Isabella Bartholomew Mears

Isabella Bartholomew Mears (20 December 1853 – 11 November 1936)^[1] was one of the earliest British women physicians, as well as a medical missionary and translator of Chinese philosophy. Born in West Lothian, Scotland, she trained at the London School of Medicine for Women and earned the L.K.Q.C.P.I. qualification in 1881, becoming the twenty-fifth woman listed on the British Medical Register.^[1] She and her husband, anatomist Dr. William Pope Mears, served with the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in Foochow (Fuzhou), China from 1890 to 1893.^[2] After returning to Britain, the couple settled in Edinburgh and founded Woodburn Sanatorium in 1895, one of the earliest Scottish sanatoria dedicated to tuberculosis care.^[3] Mears continued to operate the sanatorium after her husband’s death in 1901 until her retirement in 1922.^[1] She also published translations and interpretations of Chinese philosophical texts, including Tao Teh King (1916) and Creative Energy (1931).^[4][5] Mears died in 1936 in Scotland.^[1][6]

Mears was born in West Lothian, Scotland to James Bartholomew, a farmer, and Jane Ford.^[1][6] Before entering medicine, she trained as a teacher and considered missionary service abroad. Scottish medical missionary Dr Colin Valentine encouraged her to pursue formal medical training as preparation for Christian work.^[1]

She entered the London School of Medicine for Women in 1875, six months after its founding by Sophia Jex-Blake.^[1] Clinical opportunities for women were limited, but Mears obtained experience at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s New Hospital for Women, in dispensary work at Seven Dials, and later at the Royal Free Hospital after it opened its wards to female students.^[1]

Mears completed midwifery training in Dublin and earned the LM credential in London.^[7] In 1881 she obtained the L.K.Q.C.P.I. qualification in Ireland, one of the few professional pathways available to women, and became the twenty-fifth woman listed in the British Medical Register.^[1]

Among her instructors was Dr. William Pope Mears, an anatomy lecturer at the London Hospital. The couple married on 17 April 1879^[6] and later moved to Tynemouth, where he served as Lecturer and Examiner in Anatomy at the University of Durham College of Medicine while she practiced general medicine.^[1] While in Tynemouth, The couple had four children: Frank Charles (1880), James Bartholomew (1882), Louisa Edith (1884) and Isabella Mary (1888).^[1][6][8]

In 1890, Isabella and William Mears joined the CMS and relocated to the South China Mission in Fuh-kien (modern Fujian), centered in Fuh-chow (Fuzhou).^[2] By 1894, the CMS employed 27 medical missionaries worldwide; Mears was the only female medical missionary on this list.^[9] The specific goals of Mears and her husband were to offer medical training to the native population, especially native Christians, in order to further the medical missionary goals of the CMS.^[7] The mission was also staffed by CMS clergy and workers including Rev. W. Banister, Rev. T. McClelland and Kathleen Powers.^[10][11]

Both Isabella and William Mears published letters in CMS periodicals during and after their missionary tenure describing their medical work, evangelism and encounters with local Chinese religious practices.^[12][13][14] Her husband’s work would also form the basis of pamphlets about missionary training, medical evangelism, and religious instruction issued by the CMS.^[15] On the mission, Mears worked closely with Powers on medical treatment and Christian education of the local patient population. They assisted with women’s wards, outpatient wards, dispensary work, and the training of local students who were affiliated with the Fuh-Chow medical mission.^[12]

The Mears family’s missionary service in China ended in 1893 due to William Mears’s deteriorating health.^[1][16] After their return to England, William Mears remained active in CMS affairs and delivered lectures for the Newcastle and South Northumberland Branch of the Medical Mission Auxiliary at the College of Medicine, Durham.^[17][18]

Upon returning to the UK in 1893, the Mears family settled in Edinburgh for the education of their four children.^[1][17] Two years later in 1895, with the help of her husband Mears established Woodburn Sanatorium in Morningside, Edinburgh.^[3] She was inspired to open the sanatoria after a visit to the Nordrach Clinic in Germany established by Dr. Otto Walther.^[1] Woodburn was one of the earliest Scottish facilities dedicated to open-air treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, and the facility was part of a larger trend of smaller, open-air sanatoria opening across England and Scotland at the time inspired by Dr. Walther’s Nordrach.^[19][3] Mears’ husband died in 1901, and she operated the sanatoria after her husband’s death until she retired from her post in 1922.^[1][3][6][8]

Beyond her medical work, Mears continued engaging with her missionary experience after she returned to Scotland by means of translation of Chinese religion and philosophy.^[1] She published several works on Chinese classical philosophy, including a 1916 translation of Lao-Tzu’s Tao Teh King, and her 1931 book Creative Energy which included a preliminary translation of the Yih King.^[1][4][5]

Mears died in 1936 in Inveresk, Midlothian, Scotland and was survived by her four children.^[1][6] Two of her children entered the medical profession, while her first son Sir Frank Mears lived in Woodburn House until 1914 and became a prominent Scottish architect.^[3] The sanatorium at Woodburn served as a nurses’ home for the Royal Infirmary from 1922 to 1966 and would eventually become part of the Astley Ainslie Hospital.^[3]