Mary Eliza Mahoney, RN

Mary Eliza Mahoney was born free to Charles and Mary Jane Steward Mahoney in 1845. Reports differ on whether the birth occurred in Boston or Dorchester and whether it was in April or May. The Mahoney's had relocated from North Carolina, a slave state, but records do not indicate whether they were formerly enslaved or free when they left.The family lived at 31 Westminster Street in Roxbury.

Very little is known of Mary's early life including whether she had siblings or a broader extended family, what her parents did for work, how and where she became educated. Even in free states, record keeping about everyday matters of people of African Descent was not considered important at that time.

Mary became  interested in nursing when she was a teenager. Instead of working as a  domestic for a family Mary chose to work at the newly (1863) opened New England Hospital for Women and Children. For fifteen years she cleaned,  cooked, did washing, observed and unofficially assisted nurses. This hospital, now the Dimock Community Health Center was the first institution to provide nurses' training. The nursing program was established by Dr. Marie Zakrzewska, one of the first women doctors in the United States.

In 1878 at the age of 33, Mary was the first woman of African Descent to be accepted in the sixteen month program. Student nurses attended lectures, observed and then were assigned practical duties in the surgical, medical and maternity wards and in the last four months did private duty care in patient's homes. As part of their sixteen hour a day, seven day a week program, student nurses also cleaned, washed and ironed. When Mahoney began the program, her class consisted of forty students. Only four received diplomas on August 1, 1879. Mahoney became the first African American graduate nurse.

Her excellent record at New England Hospital helped other black nurses gain admission, and by 1899, five of them graduated. Hospitals, however, refused to employ black nurses.

After graduation, Mahoney registered with the Nurses Directory in Boston and did private care nursing for the next thirty years. She served with  distinction and was much sought after outside of Boston and along the Eastern Seaboard. She insisted that nurses be treated as professionals and not be required to perform household chores in addition to their regular  duties. Patients were lavish with their praise of her skills as a caregiver.

In 1896, Mahoney became one of the original members of a predominately  white Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (later known  as the American Nurses Association or ANA) to work toward greater recognition of the skills of registered nurses. In 1908, she co founded the  National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) to assist nurses especially in the south who were being denied membership and protections of the older nursing associations. Mahoney gave the welcoming address at  its first convention.She was made a lifetime member of the NACGN in  1911 and served as the chaplain.

Mahoney also participated in the campaign for woman suffrage and in 1921, was one of the first women in line to vote after ratification of the  nineteenth amendment.

She never married or had children. Her nursing career ended in 1922  after serving as director of the Howard Orphan Asylum for black Children in Kings Park, Long Island, New York since 1911.

In 1923, Mahoney was diagnosed as having breast cancer. Her life of caring for others ended  on January 4, 1926. She is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts.

In 1936, the NACGN established the Mary Mahoney Medal in recognition of her outstanding contributions to nursing. When the NACGN merged with the ANA in 1951, it continued to bestow the reward biennially to individuals who worked to widen educational and career opportunities in nursing for minorities. In 1976, Mahoney was inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame and in 1993, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.