Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
The Story of Dr. Anne Austin Young
http://media.knowitall.org/series/dr-anne-austin-young
In a time period when women were expected to fill certain roles and
expectations in society, Cross Hill native, Dr. Anne Austin Young dedicated
her life to the study of medicine, becoming one of the first female doctors
and obstetrician-gynecologists in the state of South Carolina.
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
About the Series
Idella Bodie’s South Carolina Women series supports social studies standards for grades
3-8 and the interesting programs are good to use during Women’s History Month! Each
dramatization tells the story of women who have shaped SC history and politics.
Produced by ETV at historical homes and sites, the stories were adapted with
permission and input from author Idella Bodie, taken from her book South Carolina
Women. S.C. educators may access the 12 programs and supporting teacher’s guides.
South Carolina Social Studies Standards
Early 20th Century
The Twenties-The Depression-Out of the Depression and WWII
Grade 3
Standard 3-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the major
developments in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and the twentieth century.
3-5.2 – Explain the causes and impact of emigration from South Carolina and internal
migration from rural areas to the cities, including discrimination and unemployment;
poor sanitation and transportation services; and the lack of electricity and other modern
conveniences in rural locations.
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
3-5.3 – Explain the effects of the Great Depression on daily life in South Carolina,
including the widespread poverty and unemployment and the efforts of the federal
government to create jobs through a variety of New Deal programs.
Grade 8
Standard 8-6: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the role of South
Carolina in the nation in the early twentieth century.
8-6.2 – Explain the causes and effects of changes in South Carolina and the nation as a
whole in the 1920s, including Prohibition, the destruction caused by the boll weevil, the
rise of mass media, improvements in daily life, increases in tourism and recreation, the
revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and the contributions of South Carolinians to the Harlem
Renaissance and the Southern Literary Renaissance.
8-6.3 – Explain the reasons for depressed conditions in the textile mills and on farms in
South Carolina and other regions of the United States in the 1920s and the impact of
these conditions on the coming of the Great Depression.
Biography
Anne Austin Young was born in 1892. In a day when relatives and friends threw up their
hands in horror at the thought of a woman physician and when people in her home
town of Cross Hill referred to the future Dr. Young as "that crazy Anne Austin." She
dedicated her life to the study and practice of medicine, primarily as an obstetriciangynecologist. In more than sixty–five years of practicing medicine in Anderson, she
delivered more than 10,000 babies. She also worked as a mental retardation physician,
and was instrumental in obtaining state funding to start Whitten Village in 1916 in
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
Clinton, SC. Anne Austin Young died in 1989.
From the South Carolina Hall of Fame
Video Listing
101: Anne Young’s Early Life (3:11)
A look at Anne Young’s early life, feisty spirit and educational beginnings.
102: Anne Young’s Time at Presbyterian College (2:45)
Anne’s educational success at Presbyterian College creates opportunities and challenges
in her time.
103: Family Controversy (5:30)
Anne’s choice to pursue medicine divides her community and even her family.
104: Meeting Henry Young (4:20)
Anne Austin meets dentist, Dr. Henry Young, who will become her husband.
105: Meeting Young Continued (4:54)
Anne shares her desire to be a doctor with Dr. Henry Young.
106: Anne’s Teaching Causes Controversy (2:51)
Anne returns home to teach to save money in order to attend the Women’s Medical
College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
107: An Engagement (7:59)
Henry Young transfers to a school near Anne, and reveals the motive for her transfer was
to be closer to Anne. The two become engaged.
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
108: Struggles (1:22)
Anne excels to the top of her class in medical school. A requirement for her graduation is
to deliver twenty babies for underprivileged families in the community. As a doctor, Anne
still receives harassment and ridicule.
109: Returning Home (1:48)
Anne returns to Laurens, SC, to become one of the first female doctors in the state of
South Carolina.
110: Anne Young’s Work at the Mental Hospital (4:16)
Anne gains experience and insight in her time as a doctor at the state Mental Hospital.
111: Conclusion (7:44)
Anne uses her experiences at the state mental hospital to become a valued doctor and a
South Carolina heroine.
Classroom Activities
Related to the study of the abolition of slavery and equal rights for all
Although these are different types of movements, many of the people and concepts
overlap in their search for human rights for all.
