An Uncommon Girlhood'

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0120 GC/228

Title

Miller, Florence Fenwick (1854-1935): autobiography 'An Uncommon Girlhood'

Date(s)

  • c1920s-1930s (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

2 boxes

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Florence Fenwick Miller was a leading late Victorian feminist. She was one of the first women to qualify in medicine in the United Kingdom, having been part of Sophia Jex-Blake's first doomed attempt to obtain medical education for women at the University of Edinburgh, then studying at the short-lived Medical College for Women in London, and finally achieving registration when this was ultimately conceded to women in 1878. She practised only briefly, subsequently becoming a popular writer and speaker on popular physiology as well as feminist and political subjects, and a prolific journalist and editor. In 1876 she was elected to represent Hackney on the London School Board, and served three consecutive terms, 1877-1885. In 1877 she married Frederick Alfred Ford, but retained her own name, being addressed as Mrs Fenwick Miller.

Archival history

GB 0120 GC/228 c1920s-1930s Collection (fonds) 2 boxes Miller , Florence Fenwick , 1854-1935 , feminist

Florence Fenwick Miller was a leading late Victorian feminist. She was one of the first women to qualify in medicine in the United Kingdom, having been part of Sophia Jex-Blake's first doomed attempt to obtain medical education for women at the University of Edinburgh, then studying at the short-lived Medical College for Women in London, and finally achieving registration when this was ultimately conceded to women in 1878. She practised only briefly, subsequently becoming a popular writer and speaker on popular physiology as well as feminist and political subjects, and a prolific journalist and editor. In 1876 she was elected to represent Hackney on the London School Board, and served three consecutive terms, 1877-1885. In 1877 she married Frederick Alfred Ford, but retained her own name, being addressed as Mrs Fenwick Miller.

This memoir was given to the Contemporary Medical Archives centre in June 1997 by Florence Fenwick Miller's great-granddaughter, Isobel Brougham, through the good offices of Professor Rosemary Van Arsdel.

Memoir of the first twenty-five years of Fenwick Miller's life 'An uncommon girlhood', (typed by her daughter, militant suffragette Irene Miller c 1920s-1930s), including her struggle for medical education, her involvement in this and other campaigns and with radical circles of the day, her election to the London School Board, her marriage, her contacts with the other pioneers in this field and their male allies, and her experiences in medical practice. She was also involved with the London Dialectical Society and freethought and Malthusian circles during the years described.

Single item

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

Photocopies/photographs/microfilm are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds, and that photographs cannot be photocopied in any circumstances. Readers are restricted to 100 photocopies in twelve months. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.

English

This item is only available for consultation on microfilm. If you need to see the original please consult the archivist.

Wellcome Library ref: SA/MWF

Some odd pages are missing, and although there seems to have been another copy at one time, held in the family bank, this has not so far been traced as still in existence.

Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Jun 2008 Miller , Florence Fenwick , 1854-1935 , feminist Family planning Literature Literary forms and genres Prose Autobiographies Medical sciences Medical profession Medical personnel Physicians Women physicians London Dialectical Society London School Board Personnel People by occupation People

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

This memoir was given to the Contemporary Medical Archives centre in June 1997 by Florence Fenwick Miller's great-granddaughter, Isobel Brougham, through the good offices of Professor Rosemary Van Arsdel.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Memoir of the first twenty-five years of Fenwick Miller's life 'An uncommon girlhood', (typed by her daughter, militant suffragette Irene Miller c 1920s-1930s), including her struggle for medical education, her involvement in this and other campaigns and with radical circles of the day, her election to the London School Board, her marriage, her contacts with the other pioneers in this field and their male allies, and her experiences in medical practice. She was also involved with the London Dialectical Society and freethought and Malthusian circles during the years described.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Single item

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

Conditions governing reproduction

Photocopies/photographs/microfilm are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds, and that photographs cannot be photocopied in any circumstances. Readers are restricted to 100 photocopies in twelve months. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Wellcome Library ref: SA/MWF

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Some odd pages are missing, and although there seems to have been another copy at one time, held in the family bank, this has not so far been traced as still in existence.

Notes area

Note

Some odd pages are missing, and although there seems to have been another copy at one time, held in the family bank, this has not so far been traced as still in existence.

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Wellcome Library

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area