Wikipedia

Emma Ann Reynolds

For the British politician, see Emma Reynolds.

Emma Ann Reynolds (1862-1917) was an African-American teacher, who had a desire to address the health needs of her community. Refused entrance to nurses training schools because of racism, she influenced the creation of Provident Hospital in Chicago and was one of its first four nursing graduates. Continuing her education, Reynolds became a medical doctor serving at posts in Texas, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. before permanently settling in Ohio and completing her practice there.

Emma Ann Reynolds
1900, when she took charge of nurses at Freedman's Hospital
Born(1862-08-03)August 3, 1862
Frankfort, Ross County, Ohio
DiedJanuary 11, 1917(1917-01-11) (aged 54)
Huntington Township, Ross County, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Other namesEmma A. Reynolds
Occupation(s)nurse, doctor
Years active1896-1917
Known forinspiring the creation of Chicago's Provident Hospital

Early life edit

Emma Ann Reynolds was born on August 3, 1862, in Frankfort, Ross County, Ohio, to Sarah (née Jones) and William Reynolds.[1][2] After completing her education at Wilberforce University she moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where four of her brothers lived and taught school for seven years. During her teaching, she recognized the health needs of the African-American community,[3] and attempted to enroll in nursing school in Chicago. She was repeatedly refused entrance because she was black.[4] Seeking help from her brother, Rev. Louis H. Reynolds, pastor of St. Stephens African Methodist Episcopal Church on the west side of Chicago, the two approached well-known Dr. Daniel Hale Williams in December 1890.[2][5] Williams had previously recognized the need for both trained nursing staff and hospital beds for negro patients, as well as employment opportunities for interns, physicians and surgeons. Reynolds' need, spurred a decision that rather than use his influence to help her gain entrance to a white nurses' training facility, he should instead convince the black community to found their own hospital.[6] In May 1891, the Provident Hospital was opened, with the goal of allowing interracial staff and patients, as well of establishing a training facility for nurses of any race.[7][8]

Reynolds enrolled in the first nursing class, completing her training eighteen months later, and graduated on 27 October 1892 along with Bertha I. Estes, Florence Phillips and Lillian E. Reynolds.[9] The year of her graduation, she enrolled in a medical degree program at Northwestern University Women's Medical School, as the first black student of the school.[10] She graduated as the first African-American woman to complete the training in 1895.[4][3] From her graduation until 1896, Reynolds served as the supervisor of the Training School for Nurses,[11] before becoming the resident physician of the Paul Quinn College in 1896.[12] Two years later, she moved to New Orleans,[13] where in spite of racism she remained until July 1900.[14][15] While she was in New Orleans, Reynolds was active as a club member, serving as one of the officers of the state colored Temperance Union[16] and Afro-American Woman's Club of New Orleans. She founded and organized the Visiting Nurses Association under the women's club umbrella to furnish free nursing to the poor.[17]

On 23 July 1900, Reynolds took up what initially was to be a temporary three-month position, as the head nurse at Howard University's Freedman's Hospital.[18][19] She remained at Freedman's Hospital through 1901, serving on the nursing faculty in dietetics,[20] but the following year, returned to Ohio to care for her ailing parents.[4] She established a practice in Sulphur Lick, Ohio, practicing there until her death.[11]

Death and legacy edit

Reynolds died of heart disease on January 11, 1917, in Huntington Township, Ross County, Ohio, and was buried at Davis Cemetery near Waverly, Ohio, on January 13.[1] In 1990, a tombstone was erected in her honor at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Frankfort by the Provident Hospital Nurse Alumni Association.[2] Reynolds was inducted into the Chillicothe-Ross County Women's Hall of Fame in 1991 in recognition of her medical contributions[3] and in 1994, she was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame.[2] In 2001, she was recognized for her pioneering role during Women's Month, by the U.S. House of Representatives.[4]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b Ohio Deaths 1917, p. 464.
  2. ^ a b c d The Provident Foundation 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Royster 2003, p. 95.
  4. ^ a b c d U. S. House of Representatives 2001, p. 4438.
  5. ^ Buckler 1968, p. 66.
  6. ^ Buckler 1968, pp. 67–68.
  7. ^ Buckler 1968, p. 71.
  8. ^ The Chicago Tribune 1891, p. 3.
  9. ^ The Chicago Daily Tribune 1892, p. 6.
  10. ^ Majors 1893, p. 348.
  11. ^ a b Sims 2016.
  12. ^ Cutler 1896, p. 118.
  13. ^ The Bystander 1898, p. 4.
  14. ^ The Times-Picayune & August 13, 1899, p. 8.
  15. ^ The Times-Picayune 1900, p. 12.
  16. ^ The Times-Picayune & May 12, 1899, p. 3.
  17. ^ Reynolds 1901, pp. 22–23.
  18. ^ The Colored American 1900, p. 7.
  19. ^ The Evening Times 1900, p. 8.
  20. ^ Warfield & Fleetwood 1901, p. 112.

Bibliography edit

  • Buckler, Helen (1968). Daniel Hale Williams Negro Surgeon (2nd ed.). New York, New York: Pitman Publishing Corporation. OCLC 970934268.
  • Cutler, H. G. (1896). Woman's Medical School, Northwestern University (Woman's Medical College of Chicago): the institution and its founders: class histories, 1870-1896. Chicago, Illinois: H. G. Cutler, Publisher. OCLC 786274800.
  • Majors, Monroe A. (1893). Noted Negro women, their triumphs and activities (Reprint 1971 by Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Donohue and Henneberry. ISBN 0-8369-8733-0.
  • Reynolds, Louis H. (July 1901). Browne, Hugh; Kruse, Edwina; Walker, Thomas C.; Moton, Robert Russa; Wheelock, Frederick D. (eds.). "Public Spirit Among Our People". Annual Report, Hampton Negro Conference. 5. Hampton, Virginia: Hampton Institute Press: 19–24. hdl:2027/chi.14025704. Archived from the original on 2018-10-26.
  • Royster, Jacqueline Jones (2003). Profiles of Ohio Women, 1803-2003. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-8214-1508-5.
  • Sims, Ron (February 20, 2016). "Remembering Graduates of the Northwestern University Woman's Medical School". Galter Health Sciences Library. Chicago, Illinois: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  • Warfield, W. A.; Fleetwood, Sara I. (July 1, 1901). "Report of Training School for Nurses". Report of the Freedmen's Hospital to the Secretary of the Interior (Report). Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  • U. S. House of Representatives (2001). Congressional Record, V. 147, Pt. 3, March 8, 2001 to March 26, 2001. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160749636. GGKEY:3F50QNXHQD4.
  • "Colored Nurses Graduate". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. July 17, 1900. p. 12. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Dr. Emma A. Reynolds". Washington, D. C.: The Colored American. October 13, 1900. p. 7. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Four Nurses Are Graduated". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. October 28, 1892. p. 6. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Freedman's Head Nurse". Washington, D. C.: The Evening Times. October 26, 1900. p. 8. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "History-Emma Reynolds". The Provident Foundation. Chicago, Illinois. 2014. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  • "Hospital for Colored People". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. May 5, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  • "Mrs. Emma A. Reynolds, M. D." The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. August 13, 1899. p. 8. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953". FamilySearch. Columbus, Ohio: Bureau of Vital Statistics. March 1, 1917. file no. 14411-17270, 1917. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  • "The Temperance Cause". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. May 12, 1899. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
  • "(untitled)". Des Moines, Iowa: The Bystander. July 15, 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2017 – via Newspapers.com.  
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