Susan Fraser Anderson (1870 - 1960)

Born 31 Jan 1870 in Union Township, Adams County, Indiana

Died 16 Apr 1960 at age 90 in Denver, Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States

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Biography

Susie Anderson is Notable.

Susie Anderson has English ancestors.

Born to William H. Anderson, 1852–1938 and Maria 1849-

Susan Anderson, M.D. is a member of the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

Susan Anderson was one of the first women to practice medicine in Colorado. Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the family moved to Colorado after gold had been discovered there. She was encouraged by her father to attend medical school at the University of Michigan. She attempted to practice in Denver, Greeley and Eaton, but found it difficult to find work. In 1904, she was appointed Coroner of Grand County, Colorado, and after contracting tuberculosis in 1907 she relocated to Fraser, Colorado where she was the only physician in the town for 49 years. The residents affectionately nicknamed her "Doc Susie." She tended to a range of patients and medical conditions including childbirth, skiing injuries, and particularly pneumonia during the 1918 flu pandemic. Susan Anderson never owned a horse or car and was usually paid in food or firewood rather than money. Doc Susie retired in 1956 and died at the age of 90.

The following biography is credited to: Kathy Weiser/Legends of America:

"Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, her family moved to Kansas where Susan graduated high school in 1891. That same year her father moved the family to the booming mining camp of Cripple Creek, Colorado. In about 1893, she left Cripple Creek to attended medical school at the University of Michigan, from which she graduated in 1897. Susan returned to her family in Cripple Creek, where she set up her first practice. For the next three years the petite, quick-witted lady sympathetically tended to patients, even saving a miner’s arm after a male doctor told the patient it would have to be removed. In 1900, Anderson’s younger brother died, her fiance left her, and Susan decided to leave the mining camp. She moved to Denver but had a tough time securing patients as people were reluctant to see a woman doctor in those times, and there was an abundance of doctors already established. She then moved to Greeley, Colorado, where she worked as a nurse for six years. During her time there, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Needing a more cold and dry climate for her illness, Anderson made the decision to move to Fraser, Colorado in 1907. Sitting at an elevation of over 8,500 feet, the area was certainly cold and dry. Susan was most concerned with getting her disease under control and didn’t open a practice, nor even tell people that she was a doctor. However, word soon got out and the locals began to ask for her advice on various ailments, which soon led to her practicing her skills once again. Her reputation spread as she treated families, ranchers, loggers, railroad workers, and even an occasional horse or cow, which was not uncommon at the time. The vast majority of her patients required her to make house calls, though she never owned a horse or a car. Instead, she dressed in layers, wore high hip boots, and trekked through deep snows and freezing temperatures to reach her patients. During the many years that “Doc Susie,” which she familiarly became known as, practiced in the high mountains of Grand County, one of her busiest times was during the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19. Like people all over the world, Fraser locals also became sick in great numbers, and Dr. Anderson found herself rushing from one deathbed to the next. Another busy time for her was when the six-mile Moffat Tunnel was being built through the Rocky Mountains. Not long after construction began, she found herself treating numerous men who were injured during construction. During this time, she was also asked to become the Grand County Coroner, a position that enabled her to confront the Tunnel Commission regarding working conditions and accidents. In the five years it took to complete the tunnel, there were an estimated 19 who died and hundreds injured. Dr. Anderson would also become the County Coroner during her time in Fraser. Unlike physicians of today, Susan Anderson never became “rich” practicing her skills, as she was often paid in firewood, food, services and other items that could be bartered. Doc Susie continued to practice in Fraser until 1956. She died in Denver on April 16, 1960, and was buried in Cripple Creek, Colorado." ^[1]

1870 P.O. Pleasant Mills Ind...,Union Township, Adams, Indiana

Enumerated July 4th 1870 by Benj. f. Meiner

Head of the household was Wm H Anderson, age: 19 Indiana (occupation: is blank) Value of land, $500 Value of Personal $100.00

Maria Anderson F 21 Ohio

Susan Anderson, age: 5/12, month born is the same year: Jan. birth Year 1870, birthplace: Indiana Page Number: 19 --Household Identifier: 137 --Line Number: 28 ^[2]

