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Ellen Goodell Smith

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Ellen Goodell Smith
Born(1835-08-25)August 25, 1835
DiedNovember 3, 1906(1906-11-03) (aged 71)
Occupation(s)Physician, writer

Ellen Goodell Smith (August 25, 1835 – November 3, 1906) was an American hydropathic physician, vegetarian and writer.

Biography

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Smith was born at Dwight in Belchertown, Massachusetts.[1] In 1857, Smith attended William T. Vail's Granite State Health Institute (a hydropathic institute) in Hill, New Hampshire, where she became a student and teacher.[1] In 1859, she attended Russell T. Trall's New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College in New York City.[1] She obtained her M.D. in 1861 with the highest honours. She worked as a physician at Dr. Vail's sanitarium until 1862.[1] She became resident physician at Russell T. Trall's sanitarium in Philadelphia in 1864 and for two years managed the Turkish bath department.[1]

She married Dr. John Brown Smith of Northfield, Minnesota in 1867.[1] A year later, Smith and her husband established the first hydropathic sanitarium and Turkish Bath in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In the 1870s, she worked as resident physician at Trall's sanitarium.[1] Her son, Lindsey Goodell Smith was born on August 25, 1874. Smith retired in 1883.[1]

She authored the natural hygiene book, The Art of Living in 1903. It was dedicated to Edward H. Dewey, pioneer of the "No Breakfast Plan".[2] Smith died from a fall in 1906.[3]

Vegetarianism

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Smith authored the vegetarian book, The Fat of the Land and How to Live on It in 1896.[4][5] It has been cited as an early vegan cookbook, as it contained a chapter "Milk and the Cow" which recommended not using dairy products.[6] She omitted butter, cream, milk, salt and sugar from her recipes.[7] It was the first published book to contain a recipe for a peanut butter sandwich.[8]

Selected publications

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Anonymous. (1896). Biographical Review: This Volume Contains Biographical Sketches of the Leading Citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Boston: Biographical Review Publishing Company. pp. 529-530.
  2. ^ Anonymous. (1903). The Art of Living. Home Science Magazine 20 (3): 150.
  3. ^ "Town History". Belchertown. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Anonymous. (1898). The Fat of the Land and How to Live on It. The Medical News 72 (12): 384.
  5. ^ Spencer, Colin. (1995). The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism. University Press of New England. p. 359. ISBN 0-87451-708-7
  6. ^ Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko. (2014). History of Seventh-day Adventist Work with Soyfoods, Vegetarianism, Meat Alternatives, Wheat Gluten, Dietary Fiber and Peanut Butter (1863-2013): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook. Soyinfo Center. pp. 52-53
  7. ^ Anonymous. (1896). The Fat of the Land. The American Kitchen Magazine 6 (5): 238.
  8. ^ Smith, Andrew F. (2014). "Peanut butter: the vegetarian conspiracy". The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Retrieved July 22, 2019.