Rose Coxon

    Dr. Rose Coxon was born Feb 17, 1879 in Leeds, England to William F. and Adeline Hohmann Coxon. In 1889, the year after her father’s death the family moved to United States and lived with her maternal grandparents at 80 Court Street.
    Rose attended Philadelphia Dental College. At that time women made up only approximately 1% of dental students. She was the Secretary of her Freshman Class. She graduated in 1905. In her practice in Utica, NY, Rose Coxon became an early proponent of preventive dentistry. During the early 1900s, more money was earned from fixing dental problems than cleaning teeth. The consequence was a prejudice against cleaning teeth. Rose was a forerunner to the modern practices of today by realizing  the importance of a healthy mouth.
    Dr. Coxon opened her first practice at 80 Court Street in 1905. Over the years she had offices in different locations in Utica. She shared offices with different dentists (do not know if they were partners). Her final office was at 409-410 Mayro Building. It appears that she retired between 1936 and 1937.
    According to one newspaper article Rose Coxon might have been the move traveled women in Utica. She wrote poetry inspired by her travels. We have a copy of her book “Silver Butterflies and other poems.”
    Rose Coxon later moved to Santa Barbara California where she passed away on October 11, 1967. She is buried in Plot 34 Lot 6425 of Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica.