Dr. Triplett - Believed to be Enid’s First Osteopath

Neva True Smiley was born in 1871 in Memphis, Missouri.  Growing up in Missouri and in close proximity (39 miles) to the birth of osteopathic medicine (Kirksville, MO),  it’s not surprising that young Neva would be interested in learning about this new form of “healing.”

While many professional careers were closed off to women in the late 1800s, osteopathic medicine welcomed women from day one and accepted them as equals alongside men.  In fact, the first class to graduate from the American School of Osteopathy in 1892 included six women.

Neva married Orin Triplett in 1895 and they had a son in 1897.  Just months after giving birth, she enrolled in the American School of Osteopathy in Kirksville, and studied under A.T. Still – the father of osteopathic medicine.  Neva graduated in 1899.

By 1900, Dr. Triplett, husband Orin and baby Richard had moved to Enid – reasons unknown - and continued her work as an osteopath on Enid’s downtown square.  There is some indication that her husband remained unemployed throughout most of their marriage, perhaps taking care of their young son.  Early Enid city directories list various office locations for Dr. Triplett, through the years including 124 S. Independence (next door to where the NW Oklahoma Osteopathic Foundation’s office is today) 1107 Monroe and 219 Broadway. The couple lived at 1505 W. Maine for a period of time and then 601 W. Maine where they raised their son, Richard Lee Triplett. 

It appears obvious that the young physician was passionate about her work.  She helped organize the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association (founded in 1902).  She served in several leadership positions including a term as the organization’s president in 1904.  She was also instrumental in bringing the Southwest Osteopathic Conference to Enid in 1914.  The conference included presentations by osteopathic physicians from Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Illinois and Missouri.  Dr. Triplett and her Enid colleagues offered a “Better Babies” program in 1917 examining 50 babies and providing their parents educational information about the benefits of osteopathic treatments.

Numerous news stories from the early 1900s and articles from osteopathic publications detail some of her work with patients.

  She often made house calls and travelled to Waukomis and Blackwell.  One article, published in a Blackwell, OK, newspaper in 1918,  claimed she helped cure a young Phillips University student who had gone blind and deaf. The cure included a series of manipulative treatments.

Sadly, Dr. Triplett died young.  She took her own life, by throwing herself in front of a moving train, in Enid, in 1920.  She was 48 years old.  An Enid newspaper described her as Enid’s pioneer osteopath who “has been a help to the poor.  She has given every effort for the uplift of humanity.” 

The NW Oklahoma Osteopathic Foundation has plans to document more of Enid’s osteopathic history, so stay tuned and follow us on facebook for updates.