Ellen Goodell Smith (August 25, 1835 – November 3, 1906) was an American hydropathic physician, vegetarian and writer.
Biography
Smith was born at Dwight in Belchertown, Massachusetts.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. 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. In 1859, she attended Russell T. Trall's New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College in New York City. She obtained her M.D. in 1861 with the highest honours. She worked as a physician at Dr. Vail's sanitarium until 1862. She became resident physician at Russell T. Trall's sanitarium in Philadelphia in 1864 and for two years managed the Victorian Turkish baths.
She married Dr. John Brown Smith of Northfield, Minnesota in 1867. 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. Her son, Lindsey Goodell Smith was born on August 25, 1874. Smith retired in 1883.
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".Anonymous. (1903). The Art of Living. Home Science Magazine 20 (3): 150. Smith died from a fall in 1906."Town History". Belchertown. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
Vegetarianism
Smith authored the vegetarian book, The Fat of the Land and How to Live on It in 1896.Anonymous. (1898). The Fat of the Land and How to Live on It. The Medical News 72 (12): 384.Spencer, Colin. (1995). The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism. University Press of New England. p. 359. It has been cited as an early vegan cookbook, as it contained a chapter "Milk and the Cow" which recommended not using dairy products.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 She omitted butter, cream, milk, salt and sugar from her recipes.Anonymous. (1896). The Fat of the Land. The American Kitchen Magazine 6 (5): 238. It was the first published book to contain a recipe for a peanut butter sandwich.Smith, Andrew F. (2014). "Peanut butter: the vegetarian conspiracy". The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
Selected publications
A Practical Cook and Text Book for General Use: Fat of the Land and How to Live on It (1896) The Art of Living (1903) Recollections of a Pioneer Health Reformer (1905)
References