Adaline Pendleton Satterthwaite, 1917-2005 (bulk 1917-2003)

The Sophia Smith Collection owns copyright to Adaline P. Satterthwaite's unpublished works. Permission must be obtained to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Copyright to materials authored by others may be owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

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Biographical Note

Adaline Pendleton Satterthwaite was born on 6 February 1917 in Berkeley, California to Jessie Larimore and John Lewis Pendleton. She graduated magna cum laude from Pomona College in 1937 with a B.S. in chemistry, and earned her M.D. degree in obstetrics and gynecology in 1942 from the University of California at San Francisco. She met her future husband, William Satterthwaite, also a doctor, in 1944 while working in San Juan, Puerto Rico; the couple had one son, David. In 1947 Satterthwaite and her family traveled to China as medical missionaries where she was involved in Barefoot Doctors, a UNICEF program that trained villagers to administer basic medical care to their communities. She continued her work in China following the death of William Satterthwaite in 1949, returning to the U.S. in 1951. From 1952 to 1967 she again lived in Puerto Rico, working as resident physician at Ryder Memorial Hospital, and it was during this time that she was struck by the plight of women who had more children than they could support. She subsequently became involved in running some of the first clinical trials for oral contraceptives, and her data was instrumental in the FDA decision to approve the Pill in 1960. Satterthwaite also conducted pioneering research developing the intrauterine device (IUD). As she became more expert in the realm of maternal child health and international family planning, Satterthwaite was employed by various organizations, including the Ford Foundation, the Population Council of the Rockefeller Foundation, and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities under whose auspices she lived and worked in Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mexico, and Venezuela. In the early 1980s she shifted from full-time work to short-term consulting projects in such countries as Mauritius, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Peru, and Nepal.

In the late 1980s, upon retiring and relocating to Langhorne, Pennsylvania to be near her son and his family, Satterthwaite became an active volunteer in numerous organizations. She served on the board of directors of the Institute for Development Training, the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Planned Parenthood of Bucks County, the Newtown Friends School, and the Bucks County YWCA. She was also involved with the American Public Health Association, the League of Women Voters of Bucks County, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Meals on Wheels, and the Middletown Society of Friends. She used her fluency in Spanish to translate for patients at local hospitals, and as a tutor for the Latino Leadership Alliance of Bucks County. In 2002 Satterthwaite received the Bucks County Women's History Award for her contributions to the community. Her professional awards included the National Council for International Health Award, the Women's Health Award of the American Medical Women's Association, and the Margaret Sanger Award of Planned Parenthood of Bucks County. Satterthwaite published widely in professional journals throughout her career. She died in 2005.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Adaline Pendleton Satterthwaite Papers consist of 16 linear ft. dating from 1917 to 2003. Types of materials include diaries, photographs, legal and financial documents, reports, case studies, articles, newspaper clippings, charts and statistics, notes, newsletters, printed materials, brochures, pamphlets, and memorabilia.

The bulk of the papers date from the early 1950s through the late 1990s and focus on Satterthwaite's career as an obstetrician/gynecologist and internationally-known expert in maternal child health and family planning. Major topics found in these papers include the development of modern methods of birth control, notably the Pill, the IUD, Depo-Provera, and permanent sterilization for both men and women; infant and maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries, particularly as related to pregnancy, childbirth, and multiple, unplanned pregnancies; the prevention and treatment of diarrhea, especially among children; and population control as a global priority. Satterthwaite concluded early in her career that family planning and maternal and child health were critical to world economic and political stability, and her efforts to address these issues are well-documented throughout the collection.

While Satterthwaite's letters to her husband are intimate and personal, her correspondence to family and friends is intended for a broader audience. It offers rich insight into daily life in foreign countries, including observations about local cultures, as well as the particulars of Satterthwaite's daily life. The correspondence of Satterthwaite's brother, Robert, who lived and worked for many years in Central and South America, is also of interest.

The diaries provide a detailed and intelligent account of Satterthwaite's many years of practice as a doctor, medical advisor, program director, and consultant to various world health organizations. They cover the time period beginning with her appointment as Resident Medical Advisor to the Population Council in Thailand in1966, through completion of her term of employment as Program Adviser to the Bangladesh Association for Voluntary Surgical Contraception in 1990. The remaining diaries, dating from mid-1990 to 1994, tend towards brevity and are generally concerned with the more mundane aspects of post-retirement daily life. This series also contains Satterthwaite's published articles, speeches and unpublished essays, as well as sermons by Rev. G. Arthur Canaday.

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into five series:

• I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS (1917-2003)
• II. CORRESPONDENCE (1923-2001)
• III. WRITINGS (1958-2000)
• IV. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (1938-2000)
• V. SUBJECT FILES (1956-2000)
• OVERSIZE MATERIALS

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Biographical Materials (1917-2003) 4 linear ft.

This series contains scrapbooks, and photographs of Satterthwaite and her family and friends; newspaper clippings about Satterthwaite and her work; financial information, including documentation of her involvement in several charitable enterprises; and honors and awards. Materials describing the lives of Satterthwaite's sister, Lois Pendleton Todd (also a physician), and her two brothers, Morris and Robert Pendleton, are also included, as are a small amount of genealogical information and materials documenting a return trip to China in 1984.

Correspondence (1923-2001) 2.25 linear ft.

This series, which spans Satterthwaite's entire professional life, is comprised of letters to and from Satterthwaite and her family and friends. Her own correspondence consists of detailed letters describing her life and work in various foreign countries. Correspondence with her husband, William Satterthwaite, is filed separately, and letters to and from friends and other family members have been combined (unless there is a significant amount to or from a particular individual, as in the case of Randall Shea, a volunteer for Witness for Peace). Many of the holiday cards contain news from overseas from friends involved in missionary and other types of philanthropic work, informing and elaborating on Satterthwaite's own correspondence.

Writings (1958-2000) 2.25 linear ft.

This series consists of diaries and writings by Satterthwaite and others. The diaries are filed chronologically. Those written while she was employed by the Population Council (1966-1974) take the form of daily typed reports that describe in detail her activities. Subsequent handwritten diaries describe her career with other international organizations and her life after retirement (1974 - 1994).

Professional Activities (1958-2000) 4.75 linear ft.

This series consists of three sub-series: Medical missionary work is relatively small and primarily contains printed materials about China. Maternal and child health, and family planning is the largest sub-series and contains much of the raw data generated by Satterthwaite and her colleagues. It is arranged alphabetically by name of organization. Post-retirement work documents Satterthwaite's work as a board member of the Child Health Foundation, the Institute for Development Training (in partnership with Reformed Churches of America), and Planned Parenthood of Buck's County.

Subject Files (1956-2000) 1.75 linear ft.

This series consists of mixed materials that are filed alphabetically by subject. It illustrates the breadth and depth of Satterthwaite's life-long interest in and commitment to population control, maternal and child health, human rights, and peace and nuclear disarmament.

SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS

SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE

SERIES III. WRITINGS

SERIES IV. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

SERIES V. SUBJECT FILES

Oversize Materials