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Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association Records

Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing was founded in 1873 and closed in 1969. It was the first school in the United States patterned on Florence Nightingale’s principals of nursing education. Nurses trained at the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing took courses in and affiliated with hospitals that focused on psychiatric/mental health nursing. The historical materials of the Bellevue School of Nursing Alumnae Association include records about and from alumnae (including many of the most influential nursing leaders) of the closed School of Nursing in New York, NY, photographs, student uniforms, and yearbooks. Of particular interest are photographs of Bellevue Hospital and the School of Nursing over the course of the School’s history. The alumnae papers also include information about military nursing in World War II, especially the papers of Thelma J. Ryan. Coverage of the Mills School of Nursing (for male nurses) and the Bellevue School for Midwives is limited.

Index code: MC19

Finding Guide:

Finding Aid for the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association Records, 1873-2010   (MC19)

Compiled by Amalia Beisler, Archivist 2003

 

VOLUME: 41.00 cubic feet (including 8 textile boxes)
ACQUISITION: The items in this collection were donated by members of the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association in multiple accessions.
ACCESS: This collection is open to the public by appointment.
COPYRIGHT: Please consult the repository for information about duplication or publishing of any materials from this collection.
PREFERRED
CITATION:		 Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association Records, 1873-2010 (MC19), Bellevue Alumnae Center for Nursing History, Foundation of New York State Nurses, Guilderland, NY

 

Table of Contents

 

Administrative History

 

School Administrators

1873-1876 Sister Helen Bowdin of the All Saints Sisterhood, Superintendent of Nurses
1876-1888 Eliza Perkins
1888-1902 Agnes S. Brennan (formerly Assistant Superintendent under Eliza Perkins; Class of 1882)
1902-1907 Jane A. Delano (Class of 1886)
1907-1910 Annie W. Goodrich First to hold the title of Superintendent of the Training Schools for Nurses attached to Bellevue and Allied Hospitals [included Fordham, Gouverneur, and Harlem Hospitals]. This was the result of the 1906 New Charter of the City [of New York], in which the Society of the Training School agreed to be responsible for supplying the nurses for Bellevue and Allied Hospitals, with the city providing living accommodations and board.
1910-1915 Clara D. Noyes
1916-1920 Amy Hilliard
1920-1921 Carrie J. Brink (Class of 1893) formerly Assistant Superintendent, for previous 25 yrs.)
1921-1925 Catherine DeLong
1925-1935 Marian Rottman (Fleming) Principal of Bellevue Schools of Nursing (Class of 1912)
1935-1951 Blanche E. Edwards Director of the Bellevue Schools of Nursing and Nursing Service of Bellevue Hospital (Class of 1920)
1951-1957 Irene Robertson Youtz (Class of 1930)
1957-1966 Thelma J. Ryan (Director) (Class of 1927)
1966-1967 Cynthia R. Kinsella (Director) (Class of 1944)
1967-1969 Betty C. Kauffman (Director) (Class of 1947)

 

History

The Training School for Nurses attached to Bellevue Hospital opened in 1873, the first school in the United Stated to be run according to Florence Nightingale’s nursing principles. These principles, among other things, called for strict rules of hygiene and cleanliness, as well as having a staff of trained nurses supervised by a woman who would be in charge of nursing services in the hospital. Plans for the school began a year earlier, when a group of women, led by Louisa Lee Schuyler, concluded in a report to the State Board of Charities that the condition of the public hospitals of the City and County of New York was unacceptable. They proposed that a supply of trained nurses would greatly improve care in these hospitals, and formed a committee to look into the creation of a training school for nurses. The Chair of this committee was Mr. William Osborn and Dr. W. Gill Wylie was one of the school’s strong supporters on the medical staff at Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Wylie undertook a trip to Europe to visit nursing schools in England, France, and Germany and came home with many ideas and a letter of advice and support from Florence Nightingale.

