Pioneering Physicians

Romania B. Pratt Penrose (1839 – 1932)

Born in Indiana, Romania grew up in the Midwest (including Nauvoo), until moving to Salt Lake City at the age of 16 with her mother and three siblings. Her education started at the Female Seminary of Crawfordsville, Indiana.

In 1873, when women in the Territory of Utah were first encouraged to attend medical school, Romania Pratt was in her mid 30s. She had been married to Parley P. Pratt, Jr., since 1859 and had given birth to seven children. Two of her children, a son and a daughter, died in infancy. After securing care for her five children with her mother in Utah, Romania joined her husband in New York City late in 1873. Early the following year she enrolled in the Woman’s Medical College, which was founded in 1868 by Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. Romania eventually transferred to the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1877.

Upon returning to Utah after graduation, she set up private practice and regularly taught courses in anatomy and obstetrics, advertising to women in the Woman’s Exponent. In 1882 she was appointed to the Deseret Hospital board of directors and became a resident physician in 1887.

As her professional life changed, so did Romania’s personal life. In 1881 Romania and Parley Pratt, Jr., divorced. Five years later, Romania married Charles William Penrose (1832-1925). Born in London, Penrose was known for his long mission service in England before emigrating to Utah in 1861. At the time he married Romania, Charles was editor of the Deseret News.