Story of Her Sorrow: Unsafe Abortion Killed Annie Pearl Doney

In 1900, 17-year-old Wichitan Pearl Doney got pregnant by her fiancée. Desperate to not have her secret known, she sought an abortion, at that time a “criminal operation,” and she died from the procedure in late January 1901.

Annie Pearl Doney, who went by her middle name, was the daughter of Cinderella (née Lent) and Matthias “Fine” Doney and was the youngest of her five siblings. Her parents were among the original settlers in Wichita, moving here from White Cloud, Kansas in 1870. Matthias did stone and masonry work in early Wichita as well as hauling lumber to Emporia by oxen. He was also one of the first white settlers in Kansas territory, arriving with his parents in 1850 at age five.

The Doneys were members of the Methodist church, and Pearl was considered one of the prominent young members. She was popular in local social circles and was recently engaged to her sweetheart, Charles Crouse.

When Pearl got pregnant, her wedding day was still far away. And she was apparently too embarrassed or ashamed about the pregnancy to tell her parents. Young girls who get pregnant, especially those in religious households, are thought by many to “bring shame” on not just themselves, but the entire family. A pregnancy out of wedlock was often considered to be a woman’s “ruin.”

The details aren’t exactly clear, but I believe Pearl attempted the abortion on herself, and when she became very sick afterward, she and Charles went to a local doctor Giles Davis for help. The couple reportedly lied to Dr. Davis about their names and said they were married, and they may not have told him that Pearl was pregnant and had attempted an abortion.

After staying with Dr. Davis for a few days, Pearl became deathly ill. Once it was clear that she was going to die from peritonitis, she allegedly confessed to Dr. Davis that she was not married to Charles, that she was dying from an attempted abortion, and that someone should call for her mother.

“I thought first of the salvation of my child and recommended her to the mercy of God before it was too late. My child did not have time to tell me any thing about her trouble before she died.” Source

The Topeka Capital-Journal, Topeka, KS, Jan 29, 1901

Pearl died on January 28, 1901 and was buried at Highland Cemetery in the family plot. But because her death was the result of an abortion, and abortion was considered a criminal and illegal operation, someone had to be charged.

Pearl’s cause of death was listed as peritonitis, or an infection of the abdomen. Source

The same day of Pearl’s burial, a coroner’s inquest was held to determine who should be held responsible for Pearl’s death.

The Wichita Eagle, Wichita, KS, Jan 29, 1901

After hearing the facts, the jury returned a verdict calling for the arrest of three individuals: Dr. Davis, the nurse who assisted the doctor and attended to Pearl, and her fiancée Charles Crouse. Dr. Davis was charged with performing a criminal operation on Pearl, and Charles and the nurse were charged with being accessories after the fact.

Dr. Davis and his nurse were arrested just a few days after the inquest.

The Wichita Eagle, Wichita, KS, Feb 1, 1901

By the time Charles was arrested a little over two weeks later, the charges against the doctor and nurse had been dismissed. The charges against Charles were also ultimately dismissed and no one was convicted of a crime.

The Wichita Eagle, Wichita, KS, Feb 19, 1901

Pearl’s gravestone faces a different direction from the others in the family plot. The gravestone of her parents and siblings face the east, but hers is the only one that faces the west.

It’s not clear if this was a purposeful decision by her family or not.

Young women without access to safe medical care are often faced with a difficult choice: live with the lifelong shame she would bear brought on her by her family, friends, and the community, i.e., “her ruin”; or secretly undergo a potentially dangerous and sometimes illegal operation that could kill her.

Pearl’s case is not unusual. There are countless stories of women who had similar situations here in Wichita and the surrounding area before safe, legal abortion was an option. Here are a few of them:

“This is the third abortion she has produced on herself and she will die from its effects on her system.” Dec 2, 1882
“Dr. Blaise … charged with having attempted to produce an abortion on one Susan Hunsberger.” Dec 24, 1884
“The wife of C.E. Worthington … came to her death from the effect of an abortion. The high standing of the deceased in church and society caused a great sensation.” Jul 10, 1886
“Mrs. Mary Walter … came to her death from abortion committed by her own hand.” Mar 26, 1887
“Miss Clara Brooks … died from an abortion.” Apr 15, 1887
“Winfield is all torn up over the discovery that a married woman and her unmarried sister, both of whom died mysteriously, were the victims of abortion, and two doctors have been locked up for malpractice.” Sep 15, 1887
“Dr. H. Owens, the well known physician, was arrested … for an alleged abortion produced on one Ornah Moreland some time ago.” Jan 25, 1888
“Sunday afternoon a girl named Hattie Myers died … by peritonitis induced by criminal malpractice.” Mar 13, 1888
“The wife was in an interesting condition and she wanted to have an abortion produced.” Jul 26, 1888
“Dr. Reynolds, who was arrested for causing the death of a female patient by means of an abortion and was sentenced to ten years in the pen, will be released.” Jul 18, 1889
“It appeared that the woman was in a family way and that in trying to produce an abortion the woman was badly injured.” Dec 24, 1889
“Mrs. Katie Towne, of Hutchinson, rather than become a mother the second time … produced an abortion which resulted in her death.” Apr 12, 1890
“Twenty-six women have died in the vicinity of Winfield in the last ten years from the effects of criminal abortion.” Apr 12, 1890
“The girl who was found suffering in Mrs. Litchfield’s boarding house from the results of a criminal operation last week was taken to Winfield by [the] undersheriff of Cowley county.” Sep 29, 1894
“Mrs. Miller is accused of performing [a criminal] operation on Zella Blanger.” Jul 26, 1901
“Miss Irma Brown of Garden City died in a hospital there as the result of an alleged operation. [The] son of Rev. S.W. Foulk of this city [is charged] with being the author of her ruin.” Nov 21, 1901
“J.W. Pollard was indicted on a charge of manslaughter. Hattie Myers was named in the indictment as the victim of a criminal operation.” Dec 1, 1904
“Verdicts of guilty were today returned in the cases of Drs. B.J. Patterson and J.A. Gregoire … for performing a criminal abortion on Mrs. Floris Lewis … which resulted in [her] death.” Nov 23, 1917

Restricting access to abortion doesn’t mean fewer abortions, it means more women die from them. Without access to safe, legal medical care, women die prematurely and tragically.

I wasn’t able to definitively trace the life of Charles Crouse, but Dr. Giles Davis, who was said at the time of Pearl’s death to be “able to take more morphine than any man who ever lived,” died of a drug overdose in 1907 and is buried in Highland Cemetery with Pearl.