After the committee convinced the Commissioners of the Board of Charities to allow them to administer nursing in five wards at Bellevue Hospital – on a trial basis only – the first six students were admitted to the Training School. The committee raised funds to cover the difference between what the Hospital’s cost would have been otherwise and the cost of training. Sister Helen Bowdin of the All Saints Sisterhood in London was hired as Superintendent. The first students in the 1870s lived at a residence at 314 East 26th Street. The success of this five-ward trial convinced the Commissioners that the school was a necessity, and nursing work was extended to all the wards of the hospital.

Early training involved only instruction in basic cleanliness, neatness, and attending to patient comfort, but by the late 1870s, doctors from Bellevue Hospital began to give lectures in Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. The Training School grew rapidly; by 1879 there were 63 enrolled students and more applicants than could be accepted. The first official building for the school, which included both classroom space and student rooms, opened in 1878 at 426 E. 26th Street. The building was purchased by Mrs. William Henry Osborn and leased to the Board of Managers of the Bellevue Training School for Nurses, and it was known initially as the “Nurse’s Home.”

The Bellevue school pin, designed by Tiffany & Co., was adopted in 1880 and worn by graduates; it portrayed a crane, representing vigilance, surrounded by a wreath of poppies, signifying the role of nurses of allaying pain and bringing rest to the suffering. The unbroken circle of blue, with the word “Bellevue” at the bottom, represented constancy.

There was no established uniform in the early years of the school, but by the 1880s the blue and white striped fabric was adopted as the uniform fabric, with the style left to the discretion of the individual student. Miss Euphemia Van Rensselaer is given credit for the introduction of the blue and white striped uniform. By 1900 the style of the uniform was standardized, and the Bellevue cap had become an established part of the uniform. The 1880s also saw the introduction of a registry of graduate nurses run by the Board of Managers at Bellevue Hospital.

In 1909 the nursing school and the student residence moved to a new building at 440 E. 26th Street. This building continued to be used until 1954. The former school building at 426 E. 26th Street was attached to a new six-story structure and renamed Osborn Hall in honor of the donors, Mr. and Mrs. William Church Osborn. This building was leased to the Alumnae Association, who managed the Alumnae Registry from there and served as a residence for graduate nurses. Osborn Hall also included a restaurant and an assembly room.

Bellevue Hospital was also the home for other schools in its early years. The Bellevue School for Midwives, the first official school for midwives in the United States, opened in 1911. The School for Midwives remained open until 1936. The Mills Training School for Men opened in 1888, as a school to train male nurses to work in men’s wards of hospitals. Mills closed in 1910 and reopened to students in 1920. The Mills and Bellevue Schools of Nursing merged under a single administration in 1929, becoming the “Bellevue Schools of Nursing.”

Bellevue Hospital and the nursing school felt the impact of World War I. In June 1916, Superintendent Clara Noyes initiated the enrollment of nurses for Base Hospital No. 1; in October, the work of the organization was transferred to Miss Brink. This unit was not called up until early 1918; on Feb. 25th, 1918, 65 graduates embarked on S. S. Olympic under Chief Nurse Beatrice M. Bamber. Back at Bellevue, Superintendent Amy Hilliard led the school through the difficult war years, as many nurses left to serve in the Armed Forces, and the city of New York suffered through an influenza epidemic that took the lives of eleven student nurses. In the immediate aftermath of WWI, enrollment fell and the hospital suffered from a considerable shortage of nursing staff. Miss Catherine DeLong led an intensive recruitment effort that paid off with a record enrollment for the entering class of 1923.

In 1929 the Department of Hospitals at Bellevue was reorganized; as part of this, the Board of Managers was relieved of the financial responsibility of running the Bellevue School of Nursing. In 1936, both the hospital and the school shifted to an eight-hour day rather than the twelve-hour day that had previously been in place. Four years later, in 1940, the school’s curriculum was also reorganized, with the introduction of different stages of study, with freshman, junior, and senior years. At this time the school also established an affiliation with the Henry Street Settlement for students interested in public health nursing.

