Mary Mahoney was a very selfless woman. Ametia states that “Because of her dedication and untiring will to inspire future generations, Mary Eliza Mahoney has been an inspiration to thousands of men and women of color who are part of the nursing profession.” Because of her being the first African-American nurse, Ms. Mary Eliza Mahoney made a big impact on American lives and futures.
On May 7, 1845 Mary was born to Charles and Mary Jane Steward Mahoney in Dorchester, Massachusetts (Encyclopaedia 1). As she grew older she became more and more interested in nursing (“HCC Scholarships Recipient Graduates with Honors”). After working as a maid for a few years at New England’s Hospital for Women and Children, she started attending the nursing program at the hospital in 1878. Mahoney was one of four graduates from the program after 42 students enrolled (“HCC Scholarships Recipient Graduates with Honors”).

Mary Mahoney portrait and working as a private nurse (in bottom left corner).
Now having graduated from nursing school, she can do what she has always been interested in. She first started working as a private nurse by going to people’s houses and helping the people that were very seriously sick. Knowing everything she knows about nursing, she was later asked to join the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN). She later, in 1909, was the leader of the NAGCN’s first annual convention, held in Boston (Encyclopaedia 1). As part of the NAGCN, Ms. Mahoney moved to Long Island, New York and became supervisor over the Howard Orphan Asylum for Black Children. Then, in 1912, Mary moved back to Boston (Encyclopaedia 1). After living a nice, long 80 years of serving and helping others, Ms. Mary Eliza Mahoney passed away...
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In the todays century, the responsibilities, roles, and opportunities for nursing and nurse education has grown abundantly to that of modern day nurses. Many nurses in the eighteen century were not educated nurses and never attended nursing school; however, they still provided care for the sick, poor, and needy and played a vital role in health maintenance. With the hard work from many notable nurses in history such as Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, and Isabel Robb and the persistence and dedication for change from influential nurses such as Mary Mahoney and Mabel Staupers; nursing today has transformed in many aspects of practice. Although nursing as a profession is continuously evolving throughout the years, the core foundation of nursing hasn’t changed in that nursing is a profession of caring for others and servicing those in need.
Mary Rowlandson was an Indian captive, and also an American writer. She was born in England approximately 1637-1638. She immigrated to Lancaster, Massachusetts with her parents. Joseph Rowlandson became a minister in 1654 and two years later he married Mary. They together had four children, one whom died as an infant, but the others were Joseph, Mary, and Sarah.
Mary McLeod Bethune was an innovative leader because she took a story which was largely latent in the population, equal education rights for black children, and brought it to national prominence through the creation of the Bethune-Cookman college. She was also a visionary leader because of the incredible success she was able to attain in advancing the cause of equal education.
Mary MacKillop was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne on January the 15th 1842. She was the first child to Alexander MacKillop and Flora MacDonald. Mary was one child out of 8 and spent most of her childhood years looking after and acting like a second mother to her siblings. The MacKillop family were quite poor so at the young age of 14, Mary got herself a job as a governess and as teacher at a Portland school. All the money Mary earned went towards her families everyday living. While working as a governess, Mary met Father Julian Tension Woods. By the time Mary had reached the age of 15 she had decided that she wanted to be a nun. She also wanted to devote her life to the poor and less fortunate. So upon meeting Father Julian Tension Woods she told him her hopes and dreams, and together they decided to set up a school. In 1861, they worked together and opened Australia's first free Catholic school. At the time only the rich could afford schooling. But at the school Mary opened anyone was welcome. Mary was a great teacher and became very popular within the community. Although Mary was very pleased with her work she still felt a religious calling. So Mary and Father Woods started their own order, 'The Sisters of St. Joseph.' In 1867 Mary then moved to Adelaide where she opened another school. Before long there were 17 schools open across Australia. Mary's followers grew and by 1909 she had followers all over Australia. Mary later died on the 8th of August 1909.
One of the leading black female activists of the 20th century, during her life, Mary Church Terrell worked as a writer, lecturer and educator. She is remembered best for her contribution to the struggle for the rights of women of African descent. Mary Terrell was born in Memphis, Tennessee at the close of the Civil War. Her parents, former slaves who later became millionaires, tried to shelter her from the harsh reality of racism. However, as her awareness of the problem developed, she became an ardent supporter of civil rights. Her life was one of privilege but the wealth of her family did not prevent her from experiencing segregation and the humiliation of Jim Crow laws. While traveling on a train her family was sent to the Jim Crow car. This experience, along with others led her to realize that racial injustice was evil. She saw that racial injustice and all other forms of injustice must be fought.
