Ogden City’s First Female Physician: Dr. Anna Frances Ries Finley

This blog post was originally written and published by Ogden City staff based on their research in Ogden City records. It is republished here with permission from Ogden City.

When Mayor William Glasmann nominated Dr. Anna F. Ries as City Physician and Quarantine Officer in January 1910, the appointment quickly became one of the most publicly debated municipal appointments in Ogden. Newspapers argued openly about whether a woman should supervise quarantine work, treat prisoners, and serve as the city’s chief medical officer. The surviving appointment records, newspaper editorials, Board of Health reports, and signed municipal documents show that Dr. Ries not only secured confirmation after repeated resistance, but went on to establish a long career in public health and medicine that extended from Utah to Oregon and California.

Early Life and Education

Anna Frances Ries was born January 19, 1874, in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the 1880 federal census she appears as “Annie F. Ries,” living with her parents, Matthew G. Ries and Sarah A. Ries, in Butler County, Missouri. Later records indicate she attended Springfield Normal School before entering medicine. In 1906 she graduated from the University of Illinois College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago.

Arrival in Ogden

By 1907 Dr. Ries was practicing medicine in Ogden. Newspaper reports from that year place her in legal medical examinations and civic organizations. An August 1907 article in the Morning Examiner identified her as Oracle (presiding officer) of the newly organized Ogden Social Camp of the Royal Neighbors of America.  A fraternal benefit society founded in 1895, as a women’s auxiliary of the Modern Woodman of America focusing on life insurance and financial benefits, community services, social support and fellowship, and aid for women and families. 

The 1910 Appointment Controversy – 2 Recommendations Denied, Approved on 3rd Attempt

The dispute over Dr. Ries’s appointment unfolded publicly during January 1910. An editorial in the Ogden Standard-Examiner complained that “They don’t want a woman doctor,” while defending her qualifications and medical education.  The first recommendation submitted to the city council was rejected. Subsequent articles described continued political efforts to secure confirmation. One editorial argued that the controversy had become “a test of woman’s rights.” 

First Female City Physician

On January 31, 1910, the city council finally confirmed Dr. Ries as City Physician and Quarantine Officer. The surviving roll-call sheets and oath documents leave little doubt that the appointment was unusual enough to require repeated reconsideration. No earlier woman serving in that office has been identified in Ogden records.

Work as City Physician

Newspapers from 1910 describe Dr. Ries working directly out of police headquarters. One article reported that she reorganized medical supplies, inspected prisoners, and cleaned neglected treatment areas at the jail. Other articles documented her treating injuries from arrests and street fights.

Public Health and Quarantine Duties

Her work extended beyond emergency treatment. Board of Health reports signed by Dr. Ries addressed unsafe wells, contaminated irrigation water, and recurring typhoid outbreaks in Ogden neighborhoods. The reports are unusually detailed and show direct involvement in municipal sanitation and disease prevention.

Continuing Education – Chicago Medical Study

On September 12, 1910, Dr. Ries submitted a handwritten request asking permission for a four-week leave of absence in order to pursue “a certain line of med. study in Chicago.” The request was approved by the city council. 

Marriage and Career After Ogden

Dr. Ries married Morris (Maurice) Foster Finley in Salt Lake City on May 12, 1911. Later records identify her as Dr. Anna Ries Finley. She practiced medicine in Bend, Oregon, from roughly 1915 to 1928 and was later associated with medical practice in Hayward and Castro Valley, California.

Later Life

An obituary published in the Bend Bulletin in October 1961 noted that Dr. Finley had recently retired after decades of medical work. The obituary described her as an “early-day Bend medical officer” and recorded her death in Pasadena, California, at age 87.

The surviving municipal files, newspaper editorials, Board of Health reports, and oath records document more than the appointment of a city physician. Together they preserve the record of a woman doctor who entered municipal office at a moment when many residents still questioned whether women belonged in public professional authority. Dr. Anna Frances Ries Finley’s appointment as Ogden’s first female City Physician remains one example of women entering municipal leadership in Utah.

Selected Sources

• Ogden City Council appointment records and oath documents, 1910.
• Ogden City Board of Health reports, 1910–1911.
• The Ogden Standard-Examiner, January–September 1910.
• The Morning Examiner (Ogden), 1907–1910.
• The Bend Bulletin, August 7, 1919.
• The Bulletin (Bend, Oregon), October 30, 1961.
• United States Census records, 1880–1940.
• Royal Neighbors of America digital archives.