![]() ![]() Mary was 33 years old at the time she applied to the program, her age being outside the requirement. Requirements for acceptance into the program at the New England Hospital included being between the ages of 21 and 31 years, having a good reputation of character, and being healthy and strong (Chayer, 1954). Getting into nursing school was not an easy task. While working as a nurse’s aide, Mary learned a great deal about the nursing profession, which only continued to fuel her personal desire of becoming a professional nurse herself (Spring, 2017). She had many jobs while working at the hospital which included being a washerwoman, a janitor, a cook, and she even worked as a nurse’s aide (Ungvarsky, 2016). Mary worked in the New England Hospital for 15 years, during which her passion and interest in nursing continued to grow (Ungvarsky, 2016). Founded in 1862, the goal of the fully female-staffed hospital was “to provide patients with competent female physicians, educate women in the study of medicine, and train nurses to care for the sick” (Wikipedia, 2021). Mary followed in the footsteps of those who came before her and began helping to care for women and children.ĭuring her teenage years, Mary worked at the New England Hospital for Women and Children (Spring, 2017). Many African American women, whether they were free or enslaved, would serve as untrained nurses, most often caring for other women (Ungvarsky, 2016). Mary had a long history of nursing in her heritage. It was while Mary attended school in her early years and throughout her teenage years that she developed an interest in nursing (Spring, 2017). At the age of 10 years old, Mary attended the Phillips Street School in Boston from the first grade through the fourth grade (Ungvarsky, 2016). Once segregated schools were outlawed in Massachusetts in 1855, the Phillips Street School, built in 1824 and named after Boston’s first mayor, John Phillips, became one of the first schools in Boston to become integrated (Tortorice, 2017). School for Black children was held in the basement of the church (Garry, n.d.). Built in 1806, the African Meeting House was predominately used as a place of worship, as African Americans were “generally not allowed to sit in the nave with white congregants” (Garry, n.d.). Department of the Interior, 2021 Tortorice, 2017). There was not an integrated school in Boston until 1855, so prior to that the African American children of Boston attended school at the African Meeting House (U.S. Discrimination and prejudice existed in Boston, though it was not nearly as prominent and profuse as it was in the South during that same time period. In 1850, the African American community in Boston was small, consisting of less than one percent of the population (Tortorice, 2017). This lesson proved to be very important throughout her life and is speculated to have driven her passion, profession, and political involvement in America (Ungvarsky, 2016). At a very early age, Mary learned from her parents the significance and importance of racial equality (Spring, 2017). Mary was the oldest of three kids and had a younger brother, Frank, and a younger sister, Ellen. Her parents were freed African American slaves who were originally from North Carolina, yet shortly after getting married they left and moved to Massachusetts to avoid prejudice and discrimination (Tortorice, 2017). Mary Eliza Mahoney was born to Charles and Mary Jane Mahoney in the Dorchester neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts on (Ungvarsky, 2016). Bennett, RN, MSN - Associate Professor - Utah Valley Universityįigure 1. ![]()
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