FACES OF HEALTHCARE

Meet the individuals responsible for shaping public health and the healthcare landscape in colonial and early
republican Philadelphia. 

Founder of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania colony, Penn wanted to create a city with fresh air, green space, and orderly roads.

A Quaker, Penn established a code of acceptance and tolerance toward Indigenous Americans compared to other colonial leaders. However, his belief in European Protestant superiority justified his enslavement of black individuals and support of healthcare that targeted "immoral" citizens.

Benjamin Franklin was a famous polymath living in the city. He created philosophical organizations, published The Philadelphia Gazette, and involved himself in local politics.

Though not a trained physician, Franklin saw a need for public healthcare. In 1751, he co-founded the Pennsylvania Hospital with Dr. Thomas Bond. The hospital is now run by the University of Pennsylvania.

A member of the first graduating class of the College of Philadelphia, John Morgan was a leading American physician. Morgan spent time studying at Edinburgh University before returning to Philadelphia in 1765. That same  year, he and William Shippen, Jr. founded the School of Medicine at his alma mater. The school is now the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Born in Philadelphia, Adam Kuhn received his medical degree in Edinburgh. When he returned to Philadelphia, he was hired as one of the first professors at the School of Medicine where he remained for 30 years.

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Kuhn was active in public health efforts such as inoculation. He later co-founded the medical fraternal society the College of Physicians

Rush was an intellectual, physician, and strong supporter of the American Revolution, serving as Surgeon General during the war. He went on to work at the Pennsylvania Hospital for decades.

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He is notorious for treating yellow fever patients during the 1793 epidemic. Rush thought bloodletting would cure sufferers. Unfortunately, his tactics only worsened symptoms and likely led to more deaths. 

Jones was born into colonial slavery, but was later emancipated by his enslaver, Wyncoop. Absalom Jones joined the Methodist Episcopal Church and was ordained as a minister.

With Richard Allen, he founded the Free African Society which provided aid and religious learning for free black Americans. Jones and Allen also led nursing efforts during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic.

Originally from France, Girard grew to be one of the wealthiest Americans in history. He built his fortune through international commerce including opium, alcohol, and enslaved peoples. 

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As yellow fever spread through Philadelphia in the 1790s, Girard took charge of converting a manor house into the Bush Hill Hospital. He worked alongside free black residents to care for patients while many of his white colleagues left the city.

Like Absalom Jones, Richard Allen was enslaved from birth and emancipated because his enslaver was inspired by the values of the Revolution. Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1794, leaving the greater Church because racial of discrimination. 

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In 1793, many white citizens fled the city and yellow fever, leaving black Philadelphians to care for the sick and dying. Allen and Jones rallied black communities build a network of nurses.

An Irish native, Mathew Carey fled to the colonies to avoid the severe Irish Penal Code which persecuted Catholics. He apprenticed with Benjamin Franklin before becoming a publisher and economist in Philadelphia.

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Though he was no stranger to oppression, Carey claimed free black Philadelphians were not doing their part during the yellow fever outbreaks. Given much of the nursing was done by black residents, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones published a response critiquing Carey. Still, his epidemic works remain valuable sources for understanding how disease impacted Philadelphia.

While there are no images for specific nurses, yellow fever patients in 1793 were treated by free black nurses at Bush Hill. They risked their lives to aid dying Philadelphians while white politicians and leaders abandoned the city.

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Sara Bass may have been one of these nurses. Known as the Mother of the AME Church, Bass was a leader in Philadelphia's black communities. Though she was not married to Richard Allen during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic, Bass was instrumental in community organizing for later public health crises.