C. Annette Buckel

C. Annette Buckel (August 25, 1833 – August 17, 1912) was an American physician and the first female medical doctor in Oakland, California. Buckel worked to improve the welfare of women and children through her medical practice as well as her activism. During the Civil War, she appointed and supervised nurses in addition to nursing in the field.

Early life and education

Cloe Annette Buckel born August 25, 1833, in Warsaw, New York. Her given name is given variously as Cloe or Chloe, though she preferred to be called Annette. She was the only child of Thomas Buckel and his wife, whose given name is not known but whose surname was Bartlett.

At age fourteen, Buckel left her relatives to teach in an elementary school in rural New York state, boarding with the parents of her students. After a year in New York she moved to Chicago, starting a similar clinic in 1859. She practiced medicine in Chicago until 1863. She opened her own practice and worked as a consulting physician for the Pacific Dispensary for Women and Children in San Francisco.

Activism

Buckel was active in philanthropic work and civic efforts. She was the first woman admitted to the Alameda County Medical Association and became a prominent member. Her efforts as part of the Home Club, a women's organization in Oakland, a milk commission was established in the area and certified milk was provided to Oakland to ensure milk was not supplied by cows with tuberculosis. She also worked to establish a cooking school, which helped form a home economics program in Oakland schools.

Because of her challenging childhood, Buckel was especially interested in the welfare of orphaned children. Buckel also advocated for separate education for children with learning disabilities. At her death, she left her estate in a trust to care for intellectually disabled children; those funds were the basis of a research study into the educational needs of intellectually disabled children.

Buckel founded the local chapter of the Agassiz Association to encourage the study of natural science, established a Chautauqua Circle, and was a charter member of the original chapter of the Ebell Society.

Later life and death

The Committee on Pensions granted Buckel twelve dollars a month in 1904 for her service during the American Civil War.

Buckel died August 17, 1912. The inscription on her gravestone in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland reads "A physician beloved by two generations. Every human cause had her sympathy and many her active aid." She is buried near her cousin, Washington Bartlett, governor of California.