Dr. Getta Sweeting

Dr. Getta Sweeting was a woman doctor in Libertyville, who ran her own Sanitarium for the treatment of epilepsy and other mental and nervous sufferers within the time period of 1911 to 1918 from what town records indicate. In 1911, she purchased several acres of land in Libertyville, which would pinpoint the location to be across the street from where Winchester House once stood, and built a farmhouse there. It is assumed that the farmhouse was the location of the Sanitarium, as it was mentioned in the podcast of the possibility that people may have gone there to relax in the country atmosphere. Dr. Sweeting was born in 1867, in Jackson County, Michigan and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a psychology degree. In 1902, she received her medical license. In the early 1900’s, women comprised approximately 5% of the physician workforce of nearly 7,000 physicians. She married an engineer in 1905 and moved to Libertyville in 1911. The farmhouse / sanitarium was sold in 1918 and Dr. Sweeting retired from her practice in 1926. Dr. Sweeting had no children or surviving relatives. 

More information can be found at https://shelflife.cooklib.org/2019/03/08/the-past-is-present-3-women-of-libertyville/