Miriam A. Harris Blanchard, daughter of Albert and Ada Harris

 

 After Albert passed away, his daughter Miriam married a prominent doctor in San Jose and her surname changed to Blanchard.  She retained Harris as her middle name, becoming Mrs. Miriam H. Blanchard.

 

Information about her husband from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California,  published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 1088

 

THOMAS LOFTIN BLANCHARD, M.D.

 

A distinguished member of the medical profession in Santa Clara County to whom the Golden State is indebted for some of its reputation as one of the most desirable corners of the earth in which to live, is Dr. Thomas Loftin Blanchard, of San Jose, in which progressive city he is both familiarly and agreeably known, and his offices in the Bank of San Jose building have become a Mecca to those seeking the benefits of the last word of science. Dr. Blanchard was born in Missouri on July 17, 1886, the son of George B. Blanchard, a lumberman and stockraiser who came from Missouri to California in 1893 and settled in San Jose, where he established the largest wholesale hay business. He married Miss Emeline Payne, and they resided at 875 University avenue. Thomas L. attended the public schools at San Jose. and also Santa Clara, finishing there the high school course, and then he studied at the Cooper Medical College in San Francisco, and was graduated therefrom in May, 1909, with the M.D. degree.
For a couple of years Dr. Blanchard practiced in Campbell, after which he took a trip to Europe and studied at both Vienna and Berlin, doing post-graduate work. On returning to America, he opened an office in San Jose, and there he has since practiced, making a specialty of surgery. He joined the staff of the O'Connor Sanitarium, and when the world conflict called for such professional services as his, he became a first lieutenant and served his country and humanity for seventeen months.

On October 28, 1913, Dr. Blanchard was married to Miss Miriam A. Harris, a native of California, a gifted lady, well fitted to be his helpmate. He is a Mason and belongs to the Consistory, in which he has risen to the thirty-second degree, and to the Commandery. Dr. Blanchard's status as a skillful surgeon and a thoroughly up-to-date practitioner is reflected in his election as president of the County Medical Society, and his activity in both the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. A Democrat in respect to his preference for party platforms, he is ready at all times to cast aside partisanship when a nonpartisan support will elect or adopt those persons or measures which would be most desirable for the community. He is fond of gardening and the other diversions of outdoor life, and as this is one of the garden-spots of the world, is deeply interested in Santa Clara County, its past and its future. On July 6, 1922, Dr. Blanchard returned from his second trip to Europe, having spent five months in London, Paris, and Vienna hospitals, studying surgery and women's diseases. From the University of Vienna he received his diploma for post-graduate surgical work.

Obituary from the San Jose Mercury, Wednesday, July 12, 1978, p. 4B

 

Mrs. Blanchard dies, widow of early-day physician

  Funeral services will be held Thursday for Mrs. Miriam H. Blanchard, 91, widow of a prominent San Jose physician and herself a native and lifelong resident of the Santa Clara Valley.  She died Sunday after a long illness.

  Born in Santa Clara, Mrs. Blanchard was a 1910 graduate of Stanford University where was affiliated with Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

  In 1913 she married Dr. Thomas L. Blanchard, who began his medical practice in Campbell in 1910 and remained active in the profession for 56 years.  He was president of the County Medical Society in 1920 and widely known as a general practitioner.  Dr. Blanchard died in 1969.

   Mrs. Blanchard was active in the San Jose Art History Club and was one of the founders of the Town Club.  She was widely traveled and remembered by friends for her knowledge of history.

  Survivors include several cousins.

  Services will be at 1:30 p.m. at Dowdle-Manriquez Mortuary, concluding at Oak Hill Memorial Park.