Finding Almira Fifield, M.D.

Have you spent time searching for an ancestor that didn’t seem to want to be found? Many of us who devote time to our family genealogy know the feeling. Society member Barbara Fifield Brandt had such an ancestor, and she went to great lengths to rediscover her and honor her memory.

Dr. Brandt retired from the University of Minnesota after many years of work in health professional education, including being the founding director of the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. She has an ancestor who was a pioneer in the medical field: Almira Fifield, M.D., who was one of the first female physicians in the United States.

Dr. Fifield was born in 1833 and settled in Porter County, Indiana, with her family when she was about eight years old. She became a teacher in Valparaiso, but later decided to become a doctor, graduating from the New England Female Medical College (which later became part of Boston University) in 1859. Her move to Massachusetts to study was unusual, as only six of the 98 graduates of the college between 1848 and 1874 weren’t from New England or New York. Dr. Brandt believes there may have also been a religious and abolitionist connection that influenced Dr. Fifield’s decision.

Originally intending to return to Valparaiso following her graduation, Dr. Fifield instead requested the opportunity to use her degree treating Union soldiers in the Civil War which was then being fought. Her brother, Zacheus Barnum Fifield, had recently been wounded in the war, which may have influenced her decision. U.S. Representative Schuyler Colfax from Indiana supported her with a letter to Dorothea Dix, who was superintendent of nurses for the U.S. Army.

Female doctors were rare in the 1860s, and those who served in the war were often told to downplay their medical degrees. Dr. Fifield was initially a nurse in Paducah, Kentucky, but was soon put in charge of the surgical ward at the Union Hospital there. While many deaths in the Civil War were the result of actual battle injuries, many also died of infectious diseases such as typhoid or dysentery.

Dr. Almira Fifield died in 1863 from “congestive chills,” probably either tuberculosis or typhus, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery in Valparaiso. Dr. Brandt visited the cemetery during her search. Many of the headstones of the pioneers of Valparaiso and Porter County had been vandalized over the years.

Dr. Brandt led the effort to have her ancestor recognized for her pioneering service, both as an early female medical professional in the U.S., but also for her sacrifice in the Civil War. The result is a commemorative plaque which will be unveiled at a ceremony on Saturday, June 21, 2025, on Franklin Street in Valparaiso, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Old City Cemetery. The event starts at 11:00 a.m. and is open to the public. Details are available on the Indiana Dunes website.

Dr. Brandt also made a presentation about Dr. Fifield, and her journey to rediscovering her ancestor, to the Family History Interest Group of the University of Minnesota Retirees Association in April 2025. The presentation was recorded and is viewable on YouTube.

Congratulations to Dr. Barbara Fifield Brandt on her efforts to learn about and honor her notable Indiana Pioneer ancestor!