Austrian-born Sofie Deligath (1846-1925) married Dr. Moriz Herzog at age 14 and emigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1878, attending the Eclectic Medical College of the City of New York in May 1895. After her husband's death, she moved to Brazoria with the family of her youngest daughter, Elfriede Marie Herzog Prell. In early twentieth-century Texas, when opportunities for women were limited, she became a successful local surgeon and civic leader. Known as an eccentric and independent woman who pushed the boundaries of proper behavior for women of her time, she nevertheless gained acceptance into several professional organizations, including the Texas Medical Association, the South Texas Medical Society, where she was the first female member and later a vice president, and the Brazoria County Medical Association. In 1907, she won further respect when she was hired as surgeon for the local line of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway. In her earlier work, she used handcars, locomotives, and other fast transportation to answer medical emergencies and introduced innovative bullet-extraction techniques. In 1909, she was the only female railroad surgeon in the world. When railway officials tried to dismiss her because of her gender, she answered that they might do so only if her performance proved unsatisfactory, and she remained. She had a prosperous 18-year career with the company, resigned at age 79, and died in 1925 after suffering a stroke.