Mary Seacole 1805 1881 Early Life Born nee

Mary Seacole 1805 -1881

Early Life Born, nee Mary Jane Grant, in Kingston, Jamaica in 1805. � Father was a Scottish soldier. � Mother was a black Jamaican woman who was skilled in medicine. � Mary began to earn medicinal knowledge working in her mother’s boarding houses. First learning on dolls, pets, then humans. � Married Edwin Horatio Seacole in 1836. �

Medical Training � Mary & Edwin made trips to the Bahamas, Haiti, & Cuba, where she acquired more medical training. � After Edwin died, she traveled to Panama to help during the cholera epidemic. � She also traveled back to Jamaica to tend to British soldiers that had contracted yellow fever.

The Crimean War 1853 -1856

Mary to the Rescue? � When the war broke out in 1853, Mary traveled to London with the hopes of joining Florence Nightingale’s team to help the wounded soldiers. � But even with all of her training, Mary was rejected…. most likely due to her ethnicity.

Mary’s Mission � She traveled to Crimea at her own expense. � With the help of Thomas Day, a relative of her late husband, she founded the British Hotel, “a mess-table and comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers”. � It provided housing, food, supplies, and medicines to the troops.

A Depiction of The British Hotel

A Hero to her Friends & Foes � Mary used her medicinal knowledge to help care for the wounded and sick, especially to those with cholera and dysentery. � Her knowledge also helped her to gain special access, allowing her to tend to wounded soldiers on both sides of the war. � Most of her work was done on the battlefield.

Was Mary a Forgotten Hero? � In 1856, after the war ended, Mary traveled back to London. � She had saved thousands of lives, given freely to the soldiers & had been a hero but now…. . � Due to the expenses that she had incurred during the operation of the British Hotel, she was bankrupt.

A Turn for the Better The local newspaper, ”The Times, ” caught wind of her plight and published her story. � With the backing of Lord Rokeby, Lord Paget, and a very grateful British Army, The Seacole Fund was founded. � In 1857, her autobiography, “Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands”, became a bestseller. � These fundings allowed her to live comfortably once again. �

Her Autobiography

Feature in Punch Magazine

The Death of Mary Seacole died in her home in 1881. � � The cause of death was listed as apoplexy, or unconsciousness from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke.

Truly A Forgotten Hero � While Mary was well known during the end of her life, she was soon forgotten after she died. � The work of Florence Nightingale overshadowed her, and many say that it is because of her race.

Recognition � In the 1970’s, Mary was brought back into the limelight, & became an iconic symbol for black nurses, overcoming racial discrimination, civil right’s activists, and the women’s liberal movement. � She was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in 1991. � Plaques were posted at her residences in Soho Square and Westminister.

Recognition � In 2004, she was voted #1 on the list of 100 Great Britons. � In 2007, she was included into the National Curriculum. (But not without a lot of debate!) � In 2015, a statue of Mary Seacole is slated to be erected at the St. Thomas Hospital in London. (Pending appeals)

The Proposed Statue for St. Thomas Hospital

Residence Plaques

The Only Known Photograph of Mary Seacole, circa 1873.

“I do not pray to God that I may never see its likes again, for I wish to be useful all my life. ” Mary Seacole

“…. and the grateful words and smile which rewarded me for binding up a wound or giving a cooling drink was a pleasure worth risking life for at any time. ” Mary Seacole

Works Cited � http: //www. sciencemuseum. org. uk/brou ghttolife/people/maryseacole. aspx � http: //www. britannica. com/EBchecked/to pic/973210/Mary-Seacole � http: //www. encyclopedia. com/topic/Mary _Seacole. aspx