[8] In Lozier’s home, Comfort read many books on medicine; friends began to notice that her music was overstrewn with medical pamphlets.

[7] During the early American Civil War, Alfred Manning began experiencing financial difficulties, and he gave Comfort a week to decide whether to move with her family to New England, or to remain in New York to study medicine at Lozier's school.

[8] Lozier's hospitality brought to her house many of the leading reformers of the time, and from discussions with them, Comfort drew much of that sympathetic inspiration and breadth of view which marked her personality in later years.

[1] Comfort described the prejudice she experienced:[10] "We had to go to Bellevue Hospital for our practical work, and the indignities we were made to suffer are beyond belief.

Because her family lived in Norwich, Connecticut, after graduation in 1865, Comfort began the practice of her profession in that city.

By her strong personality and her professional success, she soon won a large and important patronage in Norwich and eastern Connecticut.

[1] But success did not come without difficulties:—[10] "They tore down my sign when I began to practice; the drug stores did not like to fill my prescriptions, and the older doctors would not consult with me.

[7] She was appointed lecturer at her alma mater, New York Medical College for Women, and was elected a member of the newly-founded Sorosis society.

[1] At one time, Comfort had seven women members of her family practicing medicine in New York City, besides her sister, Dr. Emily Manning Smith, and her aunt, Dr.

[7] During her time in New York, she met the art historian George Fisk Comfort, L.H.D., whom she married on January 19, 1871.

Soon after their marriage, George Comfort was hired by the newly-founded Syracuse University as a Professor of Modern Languages, History and Aesthetics.

[6] When her children were older, Comfort resumed her medical career, specializing in gynecology, and practiced for nearly thirty years thereafter.

The resumption of her medical practice brought many remarks among the university people, among whom she had about an equal number of supporters and critics.

[7] In 1916, the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women established an endowed scholarship named in Comfort's honor.