Dr. Mary Jane Safford, a Woman Ahead of Her Time

Bev Kelly, a volunteer, introduced Dr. Mary Jane Safford, a women's activist from the Tampa Bay area who fought for women's rights when it was politically incorrect.

The Sunday re-enactment of Safford's life called “The Life and Times of Dr. Mary Jane Safford” was presented as part of Pinellas County Historical Society’s lecture series called Speaking of History.

Safford was portrayed by retired pathologist and re-enactment actor and doctor Elizabeth Coachman. The date was January 16, 1888.

Approximately fifty people attended the performance at the Safety Harbor Church, in Heritage Village in Largo.

Coachman stood at the wooden podium at the front of the church. A simple, wood cross hung on the wall behind her. A tiny woman with a wide smile, she greeted visitors and asked to be addressed as Dr. Safford.

Dr. Safford was a teacher, doctor and speaker for women’s rights, women’s health and equal education.

“I think everyone has the right to education, whether you are a boy or girl, white or black, rich or poor. That’s what I’ve always believed,” Coachman said.

Her belief in equal rights for all people started at home and became a central part of her life. Safford’s family was against slavery and had an away station in their basement for people wanting to escape.

As a young adult, Safford moved to Cairo, Illinois, which sparked her medical career. The Civil War started, and Safford teamed with nurse Mary Ann Bickerdyke to soothe the sick and later to treat the wounded soldiers.

With a truce handkerchief tied to a stick, she walked from Illinois to Tennessee, looking for more soldiers to help. Safford was named the “Angel of Cairo” for her tireless efforts.

Her experience inspired her to become a homeopathic doctor. She graduated from New York College for Women, travelled Europe, learned of world culture and treated women's diseases. She was the first female surgeon to remove a woman’s ovaries.

“I don’t know what the big deal was. Many male surgeons had done this, but they made a fuss because I was a woman,” Coachman said, as Dr. Stafford in the re-enactment.

She became a speaker for dress reform after recognizing a correlation between women’s high fashion and women’s illnesses. The tight corsets compressed women’s kidneys, liver and female organs. Heavy headpieces caused severe headaches.

Dress reform wasn’t a popular position since rich women drove the fashion and poor women emulated the rich. Serious health problems began when girls were put in corsets at age one. As the girls grew into their child bearing years, they had no abdominal muscles.  This caused bigger health problems and difficulties in child birth.

“You’ll see how I’m dressed. I’m dressed modestly,” Coachman said as Dr. Stafford. “I don’t wear high heels. I wear boots; the toes are squared not pointed. My boots are sensible for winter and summer.”

Stafford married but later divorced. She raised two daughters as a single mother.

“I didn’t believe I needed a husband. I didn’t need a man to be a mother,” Coachman said as Dr. Stafford.

She moved to Florida with her brother Anson Safford after his partner bought four million acres acres in Florida. The area included Tarpon Springs, where they built a school.

Safford partnered with her former student, Fidelia Jane Whitcomb, a doctor, to open the first medical practice in Tarpon Springs. They were the first female doctors in the area. At the time Tarpon Springs was in Hillsborough County.

John Robinson, a Tarpon Springs’ history buff and resident, enjoyed the program on Safford.

“I know about the Safford House and the family’s contributions, but I learned more about her life today,” Robinson said.

“It was remarkable. She [Dr. Coachman] has an incredible memory. I couldn’t believe that people used to put corsets on babies,” said Laura Adkins, who grew up in Largo. It was Adkins first visit to Heritage Village.

“She [Safford] was ahead of her time. She introduced health, nutrition and exercise,” she said.

 Call (727) 582-2123 for details on upcoming, monthly programs.