During WWII, Bellevue signed on for the Cadet Nurse Corps program and enrolled nearly 600 Cadet Nurses over the course of the program. Bellevue also sent a unit to WWII, the 1st General Hospital, led by Chief Nurse Thelma J. Ryan. The Mills School closed to students for WWII. With the Cadet Nurse Corps in place, Bellevue admitted and graduated four classes a year. Mills reopened to male students in 1948. Under Blanche Edwards’ leadership, the Bellevue Schools of Nursing in 1942 introduced a baccalaureate program in conjunction with New York University, whereby students who so chose could do additional coursework to graduate with a degree from NYU. With the affiliation with NYU, the governance of the Schools became tripartite – New York City Department of Hospitals, the Board of Managers, and New York University, College of Medicine. A few years later, in 1947, Bellevue shifted to a forty-hour, five-day workweek for both student nurses and hospital staff.

The 1950s were a time of change for the Schools of Nursing. A twelve-week psychiatric nursing module was introduced to comply with the new requirements issued by the New York State Education Department. Affiliation with the Willard Parker Hospital (for communicable disease) was terminated in 1952, and at that time dealing with communicable diseases was integrated into the overall school curriculum. Four years later Bellevue Hospital opened its own Communicable Disease Unit, which opened up further opportunities for student experience. Students were also offered new opportunities to study in Pediatrics – the care of premature infants – and in Home Care. In 1957, Mills students were permitted to study obstetric nursing for the first time in Mill’s history.

In 1952, the administration of the Schools of Nursing and the Bellevue Hospital Nursing Service was split for the first time, with the creation of two new titles “Associate Director for the Schools of Nursing” and the “Associate Director for Nursing Service.” These positions remained under a single Director of the Bellevue Schools of Nursing and Nursing Service. Elsie Palmer was the first Associate Director of the Schools of Nursing. The “old 440” building that had contained the School of Nursing and student housing was demolished to make way for a larger, more modern structure to accommodate a larger student body; the new building opened in 1954. Also in 1954, the schools enrolled in the newly formed National Student Nurses Association. Joseph Barry, Mills Class of 1954, was the first Recording Secretary.

The Mills school name was brought back in 1958 when the Bellevue Schools of Nursing became the “Bellevue and Mills Schools of Nursing.” In 1959, the tradition of admitting students to both a Spring and a Fall class each year was discontinued, and the Schools began admitting just one class to enter in September. 1959 also marked the entry of the last class eligible for a Bachelor of Science degree at NYU.

In 1963 the curriculum was shorted from three years to two years and nine months to enable students to take the State Board examinations in July (rather than having to wait until November). At this time the school initiated discussions with Hunter College of the City University of New York about alternate types of nursing programs that might be possible. (NYU was approached first, given the university’s prior affiliation with Bellevue, but no agreement was reached.) Negotiations with Hunter College concluded with a contract signed in August 1967 that transferred the schools’ facilities to Hunter College, which would offer students a Baccalaureate Degree with four years of study. The contract became effective in September 1967, and no further students were admitted to the Bellevue and Mills Schools of Nursing after that date. The final diploma class graduated in 1969.

Prominent graduates include Isabel Hampton Robb, Lavinia L. Dock, Edith A. Draper, Jane A. Delano, and Lucy Minnigerode.

 

Alumnae Association

The Bellevue Alumnae Association was founded in 1889, and incorporated in 1898 as the Alumnae Association of the New York Training School for Nurses Connected with Bellevue Hospital, New York. In 1905 it was renamed the Alumnae Association of the Training School for Nurses Attached to Bellevue Hospital. Its final name change occurred in 1947 when it became the Alumnae Association of the Bellevue School of Nursing, Inc. It is the oldest association of graduate nurses in the United States, and in 1897 it was one of the ten societies which helped to form the Nurses’ Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada, a group that later became the American Nurses Association.

