ATLAS

Podcast #4 – Melinda Knapheide Germann

Posted on 27. Jun, 2009 by ATLAS in Famous Women, Medicine, Quincy

Melinda Germann is a pioneer. Born in Quincy, Illinois in July 1863 during the War Between the States to Henry and Kate Knapheide, she considered herself a physician who tried hard to serve her patients as well as be a wife and mother. Her father was born in 1824 in Zingrich, Muenster, Germany, but not much is known about her mother and her family, except that they came from Prussia.

As a young man, Melinda’s father, Henry, learned the craft of making wagons and traveled to various cities throughout Europe as a journeyman wagon maker. It is a bit ironic that in her later years Melinda returned to Europe from America and traveled to various cities in order to learn more about the craft of medicine. Henry emigrated to America in 1845, when he was approximately 23 years old so his children would be able to live in a land full of freedom and opportunity. Working almost two years in New Orleans, he then traveled up the river to St. Louis where he met and married Catherine Achepohl in 1847. In 1848, the newlyweds moved to Quincy, IL where they remained until their deaths.

Melinda was the youngest of six children, eight years younger than the next eldest sibling. She was the baby of the family and very spoiled. She attended public school, and was a member of the Class of 1881 at Quincy High School. Upon graduation, she became a teacher, teaching in Loraine and Mendon for two years. She gave up the monotony of teaching, looking for more rewarding and challenging work as a physician.

Three years after graduating from high school, in 1884, Melinda enrolled at the Quincy College of Medicine and graduated in two years — in 1886. Soon after graduation from medical school, Melinda decided to gain some additional training before starting her practice. She traveled to Zurich, Paris and Vienna to take several graduate courses in medicine. In those days, a young woman traveling abroad was quite unusual, so the Methodist Traveler’s Aid provided Melinda with a female traveling companion.

Upon returning to Quincy after her first trip to Europe, Melinda taught internal medicine at the Quincy College of Medicine and also began to practice medicine, keeping her busy for nearly 50 years. During the first years, she looked very young and was not accepted as a trustworthy physician, so she developed the habit of doing her rounds in a matronly bonnet and a strict, straight-laced black dress, which helped to raise the general estimation of her in the eyes of the patients, particularly the elderly. Through word of mouth, her practice quickly grew.

In 1891, Melinda married her beloved husband, Henry Germann, a pharmacist. Sometimes her duties and erratic schedule as a physician put a strain on the household but they were able to have two children. Oftentimes, Melinda would be coming home from an evening taking care of patients just in time to see the children off to school.

Life and her practice both flourished in Quincy, and the years and decades started to accumulate. Melinda never sought recognition or fame, but was a trailblazer and well known throughout the medical profession. In 1907, at the annual convention of the American Medical Association in Boston, Melinda presented a paper that was well received by her colleagues.

Not only did Melinda serve her community as a physician, but also in 1912, she was elected to a seat on the Board of Education serving there for 17 years. Then in 1917, she was elected to the Board of Supervisors.

It was very rewarding to Melinda to live to see both of her children become practicing physicians. Hildegarde Germann Sinnock, her oldest child, attended Vassar, followed by medical school at Johns Hopkins. Her son, Aldo, studied at Northwestern University in Evanston and went on to become a surgeon. Eventually, they both returned to Quincy and became practicing physicians at Blessing Hospital.

In 1937, shortly after she retired after 50 years of practice, Melinda Knapheide Germann took the time to write a memoir titled, “The reminiscences of a pioneer woman physician”. Dr. Germann saw many changes in the world and the practice of medicine from the 1880’s to the 1950’s; nevertheless, the value of good training, professionalism, dedication, and perseverance never changed.