14 June 1880: Jamestown, Steuben, Indiana; Occupation of John: Mill Owner; John Anderson Self 56 Ohio/Ohio/Ohio; Susan Anderson Wife 52 Ohio/Ohio/[Blank]; William Anderson Son 30 Indiana; Cary Anderson Son 20 Indiana; John Anderson Grandson 8 Indiana; Susan Anderson Granddaughter 10 Indiana/Indiana/Indiana; ^[3]

8 June 1900: Precincts 8-10 Cripple Creek Ward 1, Teller Co., Colorado; Occupation of Susan Anderson: Physician; Charles S Palmer Head of Household 35 Ohio; Lizzie Palmer Wife 35 Ohio; Marion Palmer Son 7 Colorado; Ruth Palmer Daughter 3 Colorado; Susan Anderson Lodger 30 Indiana/Indiana/Ohio; ^[4]

11 May 1910: Fraser, Grand, Colorado; Occupation of Susan: Physician; Susan Anderson; Age: 40; Birthplace: Indiana; Marital Status: Single; Relationship to Head of Household: Head; Father's Birthplace: Indiana; Mother's Birthplace: United States; Sheet Letter: A; Sheet Number: 12; ^[5]

3-5 January 1920: Precinct 6 Fraser, Grand Co., Colorado; Frazer Avenue; Occupation of Susan: Physician, Medical & Surgical; Susan Anderson; Age: 49; Birthplace: Indiana; Marital Status: Single; Relationship to Head of Household: Head; Father's Birthplace: Indiana; Mother's Birthplace: Ohio; Sheet Letter: B; -Sheet Number: 2; ^[6]

4 April 1930: Denver, Denver, Colorado; Hotel on Fifteenth Street; Occupation of Susan: Physician; Susan Anderson; Age: 60; Birthplace: Indiana; Marital Status: Single; Relationship to Head of Household: Lodger; Father's Birthplace: Indiana; Mother's Birthplace: Indiana; Sheet Letter: B; Sheet Number: 4; ^[7]

4 April 1940: Election Precinct 6 Fraser, Grand, Colorado Occupation of Susan: Medical Doctor, Private Practice; Susan Anderson Age: 69 Marital Status: Single Relationship to Head of Household:Head Last Place of Residence: Same House Birthplace: Indiana; ^[8]

Sibling was John Anderson, 1872–1900

Dr. Susan Anderson is one of the Women of Colorado that has been HONORED in the

Women in American History Award Index

Appointments/ Duties

1. Doctor of Grand County, Colorado
2. The Greeley Tribune, October 17, 1901 "Dr. Susan Anderson of Denver is in the city looking for an office location, intending to practice her profession here."
3. "Dr. Susan Anderson of Fraser. Colo., Coroner of Grand county, after she had cut Selak’s body.........."
4. TUNNEL ACCIDENT AT WEST PORTAL AND SIX CRUSHED

Death

Burial: Mount Pisgah Cemetery, Cripple Creek, Teller County, Colorado

Research Note

I agree with the place of birth on the OTHER profile, but this is what they have on the f-a-g memorial...........

Sources

1. ↑ SOURCE: Kathy Weiser/Legends of America
2. ↑ Citing this Record: "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXXC-286 : 28 May 2021), Susan Anderson in entry for Wm H Anderson, 1870. Affiliate Publication Number: M593 Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) --Digital Folder Number: 004263298 --Microfilm Number: 000545795 --Image Number: 00227 Indexing Batch: N01429-5
3. ↑ 1880: Jamestown, Steuben, Indiana
4. ↑ 1900: Precincts 8-10 Cripple Creek Ward 1, Teller Co., Colorado
5. ↑ 1910: Fraser, Grand, Colorado
6. ↑ 1920: Precinct 6 Fraser, Grand Co., Colorado
7. ↑ 1930: Denver, Denver, Colorado
8. ↑ 1940: Election Precinct 6 Fraser, Grand, Colorado

Find A Grave: Memorial #5351389 Susan Anderson

United States Deceased Physician File (AMA), 1864-1968; Susan Fraser Anderson; University of Michigan Department of Medicine and Surgery, Ann Arbor, 1897; Died of Cerebral Infarction, Age 90; Death Date: 16 April 1960; Death Place: Denver, Colorado; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WD7B-2Y3Z

SECONDARY SOURCE: Family Tree https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L667-Z3H

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Anderson

1. DAR Chapter Dr. Susan Anderson