Sarah A. Bombeck (b. Bell) (1831-1902) was born in Scott County, Kentucky, and died in Saline Township, Missouri. She moved with her family to New London, Missouri, in 1833 and then to Cincinnati, Missouri, in 1839. In the early 1840s Bombeck's father and several other family and community members died, sparking her interest in becoming a doctor. In the 1850s she worked as a teacher in the Ralls County, Missouri, School District to earn the funds necessary to attend the New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College in New York City in 1860 and 1861. Founded by Dr. Russell Thacher Trall in 1853, it was one of the first medical schools in the United States to admit women. It emphasized hydropathy, vegetarianism, hygiene, and avoidance of allopathic medicine. In 1870 she became the second wife of George H. Bombeck. He was a boot and shoe maker who had served in the 39th Missouri Infantry. After their marriage they settled and began farming and raising livestock in Ralls County. In the 1880s Bombeck's continued interest in alternative healing methods led her to investigate Christian Science. She subscribed to The Christian Science Journal and wrote to Mary Baker Eddy several times to ask questions and express interest in taking a class from her, but the available records do not indicate that she ever did so.

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