Bartholomew Fussell

Bartholomew Fussell (1794–1871) was an American abolitionist who participated in the Underground Railroad by providing refuge for fugitive slaves at his safe house in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, and other locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He aided an estimated 2000 slaves in escaping from bondage. He was a founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Fussell was an advocate for women serving as physicians, and he influenced the founding of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. He worked as a practicing physician, including providing medical services for fugitive slaves.

Early life and education Fussell was born to a Quaker family in Chester County, Pennsylvania, to Rebecca (née Bond) and Bartholomew Fussell. His father and his sister Esther strongly encouraged Fussell's pursuit of higher education. He moved to Maryland as a young man where he perceived he had better educational opportunities.

Susan Fussell was a daughter of Bartholomew Fussell and Lydia Morris. She was notable as an educator, nurse in the United States Civil War, and a philanthropist. As a young woman, she was woman of the house at a young age following the early death of her mother.

Fussell's wife Lydia died in 1840. On September 2, 1841, he married Rebecca Churchman Hewes, with whom he had one child Edward Churchman Fussell. Fussell and his wife Lydia frequently hosted other abolitionists at The Pines.

In the late 1830s, Fussell moved approximately 20 miles north of Kennett Square to West Vincent, Pennsylvania, to a farm neighboring his sister Ester Lewis. At that location, he collaborated with Lewis, her daughters, in addition to Garrett and abolitionists John Vickers and Elijah Pennypacker in furthering the work of the Underground Railroad.

Fussell's involvement in the Underground Railroad is documented in an early treatise on the subject, The Underground Railroad Records, by African-American abolitionist William Still, in 1872. Fussell's home, The Pines, was purchased by Kennett Township in 2016 for historic preservation.

Influence on careers for women as physicians Fussell recognized the limited opportunities that women of his time faced in the field of medicine because of his sister Ester's stymied efforts to pursue a career in medicine. In 1840, Fussell began classes to teach women the basics of medicine. He subsequently began a campaign to advance the cause of women as physicians. In 1846, Fussell organized a meeting of five local physicians and his niece Graceanna Lewis to discuss the desirability of women's careers in medicine. Attendees included the five other physicians: Dr. Ezra Mitchener, Dr.Edwin Fussell (the husband of Graceanna's sister, Rebecca Lewis; nephew of Dr. Bartholomew Fussell), Dr, Franklin Taylor, Dr. Ellwood Harvey, and Dr. Sylvester Birdsall, in addition to Fussell's niece.

Later years and death After the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery, Fussell spent much of his time in Pendleton, Indiana, at the home of his son Joshua Fussell. However, he died in West Pikeland Township, Pennsylvania, at the home of his son Dr. Morris Fussell. Fussell is buried alongside his wife Lydia at the Pikeland Friends Burial Ground in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.