Mary Eliza Mahoney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Eliza Mahoney
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Mary Eliza Mahoney
May 7, 1845 |
| Died | January 4, 1926 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | New England Hospital for Women and Children |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Known for | First African American woman to complete nurse's training in the U.S. |
Mary Eliza Mahoney (born May 7, 1845 – died January 4, 1926) was a very important American nurse. She was the first African-American woman to complete professional nurse training in the United States. In 1879, Mary Mahoney became the first African American to graduate from an American nursing school.
Mary Mahoney, along with her friends Martha Minerva Franklin and Adah B. Thoms, worked to make nursing better for African-American nurses. They wanted to make sure Black nurses had good education and job chances. In 1908, they started the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN). This group helped remove unfair treatment based on race in nursing. Because of their hard work, more Black women became nurses. The NACGN later joined with the American Nurses Association in 1951.
Mary Mahoney received many awards for her important work. She was honored in the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 1976. She was also added to the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.
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Early Life and Education
Mary Eliza Mahoney was born in 1845 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Her parents were formerly enslaved people from North Carolina. They moved north before the American Civil War to find a life with less unfair treatment. Mary was the oldest child in her family.
From a young age, Mary was a strong Baptist and went to church often. She attended the People's Baptist Church in Roxbury. When she was ten, Mary went to the Phillips School. This was one of the first schools in Boston where Black and white students learned together. She studied there from first to fourth grade. The school taught important values like kindness and humanity. This teaching likely made Mary interested in nursing early on.
Mary knew she wanted to be a nurse from a young age. She may have seen how important nurses were during the American Civil War. In the 1800s, Black women faced many challenges to get formal nursing training. Nursing schools in the American South often did not accept African American women. In the North, it was still hard, but there was a better chance.
In 1878, at age thirty-three, Mary Mahoney was accepted into a sixteen-month program. This was at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. Today, it is called the Dimock Community Health Center. She was one of forty students. Her sister, Ellen Mahoney, also started the program but did not finish. The hospital looked for students who were "well and strong" and between 21 and 31 years old. They also needed a "good reputation."
Mary was older than the age limit, but she was accepted. This was probably because she had worked at the hospital before. For fifteen years, she worked there as a cook, maid, and washerwoman. She worked almost sixteen hours every day.
Mary's training meant she had to spend a year in different hospital wards. This helped her learn all kinds of nursing skills. The program was very hard. Students worked long days, from 5:30 A.M. to 9:30 P.M. They also went to lectures given by doctors. These lectures taught about nursing in families, how the body works, food for sick people, and more. Students also learned how to take vital signs and bandage wounds. Mary also worked for several months as a private-duty nurse.
Out of the forty students who started, only Mary Mahoney and two white women finished the program. In 1879, Mary graduated as a registered nurse. She was the first Black woman in the United States to do so.
Nursing Career
After getting her nursing diploma, Mary Mahoney worked for many years as a private nurse. She became very well-known and respected. She mostly worked for wealthy white families. Much of her work was helping new mothers and their babies. She often traveled to different states for her jobs.
In the early years, African American nurses were sometimes treated like household servants. Mary Mahoney made it clear that she was a professional. For example, she preferred to eat alone in the kitchen. This showed she was not part of the household staff. Mary also lived alone in an apartment in Roxbury. She enjoyed reading and relaxing, and she went to church activities.
Families who hired Mary praised her excellent nursing skills. Mary Mahoney's professional attitude helped improve the standing of all nurses. This was especially true for minority nurses. She was known for being skilled and always ready. As her good reputation grew, she received requests for private nursing from many places.
One of Mary Mahoney's main goals was to change how people thought about minority nurses. She wanted to end all unfair treatment in nursing. As an African American woman, she often faced discrimination. In Massachusetts, it was hard for Black nurses to find work after graduation. They often had to work only in African American homes. Mary believed everyone should be able to follow their dreams without racial bias. It is said that Fredrick Douglass, a famous African American leader, was distantly related to Mahoney. This may have influenced her fight against slavery's effects and racial discrimination.
From 1911 to 1912, Mary Mahoney was the director of the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum. This was a home for Black children in Kings Park, New York. It was run by African Americans. Mary Mahoney ended her career there, helping people with her nursing knowledge.
In 1896, Mary Mahoney became one of the first members of the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (NAAUSC). This group later became the American Nurses Association (ANA). In the early 1900s, the NAAUSC did not welcome African-American nurses. So, Mary Mahoney helped start a new, more welcoming group.
In 1908, she co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN). This group welcomed everyone and aimed to support all great nurses. It worked to stop racial discrimination in nursing. The association also celebrated the achievements of minority nurses. In 1909, Mahoney spoke at the NACGN's first yearly meeting. This was the first time Martha Minerva Franklin and Adah Belle Samuels Thoms met Mahoney in person. In her speech, she talked about the unfairness in nursing education at the time. The NACGN members gave Mary Mahoney a lifetime membership. They also made her the organization's chaplain.
Later Life and Legacy
Even after she retired, Mary Mahoney cared about women's equality. She strongly supported women getting the right to vote. She actively worked to advance civil rights in the United States. In 1920, after women could vote in the U.S., Mary Mahoney was one of the first women in Boston to register.
In 1923, Mary Mahoney was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought the illness for three years. She died on January 4, 1926, at the age of 80. Her grave is in Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts. In 1968, Helen Sullivan Miller helped create a proper monument for her.
Awards and Honors
To honor her amazing example to nurses of all races, the NACGN created the Mary Mahoney Award in 1936. When the NACGN joined the American Nurses Association in 1951, the award continued. Today, the Mary Mahoney Award is given every two years by the ANA. It recognizes important work in helping minority groups get equal chances in nursing.
Mahoney was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 1976. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.
Other honors include:
- Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center, Oklahoma City
- Mary Mahoney Lecture Series, Indiana University Northwest
- Honoring Mary Eliza Mahoney, America's first professionally trained African-American nurse. House of Representatives resolution, US Congress, April 2006 H.CON.RES.386
- The Mary Eliza Mahoney Dialysis Center is a stop on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.
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