Agnes Nininger Saunders Kemp (November 4, 1823 – 1908) was a 19th-century American physician who was a national leader in the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

as well as the first woman to practice medicine in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

Family and education

She was born Agnes Ninninger in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Antoine 'Anthony' Ninninger (1787–1866), from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, France, who had emigrated to America in 1816, and Catharine (May) Ninninger (1800–1833), who was of Pennsylvania Dutch (Swiss-German) descent. Her mother died when Agnes was nine. She first married William Saunders, an army colonel, but was widowed after a few years. In 1857 she married Joseph Kemp (d. 1875) of Hollidaysburg; they had one surviving daughter, Marie Antoinette, who became a professor of German at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

Career

Early in her first marriage, she had health issues that resulted in a trip to New York state for treatment, where she met and was inspired by the social reformers

Lucretia Mott Lucretia Mott (''née'' Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an American Quaker, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position of women in society when she was amongs ...

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...

, Abby Kelly Foster, and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

. On her return to Harrisburg, she began to advocate for temperance reform and was instrumental in establishing a chapter of the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

. She also advocated for prison reform and public education for children, among other issues. By her mid-forties she was recognized nationally as a reform leader, and

Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a colle ...

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

, and

were among the influential speakers who came to Harrisburg at her invitation. Kemp was convinced that ignorance of hygiene was at the root of many women's illnesses and determined to study medicine. She entered the Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia, and when she graduated in 1879 she was, at 56, the oldest member of her class. She set up practice in Harrisburg, becoming the first woman in

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...

to practice medicine as well as the first (in 1880) to be invited into the county medical society. She continued to advocate for temperance reform both in the United States and during several extended visits to France. She retired in 1903 and went to live with her daughter, who died in 1907. Kemp then helped to raise her grandson until she died the following year. She is buried in Harrisburg Cemetery.

Family and education

Career

References

Further reading