Biographies: Select from the listing below a famous person who played an important
role in the abolition of slavery. Design a biography of the individual as a report or
display.
Anthony Burns, Lydia Maria Child, Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Sarah and
Angelina Grimke’, Julia Ward Howe, Samuel J. May, Lucretia Mott, Wendell Phillips,
William Seward, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Arthur and Lewis Tappan, Sojourner Truth,
Theodore Dwight Weld
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
Compare and Contrast Historical Perspective: Compare and contrast the life of a slave
on a Southern plantation with a Northern free man. Discuss in class.
Research: Individual students or small groups. With each topic, list the facts about the
document and the impact that it had on The United States at the time.
Fugitive Slave Law from the Missouri Compromise of 1820, Compromise of 1850, Gag
Rule, Underground Railroad, Bill of Rights
Research: When did President Lincoln free the slaves? What impact did the
Emancipation Proclamation have on the North and the South?
Analysis: Why did the Wilmot Proviso threaten to fuel sectional tensions in Congress?
How might such a bill have either caused or created an imbalance of power in Congress?
Debate: Debate the conflicting role of women in the 1800’s. How did the attitudes
toward women impact social, culture and historical perspectives of that time.
Biographies: Select from the listing below a famous person who played an important
role in the fight for equal rights. What contributions did she make to the equal rights
movement for women? How did her contribution impact our life today?
Susan B. Anthony, Julia Ward Howe, Martha Moore Ballard, Anne Hutchinson, Elizabeth
Blackwell, Lucretia Mott, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Angelina Grimke’,
Mercy Otis Warren
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
Suggested Literature
Ashby, Ruth and Deborah Gore Ohrn, editors. Her Story: Women Who Changed the
World. New York: 1995.
Bodie, Idella. The Secret Message. South Carolina: Sandlapper Publishing, 1998. In 1781
General Nathanael Greene, commander of the Continental Army in the South, needed
to get a message to General Thomas Sumter. As the British army lay between Greene's
and Sumter's camps, Emily Geiger rode through the dangerous enemy territory to
deliver the message. (NA)
Bodie, Idella. Spunky Revolutionary War Heroine, Sandlapper Publishing, 2000. Laodicea
“Dicey” Langston paid close attention to the words and actions of her Tory neighbors.
Risking her life, she traveled on foot at night (about ten miles) to deliver a message of
impending attack to her brother’s Patriot camp. (NA)
Bodie, Idella. The Old Wagoner, Sandlapper Publishing, 2002. Daniel Morgan led a
company of militia through numerous battles including Saratoga. But his finest moment
was leading the southern Patriot force to a brilliant victory over Banastre Tarleton at
Cowpens--using a risky battle plan. (NA)
Bodie, Idella. Revolutionary Swamp Fox, Sandlapper Publishing, 1998. Francis Marion
and his band of militiamen fought the British in sneak attacks, and then melted away
into the swamps to hide and recover. Marion was the undoubted hero of militia warfare
during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. (NA)
Bodie, Idella. South Carolina Women, Sandlapper Publishing, 1991. This book is a
compilation of the biographies of 51 notable women of the Palmetto State who have
made significant contributions in all areas of South Carolina history.
Edgar, Walter. South Carolina A History, University of South Carolina Press, 1998. Dr.
Walter Edgar’s historical reference documents the heroes, heroines and battles of the
Revolutionary War to present times.
Perry, Carolyn and Mary Louise Weaks, editors. The History of Southern Women’s
Literature. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002.
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
Internet Sources
Amazing Women in War and Peace http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets.html
South Carolina’s Information Highway, Important Events
http://www.sciway.net/hist/people/women.html
SC Hall of Fame: Anne Austin Young
http://www.theofficialschalloffame.com/inducteedetail.html?id=89
Presbyterian College Blue Notes: Dr. Anne Austin Young
https://www.presby.edu/archives-blog/2011/11/01/dr-anne-austin-young-11/
Credits
Executive Producers: Bette Jamison and Ken DeBerry
Producer/Director/Editor: Pat Henry
Videographer: Mark Adams and Mike Miller
South Carolina Social Studies Standard Correlations were provided by Lisa Ray
Funding for Knowitall.org was provided by the S. C. General Assembly through the K-12
Technology Initiative.
Visit scetv.org/education for more educational resources.
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Idella Bodie’s: South Carolina Women Series
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