The Association was originally founded to “establish good fellowship, establish an annuity, and provide friendly and pecuniary assistance to nurses in time of need.” It initially managed funds to help nurses in need and managed a Registry to place nurses in private homes and in hospitals but by the 1940s it became more of a professional association, creating a scholarship fund and working to advance the profession of nursing on the behalf of the alumnae. Although the School of Nursing closed its doors in 1969 and there are no new members to be recruited, the Association continues to organize events and hold regular meetings and remains active today. In 2001, the alumnae successfully completed a $1 million endowment drive for the Center for Nursing History at the Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association, which was renamed, in their honor, the Bellevue Alumnae Center for Nursing History.

 

Scope and Contents Notes

The historical materials of the Bellevue School of Nursing Alumnae Association include records about and from alumnae of the closed School of Nursing in New York, NY,[1] photographs, student uniforms, and yearbooks. Of particular interest are photographs of Bellevue Hospital and the School of Nursing over the course of the School’s history. The alumnae papers also include a fair amount of information about military nursing in World War II, especially the papers of Thelma J. Ryan. There is limited coverage of the Mills School of Nursing (for male nurses) and the Bellevue School for Midwives.

The collection is divided into five series: Series 1, People; Series 2, Student Life; Series 3, Photographs; Series 4, Annual Reports; Series 5, Books.

Editions of the Bellevue Bulletin, the publication of the Alumnae Association, are currently being stored in the subject files drawer of the library.

 

Series Descriptions

Series 1: People
Files on individuals associated with the school, either as graduates or as administrators affiliated. Files are divided into the following categories and then arranged alphabetically by last name: Alumnae, Non-alumnae, War/military materials. Some folders include photographs. Includes four sub-series: the Edamay Bollenbach Bialko Papers, the Sonya Pawliw Papers and Memorabilia, the Sheldon Ornstein Papers and Memorabilia, and the Bonnie “Bunny” Bolker Adler Memorabilia.
Series 2: Student Life
Student life files document student activities both in and out of the classroom. The files include recruitment brochures that were sent to prospective students, yearbooks, student handbooks, and booklets, as well as some applications to Bellevue and some student exams. There are also a number of uniforms that span the history of the school, including two Mills School uniforms.
Series 3: Photographs
Photographs in the collection include class photographs dating back to the 1890s, individual portraits, images of Bellevue Hospital and the School of Nursing, and photographs of the Bellevue units that served in WWI and WWII. There are limited photographs from the Bellevue School for Midwives.
Series 4: Annual Reports
Annual reports of the Board of Managers from 1899 to 1968 and for the Bellevue Alumnae Association from 1899-1910. Board of Managers reports include information about finances, staffing, curriculum, and events in the history of the Schools of Nursing. Alumnae Association Reports include information about membership, member activities, and association finances.
Series 5: Books
Includes books by Bellevue School of Nursing graduates and textbooks used for classes, mostly from the first half of the 20th century.
Series 6: Artifacts
Includes items from alumnae as well as from the alumnae association, such as a bell used to awaken students in the residence, a series of dolls dressed in Bellevue student uniforms, military memorabilia accumulated by alumnae.

 

Box and Folder List

Series 1: People

Box 1: Alumnae    (SEE ALSO Oversize Box 1, Folders 1 and 2) Folder:

