Sarah Clark ⁵⁹

  General Notes:

Sarah Clark Case was born in 1776, died in 1859, and was probably the first recognized woman medical doctor in Hunterdon County, and one of the earliest in New Jersey.
During the eighteenth century there were no restrictions placed upon those who wanted to practice medicine in New Jersey. They learned the trade through an active apprenticeship, and any man or woman who had either the inclination or imprudence to "put up a shingle" could become a practitioner without even the help of pseudo-professional medical books. Before 1800 New Jersey had less than 50 practitioners, out of a total of about three hundred, who could boast of training beyond apprenticeship. That was even a high figure compared to most other parts of the country!
The New Jersey Medical Society, established in 1766, directed a good portion of its efforts to the licensing of physicians. In 1772 New Jerseywas the first colonial government to establish a provincial system of examination and licensing of physicians. Without these qualifications, physicians could no longer practice as professionals. The issuing of licenses was transferred from the courts to the medical organization in 1816, in order to make the process more effective. Sarah Clark Case was caught up in all this legislation. Described as a woman with good common sense, she gained a wide reputation in the early 19th century as a nurse and a midwife. As a nurse she could hardly be equalled, and when Daniel Case brought her to this area, medical help was scarce and widely dispursed. She was so successful that she was soon being called on to prescribe medicines rather than just provide nursing care. She started devoting her whole time to this new-found skill and by 1816 she had garnered such a wide and loyal following among her patients and fellow physicians that she was granted a medical license. This made made her the first licensed woman physician in Hunterdon County, and maybe even in the State. She practiced until old age, when increased professional medical facilities compelled her to retire.
Sarah's grandson, Nathan Case, followed in her footsteps and became a licensed physician, but sadly she did not live to see this continuation of her pioneering work. She died in 1859, at the age of 83, having lived a life dedicated to the health and happiness of others. One of Union Township's "greatest"! ⁵⁹

Sarah married Daniel Kaes, son of Philip Kaes and Unknown, in 1799.⁵⁹