Sarah Hunt Lockrey was born on April 21, 1863 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the daughter of Charles and Martha Jane Wisner Lockrey. Her father had been left an orphan at the age of six when all the others of his immediate family died during a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. He was cared for by a neighbor, learned the carpenter's trade, and became a successful businessman. Her mother's ancestors were Scotch Covenanters.
She graduated from the Girls' Normal School and from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1888.
Sarah began teaching at the age of seventeen. Although a shy girl who preferred books to other companions, she early showed the conscientiousness that later made her a courageous leader. In her longing to be of service to others she was active in religious organizations and wished to be a missionary, but finally she turned to medicine as a career. While a medical student she taught in the night schools of Philadelphia and tutored in physiology. Then she served as an interne at the Woman's Hospital. With the rapid growth of her practice she became a specialist in abdominal surgery.
In 1895 she was appointed assistant to Dr. A. E. Broomall at the Woman's Hospital and later became chief of the gynecological staff, soon after which the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women made her a visiting chief on its surgical staff. These positions, which she held until her death, gave her constant opportunity to exercise her skill as a surgeon. She was consultant to the Elwyn school for the feeble-minded and for over twenty-five years physician to the Methodist Episcopal Deaconess Home.
Notwithstanding her very active professional life, Dr. Lockrey always found time for church work. For a number of years she served on the board of the Methodist Collegiate Institute, a school for girls, and was president of the board of trustees of the Thirteenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church, an unusual position for a woman to hold at that time. In 1921 she became a Presbyterian.
One of her keenest interests was the advancement of women. Years before woman's suffrage became popular she worked and sacrificed to bring about the political equality of women. She gave generously of her time and money, took part in pageants and parades, and developed ability as a public speaker. Dr. Anna Howard Shaw found in her a faithful and active supporter. Later she worked with Mrs. Lawrence Lewis and Alice Paul, went frequently to Washington, and was among the delegates who presented the subject to President Wilson and to members of Congress shortly before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Finally she was one of those imprisoned for suffrage activities. With a number of others, mostly professional women, she received a jail sentence in August 1918 for taking part in the Lafayette Square meeting in Washington, but the sentence was remitted.
