Jane Rogers Walton

Women like Jane Rogers Walton dared to dream beyond the handful of occupations open to 19th century women. A studious girl, Jane Rogers could always be found at the head of her class in the Des Plaines schoolhouse. She returned to the Des Plaines schoolhouse as a teacher for five years before her marriage. While teaching, she developed an interest in studying medicine, but set this aside when she married Elbridge Walton and turned her attentions to their farm and housekeeping.

In the 1860s, Elbridge Walton's health steadily declined and Jane Walton took over his farm responsibilities. After Elbridge Walton died in 1866, Jane Walton reengaged with her ambition to study medicine. She commuted from Des Plaines to Chicago every day to study at the Woman's Hospital Medical College, which was later absorbed by Northwestern University.

After graduating in 1874, the newly minted Dr. Walton entered private practice in Chicago. This was a choice commonly made by female doctors in the 19th century due to the stiff resistance they faced in joining male hospital staffs. After Dr. Walton's death in 1887, her alma mater memorialized her as a capable woman whose business ability aided in her financial, as well as professional, success in the male dominated medical field.