Cordelia A. Greene (July 5, 1831 – January 28, 1905) was a 19th-century American physician, benefactor, and suffragist from Upstate New York. She was the founder and director of the Castile Sanitarium in Castile, New York. Greene published, Build Well, in 1885; her revision of it, The Art of Keeping Well, was published posthumously in 1906. A biography, The Story of the Life and Work of Cordelia A. Greene, M.D., was published in 1925. The Cordelia A. Greene Library in Castile was named in her honor.
Early life and education
Cordelia Agnes Greene was born in Lyons, New York, July 5, 1831. Her parents were Doctor Jabez Greene and his wife Phila. Her paternal and maternal ancestors were of New England birth and for generations had been Quakers. Her mother, a native of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was a direct descendant of the Southwick family, of which Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick were early members. Her father was son of David Greene, of Rhode Island. Cordelia had three younger brothers, David, George and Frank.
Until she was twelve years old, Cordelia lived on a farm near Lyons, New York.
The Greene family attended the Methodist "meeting-house" nearest their farm, the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Greene "out of meeting" having caused them to lose their standing with the Quaker community. When Greene was about 12 years old, the family moved to the village and attended the Presbyterian Church, with which the parents united. Greene is recorded as saying that she believed she was one-third Quaker, one-third Methodist, and one-third Presbyterian.
Doctor Jabez Greene was a trustee of the Lyons public school, and largely through his advocacy, it became a graded school. Cordelia reportedly did well in all her classes, and was especially fond of history.
At the age of 16, Greene received a teacher's certificate from the county. The family moved to Pike, New York, and Greene taught a country school for one summer. She boarded around and was paid per week.
In 1849, the Greenes moved to Castile, New York. Doctor Jabez Greene, well-versed in Hydrotherapy, purchased an inn in Castile from General John D. Landon, and established a medical institute known as "The Water Cure."
For some months, Greene had lung trouble, which so affected her voice, that it never fully regained its strength. Under her father's care, she improved steadily, and after regaining her health, entered the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. Business reverses had come to her father, and by her own efforts in caring for the sick, Cordelia earned the money to pay her college expenses. After two years of study spent in this college, Cordelia, through the influence of Doctor Henry Foster, of Clifton Springs Sanitarium, obtained an opportunity to assist in a large sanitarium in Cleveland, Ohio, and at the same time pursue her studies in the Western Reserve University. Her vacations were spent at the Clifton Springs Sanitarium. In 1855, she was graduated with honor from the Western Reserve University, and received her title of M.D. Her thesis, A Thesis on Prolapsus Uteri: And Other Malpositions of the Abdominal & Pelvic Viscera, was published in 1856. There were four women and fifty men in the graduating class. Cordelia's friendship with two of them, Dr. Marie Zakrzewska, of Boston, and Dr. Elizabeth Griselle, of Salem, Ohio, was life-long.
Career
Physician
After a short time spent at her father's sanitarium in Castile, Dr. Greene was for six years one of the faculty of the Clifton Springs Sanitarium. Greene was not only skilful in her medical work, but she was successful in controlling and managing things about the house. She was in fellowship with Dr. Foster in his religious views and believed that a strong spiritual atmosphere was a powerful curative agent. Her prayers and remarks at sanitarium's chapel services were unusual.
In the summer of 1858, Dr. Greene mother became ill and was carried to Clifton Springs Sanitarium, where after months of care from her daughter, she died.
On the death of her father in October 1864, Greene went to Castile with her brothers and their wives. In discussing future plans, one of the brothers suggested that she should buy the home, "The Water Cure", and there continue her professional work. After buying out her brothers, on March 28, 1865, she opened the Castile Sanitarium. Twice, she enlarged the building, and she also added a gymnasium. The grounds contained trees, shrubbery, flowers, and a stream. On the 32nd anniversary of Castile Sanitarium, in 1897, Frances Willard, Anna Adams Gordon, Elizabeth Putnam Gordon and others helped make the event commemorative.