On October 10, 1927, Clarence L. Johnson Sr. & his wife Garnett Henley Johnson gave birth to yet another daughter by the name of Hazel Winifred Johnson in West Chester, Pennsylvania. After, her and her family moved to a Quaker town called Mavern. She was born into a family whose values were strictly discipline, diligence, unity, and pursuit of education. Between her and her other 6 siblings (2 sisters and 4 brothers), Hazel was the one out of them all who always dreamed of being a nurse. She went and applied for Chester School of Nursing, however, she was denied because she was an African American. After being denied to Chester’s School of Nursing, Johnson went on to further her education elsewhere by going to start training at the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing where she graduated in 1950. She then goes on to work in the Harlem Hospital Emergency Ward for 3 years and then practiced on the medical cardiovascular ward at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Philadelphia, all while working to get her baccalaureate at Villanova University. (Hazel Johnson-Brown: Visionary Videos: NVLP: African American History)
Louisa Mary Alcott wrote her book, “Hospital Sketches”, based on her experiences spent as a volunteer nurse at the Union Hospital in Georgetown during the American Civil War. Her account is considered a primary source that reveals the culture of nursing of the that time period. Nursing had a different definition by the historical American culture compared to today’s idea and principles of nursing. Women from various societal backgrounds were recruited into the nursing workforce to cure and heal the soldiers at war. Most of these nurses lacked proper medical experience and skills and were fairly unprepared for the unmanageable working conditions. Alcott experienced the crowdedness, poorly ventilated and rationed food as she severed as one of the nurses of her time.
Her plan was a success and she was able to start her own women’s nursing corps. Because of their efforts and determination, those two women were acknowledged for helping allowing women to become nurses
Mary Eliza Mahoney Biography Mary Eliza Mahoney was born May 7, 1845 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Smith, J, & Phelps, S, 1992) Mary Mahoney was the first African American professional nurse. She spent over 40 years as a private duty nurse going to sick people’s homes, nursing them back to health. She was such a wonderful private duty nurse that after joining a nursing directory, Mary was called upon time after time by the families that hired her all over the country, near and far away.
When one thinks of the evolution of nursing, several noteworthy women come to mind, yet one stands out, Florence Nightingale. In Notes on Nursing, Nightingale says “…put the patient in the best conditions for nature to act upon him.” (1859, p.75) She established standards that reformed the industry. For example; her practices of sanitation and aseptic methods led to a decrease in hospital mortality rates. By keeping records of care given, techniques used and the outcomes; by utilizing these records, she implemented documentation and evidence-based practice. She started the ball rolling on the transition of nursing from a belittled trade to the profession it is now proclaimed to be. Nightingale, in conjunction with other
historians as being April 16th. Mary became interested in becoming a nurse as a teenage girl.
The history of nursing important to understand because it can help our professionals today to know why things are the way it is now and can have solutions to unsolvable problems from history. Captain Mary Lee Mills was an African-American woman born in Wallace, North Carolina in August 1912. She was a role model, an international nursing leader, and a humanitarian in her time. She joined many nursing associations, she participated in public health conferences, gained recognition and won numerous awards for her notable contributions to public health nursing. Her contributions throughout her lifetime made a huge impact on the world today and has changed the lives of how people live because of her passion for public health nursing.
For this assignment I had the pleasure sitting down with Emily Petermeier and getting an insight on what the real nursing world is like. Emily graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in May 2015, and got a job at Fairview East Bank Hospital. This interview really helped me understand what it is like to be a new nurse and the dedication that I have to have going through nursing school and throughout my career. In the interview you will see the perspective of Emily’s endeavors after college and insight for future nurses or nursing students.
By the time she reached the age of 21, Lillian felt that she needed secure work because she didn’t have any plans for marriage. To try to fill the need she had felt, Lillian chose nursing. She enrolled into the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses, and after finishing the two-year program at the Nursing School in 1891, she took a position at the New York Juvenile Asylum.
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