IDA GRAY WAS BORN in Clarksville, Tennessee in 1867. She became an orphan when her mother died in her early teens, after which she went to live with her aunt in Cincinnati. While Gray attended segregated public schools alongside her aunt’s three children and worked as a seamstress, she found time to work in the dental offices of Jonathan Taft, an early advocate of training women as dentists.
Ida Gray’s Education and Practice
After three years working in Taft’s office, Gray had learned enough to pass the entrance examinations into the University of Michigan’s School of Dentistry, where Jonathan Taft had previously served as the dean, and begin her studies in 1887. She graduated three years later, making her the first Black woman to become a dentist in the United States. She opened her own office in Cincinnati, where she serviced patients of all races and was celebrated as a role model for women.
Continuing Career and Retirement
After marrying James Sanford Nelson, Gray moved her practice to Chicago, where she earned a reputation for her gentleness with pediatric patients and inspired another patient, Olive M. Henderson, to become the second Black woman dentist in Chicago. She was heavily involved in her community and continued practicing until her retirement in 1928. After the death of her first husband, she remarried William A. Rollins. She died in 1953 at 86 years old.
Ida Gray alizaliwa mwaka 1867 huko Clarksville, Tennessee, Marekani. Alipoteza mtoto wake wa kambo baada ya mama yake kufa akiwa na umri wa miaka kumi na miwili, na baadaye akaishi na shangazi yake huko Cincinnati. Wakati Gray alihudhuria shule za umma zilizotengwa pamoja na watoto watatu wa shangazi yake na alifanya kazi kama seamstress, alipata wakati wa kufanya kazi katika ofisi za meno za Jonathan Taft, mtetezi wa mapema wa mafunzo ya wanawake kama madaktari wa meno. Baada ya miaka mitatu ya kufanya kazi katika ofisi ya Taft, Gray alikuwa amejifunza vya kutosha kupitisha mitihani ya kuingia katika Chuo Kikuu cha Michigan cha Shule ya Matibabu ya Meno, ambapo Jonathan Taft alikuwa ametumikia kama dean, na kuanza masomo yake katika 1887. Alihitimu miaka mitatu baadaye, na kuwa mwanamke wa kwanza mweusi kuwa daktari wa meno nchini Marekani. Alifungua ofisi yake mwenyewe huko Cincinnati, ambapo alihudumia wagonjwa wa jamii zote na alikuwa mfano wa wanawake. Baada ya kuolewa na James Sanford Nelson, Gray alihamisha mazoezi yake kwenda Chicago, ambapo alipata sifa kwa upole wake na wagonjwa wa watoto na kumhamasisha mgonjwa mwingine, Olive M. Henderson, kuwa daktari wa meno wa pili mweusi huko Chicago. Aliendelea kufanya kazi katika jamii yake na kuendelea kufanya kazi hadi alipostaafu mwaka 1928. Baada ya kifo cha mume wake wa kwanza, aliolewa tena na William A. Rollins. Alikufa mwaka 1953 akiwa na umri wa miaka 86.