Ellen Goodell Smith (August 25, 1835 – November 3, 1906) was an American hydropathic physician,

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

and writer.

Biography

Smith was born at

Dwight Dwight may refer to: People * Dwight (given name) * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), 34th president of the United States and former military officer *New England Dwight family of American educators, military and political leaders, and authors * ...

Belchertown, Massachusetts Belchertown (previously known as Cold Spring and Belcher's Town) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,350 at the 2020 census ...

.Anonymous. (1896)
''Biographical Review: This Volume Contains Biographical Sketches of the Leading Citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts''
Boston: Biographical Review Publishing Company. pp. 529-530. In 1857, Smith attended William T. Vail's Granite State Health Institute (a hydropathic institute) in

Hill, New Hampshire Hill is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,017 at the 2020 census. It is home to William Thomas State Forest. History Originally granted as "New Chester" in 1753, the town took the name "Hill" in 18 ...

, where she became a student and teacher. In 1859, she attended Russell T. Trall's New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She obtained her M.D. in 1861 with the highest honours. She worked as a physician at Dr. Vail's sanitarium until 1862. She became resident physician at

Russell T. Trall Russell Thacher Trall (August 5, 1812 – September 23, 1877) was an American physician and proponent of hydrotherapy, Orthopathy, natural hygiene and vegetarianism. Trall authored the first American Veganism, vegan cookbook in 1874. Biography ...

's sanitarium in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1864 and for two years managed the

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

department. She married Dr.

John Brown Smith John Brown Smith (October 30, 1837 – April 4, 1917) was an American doctor, author, mutualist anarchist theorist, tax resister, and developer of shorthand. He served in the Washington House of Representatives. Smith was born in Canada and mov ...

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

in 1867. A year later, Smith and her husband established the first hydropathic sanitarium and Turkish Bath in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. In the 1870s, she worked as resident physician at Trall's sanitarium. Her son, Lindsey Goodell Smith was born on August 25, 1874. Smith retired in 1883. She authored the

natural hygiene Orthopathy (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ὀρθός ''orthos'' 'right' and πάθος ''pathos'' 'suffering') or natural hygiene (NH) is a set of alternative medicine, alternative medical beliefs and practices originating from the ''Nature Cure ...

book, ''The Art of Living'' in 1903. It was dedicated to

Edward H. Dewey Edward Hooker Dewey (21 May 1837 - 21 December 1904), best known as Edward H. Dewey, was an American physician. He was a pioneer of therapeutic fasting and the inventor of the "No Breakfast Plan". Career Dewey graduated from the College of Medic ...

, pioneer of the "No Breakfast Plan". Smith died from a fall in 1906.

Vegetarianism

Smith authored the vegetarian book, ''The Fat of the Land and How to Live on It'' in 1896. It has been cited as an early

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

cookbook, as it contained a chapter "Milk and the Cow" which recommended not using dairy products. She omitted

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

from her recipes. It was the first published book to contain a recipe for a

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

sandwich.Smith, Andrew F. (2014)
"Peanut butter: the vegetarian conspiracy"
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Retrieved July 22, 2019.

Selected publications

''A Practical Cook and Text Book for General Use: Fat of the Land and How to Live on It''
(1896)
''The Art of Living''
(1903)
''Recollections of a Pioneer Health Reformer''
(1905)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ellen Goodell 1835 births 1906 deaths 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians American health and wellness writers American temperance activists American vegetarianism activists Hydrotherapists Orthopaths Vegan cookbook writers Women cookbook writers