Elizabeth Sadoques Mason facts for kids

Elizabeth Mary Sadoques Mason (born May 16, 1897 – died September 24, 1985) was a very important person in American history. She was one of the first Native American Registered Nurses known in the United States.

Elizabeth finished her nursing school in New York in 1919. After graduating, she worked as a nurse for a famous artist named Abbot Handerson Thayer.

Elizabeth's Early Life

Elizabeth was born into the family of Israel Sadoques and Mary Watso. Her family belonged to the Abenaki people, a Native American tribe.

Her family originally came from the Odanak Reserve in Quebec, Canada. In 1880, they moved to Keene, New Hampshire. There, they ran a business making baskets and working with leather.

Her Family and Siblings

Elizabeth had a big family with five sisters and two brothers. Her sisters were Mary, Ida, Margaret, Agnes, and Maude. Her brothers were Israel and Edward.

Her sister Margaret owned a hat shop in Keene for many years. Another sister, Maude, also became a registered nurse. Maude later became an Episcopalian nun, taking the name Sister Benedicta. She is thought to be the first Native American woman to become a nun in the Episcopalian church.

Elizabeth later married Claude Mason. They had two daughters together, Claudia Mason Chicklas and Mary Mason Holland Keating.

Family History

The Sadoques family in Keene was fully Native American. However, there is a family story that they also had some English ancestors. This story comes from Eunice Williams, a Euro-American who was captured in a raid in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1704.