Grandma felt a tug on her dress. When she looked down Elizabeth stated, "My name is a family name, but do you know anyone in the past that has the same name?" Grandma said, "Well, I know of a doctor that was named Elizabeth and if I recall she loved her work."

My name is Elizabeth Catherine Bagshaw. I was born in 1881 on a farm in Northern Ontario, Canada. When I was young there were not a lot of choices for a girl when she grew up. She could be a teacher or a nurse, or perhaps help at home and hope to marry soon. I did not like any of these choices. I wanted to be a doctor. So I did. I became a family doctor in Hamilton, Ontario in 1906. At first it was hard to get patients. People weren't sure that a woman doctor would be as good as a man. Slowly, as people got to know and trust me, my practice grew. I delivered babies and loved it. Most of the babies I delivered were born at home. If I thought there might be a problem I asked the mothers to come to the hospital. Throughout the day I would make house calls with a horse and buggy. At night I would ride my bicycle. I was a doctor during the Depression. This was a time when many people did not have jobs. There was no money to feed their families. Families were very large with lots of hungry children. I was very interested in helping women with their special needs and opened a clinic. It was a place where women could go to get help. It was the first clinic just for women in Canada. Not everyone felt that the clinic was a good idea but I saw how badly women needed my help. When I look back on my life I feel happy that I was able to help others. I had a good and useful life and enjoyed being a doctor.