Sarah Loguen Fraser

Sarah Marinda Loguen Fraser, née Loguen, (January 29, 1850 – April 9, 1933) was an American physician and pediatrician. She was the fourth female African-American physician in the United States, and the first female doctor in the Dominican Republic. This house became an important stopping point on the Underground Railroad, eventually giving shelter to approximately 1,500 escaped slaves as they traveled to safety in Canada. Growing up in this house allowed Fraser to gain experience in treating the injuries and illnesses these people had suffered as a result of their slavery or escape. She was supported in her career path by her family physician, Michael D. Benedict, whom she studied under and shadowed for five months.

While at the Women's Hospital of Philadelphia, Fraser reportedly conducted an experiment where she gave agitated patients soft, pastel-colored yarn to knit with, remembering how soft colors helped calm her when stressed as a medical student. These trials had a remarkable calming effect on the patients, and are thought to be a very early example of usage of the psychology of color in a hospital setting.

In 1884, following a special license by then-president Fernando Arturo de Meriño, Dr. Fraser became the first woman authorized to practice medicine in the Dominican Republic, where she had moved to live with her husband. However, only a native midwife attended her birth, with no medical intervention, and Fraser sustained damage to her internal organs during childbirth. This resulted in her being unable to carry any more children.

Legacy When Sarah Fraser died in 1933, the Dominican Republic declared a nine-day period of national mourning with flags flown at half-mast. A small park in Syracuse honors the Loguen family, including a mural of the family, while the Child Care Center at Upstate Medical University is named in Sarah's honor. Each year, Upstate also awards the "Sarah Loguen Fraser Scholarship" to a first or second year medical student who demonstrates need and "holds similar ideals to Dr. Sarah Loguen Fraser." In recent years, Upstate has celebrated "Sarah Loguen Fraser Day" in February, typically with a lecture and luncheon, as a part of Black History Month. Dr. Fraser is buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.

In 2025, SUNY Upstate Medical University erected a statue of Sarah Loguen Fraser on its campus to celebrate her trailblazing career.