Catherine Elizabeth Johnson Vosteen, likely the first--or one of the first--female practicing physicians in St. Joseph,

was born on July 23, 1823, in Oldenburg Lower Saxony, Germany (now Berlin). Her father John Johnson was a dike keeper on the North Sea. Catherine's first boyfriend gave her a beautiful amethyst engagement ring, but one night, he became ill and sent for Catherine. She had a splitting headache herself, and did not go to his bedside. He died that night. A few years later, Catherine kept company with a gentleman friend, stonemason John Henry Von Vosteen, who decided to travel to America, and Catherine wanted to travel with him. (Many left Germany because of the blanket army conscription around 1850.) She did not wish to marry him, but her mother insisted, telling her that if they did not marry, Catherine could not get on the ship. So, at the age of 26 in 1849, Catherine Johnson and John Henry Von Vosteen were married. Knowing that Germans were not well liked in America, the Von Vosteens dropped the "Von" from their last name. They arrived by ship in Baltimore, Maryland. It was noted that the trip took 92 days as the overly cautious captain pulled sail at the slightest squall until they landed. To make matters worse, when they arrived at Baltimore, a fire destroyed most of their belongings, so things did not begin well for the young couple. Catherine often had difficulty holding her tongue when she did not agree with her husband. She would place a few pebbles under her tongue to help her keep from saying things she might wish she had not. The Vosteens moved first to New Orleans, Louisiana, but found no work there. The couple then traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis to find work. The Vosteens then moved to Quincy, Illinois, where they lived for several years. While there, they had six children: four girls (Alma, Elizabeth, Dena, Millie), and twin boys who died from dysentery from unclean water at the age of two. That experience of losing two children was quite hurtful. In Quincy, Catherine thought she could hear God's voice telling her to return to St. Louis and Washington University to the St. Louis School of Midwives and Physicians. From Quincy, Illinois, Catherine and John moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, as they were told stonemason work could be found there. John was often gone on lengthy trips of six months or more at a time to St. Louis for stonemason work. Their home life was not idyllic. While at home, he would scare and delight his children by pulling the tablecloth off the table while the dishes were still on it. After a particularly bad quarrel between Catherine and John, he left for St. Louis and did not return. When he did not return, Catherine moved with her children to St. Louis to attend the St. Louis School of Midwives and Physicians. She returned to St. Joseph and opened her practice at 913 North Second Street where her shingle hung outside her door. It read "Mrs. Vosteen Doctoress". Catherine developed a birthing chair for women which was said to be the secret for an easy delivery. Male physicians would call Doctoress Vosteen to assist with difficult deliveries. Her fee was $5 per baby, but sometimes she was paid with chickens, and sometimes she would not be paid until she had delivered the third or fourth baby in a family. Doctoress Vosteen reached her patients by horse and buggy, delivering hundreds of babies and caring for hundreds of patients in the St. Joseph area. One very foggy evening, while on her way to deliver a baby, her horse reared back and stopped. As it turned out, the Doctoress had lost her way, and her buggy was poised to plummet over the edge of a cliff overlooking the Missouri River. Doctoress Vosteen felt that the hand of God had stretched down and stopped the horse. Her family regularly attended the German Methodist Church at Third and Robidoux Streets. German continued to be often spoken in her home. In 1881, Catherine was shocked to find a St. Joseph newspaper ad asking for anyone related to John Vosteen to pay his debts. (Mr. Vosteen was also keeping a family in St. Louis.) Sensing that one wife found out about the other, Mr. Vosteen tied a large block to his ankle, and jumped off a St. Louis bridge into the Mississippi River. Catherine neither paid his debts nor collected his body. Catherine and her daughters made their home at 913 North Second Street in St. Joseph in a home designed as an urban townhouse duplex in the High Victorian style. The abstract for the home begins on May 1, 1846, with Grantor-- the United States of America, as a land grant from President Polk to the Robidoux family. Her diploma of Midwives and Physicians hung inside her office door. A very spiritual person, Catherine felt she had extra sensory perception, and often had premonitions. She once had a dream that her sister Tanta Garite had died in Germany. She wrote down the exact time and date and later received word by boat that her sister had died at the exact time she had written down. Catherine was a great admirer of Queen Victoria and wore her hair the same way in her formal pictures. Doctoress Catherine Vosteen died on August 19, 1913, in the home of her daughter Elizabeth Vosteen Gross, 903 North Sixth Street in St. Joseph, Missouri. Doctoress Vosteen is listed in the St. Joseph City Directory in 1871 as a midwife and John Vosteen as a bricklayer. In 1873, only John is listed, as a Bricklayer. Neither is listed in 1874. In 1878, the Doctoress is listed as a midwife at 315 South Sixth Street. In 1889, she is listed as a midwife. In 1892, she is listed as Mrs. C. E. Vosteen, physician. In 1894, she is listed as a midwife. In 1900, she is listed as Mrs. Elizabeth Vosteen, physician. In 1910, she is listed as a widow. She is not listed in 1911 or 1912. She passed in 1913 at the age of 90. Doctoress Vosteen was laid to rest in Mount Mora Cemetery in St. Joseph, just behind the caretaker's home. Her daughter Elizabeth Vosteen Gross and husband John were later laid to rest next to her at Mount Mora and along with granddaughter Millie Vosteen Gross and other relatives.

In 1982, Doctoress Vosteen's home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mrs. Virginia E. Buck had made the nomination in hopes that it would save it from being torn down in the future. The house was built in 1865, and Doctoress Vosteen was the fourth owner. Later her son-in-law Jacob Hauck, businessman and founder of the Hauck Milling Company, lived there. His business was located at the end of the block in the 900 block of North Second Street. Next door, at 911 North Second Street, was the home of Catherine's daughter, Elizabeth Vosteen Gross, and her husband John. The Gross family lived upstairs, and Gross Groceries operated on the bottom level. During its time, Gross Groceries was considered one of the finest grocery stores in St. Joseph. In addition to being of significance because it was the former home of Doctoress Vosteen, it had also been the location of the St. Joseph Doll Museum until a fire prompted the museum's move. On her deathbed, Mrs. Buck asked her niece by marriage, to whom she had deeded the home, to promise she would save the residence because of its historical significance. However, shortly after her passing, it was put up for auction. A great-great-granddaughter tried with the help of Mrs. Barbara Ide to save the home from demolition. Wire Rope bought the property and promptly had it torn down. To this day, nothing stands on the lot where the house once stood.