Sarah Coates Harris, a contemporary of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was not only a mother and housewife, but also a physician, naturalist, lecturer and writer. She fought hard for the right to pursue fields of study and occupations traditionally held by men. As such, she was on the cutting edge. Her story is as relevant today as it was in 1982 when first told by Kathryn Oestreich.

"Mrs. D.S. Harris (late Miss Sarah Coates) proposes to give a course of lectures to the ladies of this place, on the subject of anatomy, physiology and hygiene. The principal subjects of the course, consisting of six lectures, are the bones, muscles, circulation, digestion, respiration, secretion, the nervous system, the peculiar constitution of woman, and the physical education of children.

"The lectures will be illustrated by a fine French apparatus, the model de femme, or artificial female figure, and a set of life-size anatomical plates. The modelle is composed of artificial representations of all the important organs and tissues of the human body, and is capable of separation; so as to answer all the purposes of actual dissection. The muscles, blood-vessels, and nerves are accurately represented; the heart, lungs and all the abdominal viscera are exhibited in situ, removed at pleasure, and their interior structure easily examined.

"The introductory lecture will be free and given m the Methodist Church ... Ladies generally are invited to attend. Tickets for the course, one dollar ... admission to a single lecture twenty-five cents. The proceeds of the lectures to be applied to charitable purposes."

When Sarah Coates Harris spoke, everyone listened. Typical was her lecture series on health and anatomy--a series which became something of a sensation in Galena. Never before had so detailed a topic been publicly given, not even by a man. But Sarah was up to the task, and her admirers were quick to offer praise:

"It is with no ordinary feelings of gratitude and respect that the members of the Galena Dorcas Society, in behalf of themselves and the ladies of this city, would attempt to express their sense of obligation to Mrs. Sarah Coates Harris, for her late efforts to communicate some portion of the valuable treasures of her own mind and experience to our community. With a felicity we never saw equaled, she has poured out truths of momentous importance, affecting the whole well being of society, and that with an attraction, a grace, a beauty, unsurpassed in our experience, and which, at times, almost took from us the power of commanding our­ selves, and suppressing the strong emotions of approval, and admiration with which we were excited. We expected much, but we had no conceptions of the treat which was before us, for we had no idea that such difficult subjects could be so discussed that the listeners should feel themselves, not only enlightened, that we expected, but elevated, refined, led more immediately into the presence of the great Father of our Spirits, and Maker of our Frames, as she proceeded on her subject. May this gifted being have her reward, the only reward she is capable of receiving. May the seed fall on good ground, and not be left uncultivated, but made to bear fruit in the healthier, happier, more useful lives of all those over whom we have influence. Especially should those of us who are mothers, and have been so touchingly addressed by her, realize anew the fearful responsibility of this relation, and the fatal consequences of transgressing the laws under which we and our children are placed. Let us wisely act up to any new light or impulse we may have received, and thus give this superior woman the satisfaction of trusting she has been the powerful means of conferring the greatest of temporal blessings on her fellow beings. Be assured it is the purest, highest reward she can receive."

It was also noted that she turned over $162.45 to the Dorcas Society for the benefit of the poor. What was not noted was that the speaker was obviously pregnant and would have her first child in 3-1/2 months.

Just who was this "gifted being... this superior woman"? Sarah Coates was born not far from Philadelphia in 1824 into a Quaker family, and her whole life would prove a testimony to Quaker beliefs. She had a superior intelligence, an insatiable curiosity and a deep love for nature even as a child. She undoubtedly had acc s to a variety of books on natural history. While In her teens she became interested in the beginnings of the woman's movement and its belief in the equality of the sexes. Her Quaker faith made her opposed to slavery both of blacks and that which social customs imposed upon women through marriage. Her early 20's were spent in Ohio where she attended early conventions of the woman's movement. In 1849-50 she enrolled in a lecture series on physiology at Marlborough ladies seminary, and was soon giving lectures on the subject in such large cities as Columbus and Cleveland.

In 1851 Sarah Coates became the second wife of Daniel Smith Harris, an early settler in Galena who made a fortune in land speculation, mining and various enterprises. He was well known on the Mississippi from St. Louis to St. Paul as an owner and captain of some of the finest steamboats on the river. His first wife had died leaving him with five young children. Soon this outstanding couple built the elegant home we know as Steamboat House. Sarah Coates Harris (she never referred to herself as Mrs. D.S. Harris) had seven children, two, including her first, died in infancy; her last was born in 1868 when she was 44 years old. In spite of the demands of her position, her family and her home, she was always active in the cause of others. In 1863, during the Civil War, she helped to organize and became president of the Union Freedmen's Aid Society of Galena whose purpose was to "collect and forward the necessaries of life to the Freedmen of the South, and to assist in such measures as may be adopted to secure to them all the blessings of Christian civilization."

In 1869, while Ulysses S. Grant of Galena was in the White House, Sarah Coates Harris was presiding over a Woman's Suffrage Convention in Galena where the featured speakers were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. A guest at the Harris' home described her hostess as "a noble woman, tall, fine-looking who moves about among her household gods like a queen. Although she has a large family of black-eyed rosy-cheeked children, pictures, statuary, a cabinet of rare minerals, a conservatory of beautiful plants, and a husband who thinks her but little lower than the angels, she still demands the right to vote, and occasionally indulges in the luxury of public speaking. She is the moving spirit in every step of progress in Galena."

Her lectures on women showed her keen interpretation of the position of women during the 19th century. Women's role had varied from that of "a mere drudge to petted plaything of men, but always in her best estate a slave."
Women were a slave to fashion with no time for culture or the needs of a higher life. The sewing machine had proved far from a blessing--before its advent women spent hours on hand-sewing, with it they used twice as much time adding "ruffling and plaiting and flouncing for those parts of the dress which were visible, and such braiding, embroidering and stitching for those which were invisible." She described the deforming modes of current fashion and its extravagance. The coming woman, she believed, would learn to know herself and her surroundings and follow the laws of health. She must know how to plan her home for usefulness rather than for show, for health and comfort rather than the demands of fashion. She would make her way among the learned professions, and in political life.

By the 1870's the abuse of liquor was an acknowledged social problem. Galena was not immune. Rather than using radical methods to combat the problem, Sarah Coates Harris resorted to the democratic process of petition. By seeking signatures she could inform the public as well as get them to make their wishes known to local officials. She presented a petition with over 1000 signatures to the City Council, and in a brief speech pointed out that within a city of 7000 inhabitants there were "about 60 places in which intoxicating drinks are retailed as a beverage, and that a large proportion of these (if indeed there be any exceptions) are kept open upon the Sabbath day... we have reason to believe that there are more drunkards made in and about Galena on Sunday, than on all the other days of the week together ... We do not ask you to make any new laws, but merely to enforce those already upon the statute book." All she asked was that they enforce the State laws closing liquor establishments on Sundays "for as surely as there is a God in Heaven, this evil is approaching a crisis."

With 14 other women she presented the County Board of Supervisors with a petition of over 1500 signatures asking that no licenses be granted in the County. Her address to the Board was published in its Proceedings, and while the Board did not refuse to issue licenses it did place the price at the highest sum permitted by State law, $300.

Sarah Coates Harris was also a delegate of Ladies Temperance Union of Galena to the third annual meeting of the Women's Temperance Union of the State of Illinois held at Dixon. Both Frances Willard and Sarah Coates Harris addressed that convention.

With her deep interest in health and in ser­ vice to others, it was natural for Sarah Coates Harris to consider the medical profession. She had attended many lectures on the subject and had practiced homeopathic medicine for at least five years. (A system of medical treatment based on the use of minute quantities of remedies that in massive doses produce effects simi­ lar to those of the disease being treated.) She entered Hahneman Medical College in Chicago in September, 1878, and graduated the following February. Her previous training and practice were considered as qualifying her for the advanced class. After she had received her diploma the school came under investigation for not requiring adequate preparation or attendance for State recognition. She was not the only graduate involved, and her ability and char­ acter were never questioned during the lengthy hearings. She defended herself in several newspaper articles, and the outcome was her seeking examination by the State Board which she passed with the highest grade ever granted by that body. At 55 years of age, Sarah Coates Harris became Dr. Sarah Coates Harris.

She was concerned about the treatment of the insane at a time when the subject was not understood. In a newspaper article she stated: "The time must come when diseases of the brain shall be treated with the same intelligence, the same confidence and same success as now attend the administration of the lungs, of the liver and of the stomach...ln our humble opinion it is a sort of blunder to call insanity by one word-about as much so as it would be to call pneumonia, tuberculosis, pleurisy and bronchitis, all by one common name. Insanity is not ONE but any diseases, nor does it by any means universally have its origin in the brain... lts SOURCES are almost as numerous as its CAUSES... its treatment must, to be successful, be as nicely adopted to its nature and character as the delicate structures of the organ involved would suggest."

The last six years of her life were dedicated to two civic causes. In 1881 she was appointed a member of the Galena School Board, the first woman to hold that position, and was always concerned with problems affecting the physical and mental conditions of the students.

In 1879, on his return from the tour of the world, General Grant issued a call for the re­ activation of the Jo Daviess County Soldiers' Monument Association which had had an abortive beginning after the Civil War. Sarah Coates Harris was elected secretary of the re-organized group and immediately went to work. For 2-1/2 years she WAS the Association although she was quick to give credit for aII contributions of time and money, whether from young people’s organizations, or from wealthy ex-Galenians living in Chicago. Her persistent efforts squeezed a $2500 appropriation from the Board of Supervisors which was turned over after the Monument was in place. They had also placed a stipulation on its location: 300 yards from the Court House.

The site selected drew vitriolic comment which was printed in the Gazette, but the Association held to its decision of a location on the bluff back of the county jail building. Dedication was expected to be July 4, 1882, but a delay in shipment slowed its completion to July 7 with dedication on July 4th of the following year. The monument and grounds were then turned over to the County Board of Supervisors, but the Association remained in existence. Its final act of business in 1885 consisted in passing a resolution of thanks to the man who just engraved the dates for U.S. Grant who had died earlier that year.

It was at this time that Sarah Coates Harris learned that she was dying of cancer. She had made her will and funeral arrangements. She had one final concern for the moment-the need for a roadway to shorten the distance to the monument park. She asked a friend to request that the Board of Supervisors purchase a strip of land for the road. As he addressed the Board at its next meeting, he was informed that Sarah Coates Harris had died that morning. The matter was quickly acted upon and her roadway became a reality.

She died February 23, 1886, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. The Soldiers Monument was moved to the new Grant Park in 1891. For those who bother to look, they will see, on the front of the monument, her name, Sarah C. Harris, Sec. S.M.A. As her friend said in a eulogy "that beautiful monument will not only preserve the memory of their life's blood but will also stand as a memorial of the untiring labor of Mrs. Harris in securing its erection."

What an inspiring woman. A Quaker in the Victorian era. Wealthy and at ease with those in the highest places, she devoted her life to serving others-black, poor, sick, women and children. She had a strong sense of right and was ever willing to stand up for that right. She was not a Victorian woman-she was a woman for all ages.