{{Short description|American dentist and writer (1856–1917)}} '''Laura Emeline Eames Chase''' (1856–1917), one of the few women dentists in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1890s, was the first female member of the American Dental Association.alt=One of the first female dentists in St. Louis MO|thumb|Emma Eames Chase, DDS
== Birth and early life == Laura Emeline Eames was born on February 12, 1856, and died October 12, 1917. She also used the name Emma Eames Chase.
The Eames family were living near Lebanon, Tennessee, when counted on the 1860 Census;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7667/4297422_00173?pid=19613070&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1860usfedcenancestry&h=19613070&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=6742&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true|title=Ancestry - Sign In|website=www.ancestry.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref> they remained there until 1862.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/internationalde10massgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/internationalde10massgoog/page/n356 344]|quote=laura chase journal of dentistry.|title=The International Dental Journal|date=1894|publisher=International Dental Publication Company|language=en}}</ref> She married the artist Henry Seymour Chase Jr. on January 23, 1877, in St. Louis.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-hFAQAAMAAJ&dq=laura+eames+married+henry+chase&pg=PP28|title=Genealogy of One Branch of the Descendants of the Thomas Eames' Family: Who Came from England about 1630, and First Settled at Dedham, Mass., in 1640|date=1887|publisher=Brockway & Sons'Daily Times Print|language=en}}</ref> She and her husband were living with her parents in St Louis, Missouri when counted on the 1880 census.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6742/4242058-00089?pid=34254438&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&indiv=try&h=34254438&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true|title=View Free Records with a Free Account|website=www.ancestry.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref> Her daughter, Rhoda Campbell Chase, became an artist and illustrator. Emma and Harry's son, Irwin Chase, was the designer of the a small boat known as a "sea wasp" or "Chaser"; at least 300 of them were sold to the British for hunting enemy submarines in World War I.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/138249627/?terms=mrs.+chase+dentist|title=11 Mar 1917, Page 70 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-04-29|language=en}}</ref> == Dental practice == Chase is reported to be the first woman accepted as a full member of the American Dental Association<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/394968448/?terms=first+woman|title=4 Sep 1890, 4 - Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News at Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-04-28|language=en}}</ref> and wrongly as the only woman dentist in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1890s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/137667659/?terms=mrs.+chase+woman+dentist|title=2 Aug 1896, Page 21 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-04-29|language=en}}</ref> There were actually other female dentists practicing in St. Louis at the time the article was written.
An 1896 interview in the St. Louis Dispatch provides background information on Chase and her dental practice. She stated her father had been a dentist. She graduated from Iowa State University<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/138837860/?terms=mrs.+chase+dentist|title=26 Jan 1890, Page 17 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-04-29|language=en}}</ref> dental school in 1889 and used the distinction D.D.S.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/137667659/?terms=chase+dentist|title=2 Aug 1896, Page 21 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com|work=Newspapers.com|access-date=2018-04-28|language=en}}</ref> The same article provided information on the appearance of the Chase household that also included the doctor's practice: "the walls were covered with the work of Mrs. Chase's late husband."
== Other organizations == Chase was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lineagebookvolu00revogoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/lineagebookvolu00revogoog/page/n337 311]|quote=laura eames henry chase.|title=Lineage Book|publisher=The Society|last=Revolution|first=Daughters of the American|date=1901|language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Laura E.}} Category:American women dentists Category:20th-century American dentists Category:1856 births Category:1917 deaths Category:19th-century American dentists