  1. Abbot, Naomi W. 1917    (SEE ALSO Oversize Box 1, Folder 1 and Series 6, Artifact Box 1 – World War I Victory Medal)
  2. Bamber, Beatrice M. 1899
  3. Bohman, Madeline A. 1952
  4. Brennan, Agnes S. 1882
  5. Brennan, Rose Marie undated
  6. Brink, Carrie J. 1893
  7. Brink, Carrie J. 1893 (photos)
  8. Bryce, Abbie Hunt. 1881
  9. Byron, Myrtle J. 1929 (2 photos)
  10. Carpenter, Cora 1875
  11. Carter, Anita E. 1898
  12. Chichester, Harriet 1888
  13. Clarke, Mary A. 1886
    Conrad, Elizabeth 1913     (SEE ALSO Series 3: Photographs, Dental Clinic)
  14. Curtis, Mary McNair 1891
  15. D’Agostino, Muriel Knapp, 1942
  16. Damer, Annie 1885
  17. Darche, Louise 1884
  18. Delano, Jane A. 1886 (1959-1971)
  19. Delano, Jane A. 1886 Application to Training School for Nurses
  20. Delano, Jane A. 1886 Photographs
  21. Delano, Jane A. 1886 Published Materials and Programs
  22. Delano, Jane A. 1886 Records from Bellevue, 1919-1934
  23. Dennhardt, Loraine G. 1919 (photo)
  24. Dennis, Frances 1889
  25. Dock, Lavinia L. 1886 Correspondence, 1914-1949
  26. Dock, Lavinia L. 1886 Correspondence, writings, and photo, 1916-1944
  27. Dock, Lavinia L. 1886 Letter to Dock from Isabel Hampton Robb [undated]
  28. Dock, Lavinia L. 1886 “Life-Sketch in her own hand” 193[0?]
  29. Dock, Lavinia L. 1886 Writings by and about Dock; Dock’s copy of Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing.
    (SEE ALSO Oversize Box 2, Folder 2)
  30. Droge, Helen Moriarity 1939 Postcard; diploma in leather case, 1938 Crane and Cross; Graduation program, March 2, 1939; Program, Alumnae Day 1989, 1991; Bellevue Bulletin 1889-1989; Bellevue Bulletin, 1988-1989; “Certificado de Mérito,” 10 de mayo de 1965; color photograph of Class of 1939 at 50th Reunion
  31. Edwards, Blanche E. 1920 (2 photos)
  32. Ferguson, Vernice 1950
  33. Fowler, Frances 1877
  34. Floyd, Mary Fredericks 1934
  35. Freeman, Doris Eldredge 1921
  36. Goldsmith, Josephine Frances 1918
  37. Groen, Marion 1949
  38. Guidry, Lillian 1929
  39. Hanchett, Juliet N. (Dr.) 1880
    Harris, Naomi   SEE ALSO Abbot, Naomi
  40. Hart, Meredith 1883
  41. Hayden, Margaret M. 1930
  42. Hosch, Taimi Kivikko c. 1940 (photo)
  43. Jacobs, Hanna Y. (Dr.) 1889
  44. Joyce, Julia 1915 (2 photos)  (SEE ALSO Oversize Box 1, Folder 1)
  45. Kimber, Diana Clifford 1886
  46. Kinsella, Cynthia Rodstrom 1944 (photos)
  47. Laetitia, Sr. Mary 1925 (photos)
    Lauffenberger, Arline   (SEE ALSO Artifact Box 1- pin)
    Lightburn, Helene   (SEE ALSO Artifact Box 6 – pillow and pin)
  48. Louis, Marie 1907
  49. Loveridge, Emily Lemoine 1889
  50. MacLoren, Emma Thompson 1902
  51. Michaels, Mary Lach, undated
  52. Minnigerode, Lucy 1898
  53. Moffett, Lowella Koppel
  54. Morrissey, Alice B. 1923
Box 2
Folder:

    1. Moses, Lucille Blau, 1945
    2. Oakley, Lilian M., 1886 (photogravure)
    3. O’Brien, Carol Nicol, 1959 “50th Anniversary Book, Bellevue Class of 1959”
    4. Payne, Lulu B., 1924
    5. Pine, Alice, 1879
    6. Rich, Kate, 1877
    7. Robb, Isabel (Adams) Hampton, (1883)
    8. Rottman, Marian, 1912  (Newsprint items removed to Oversize Box 1, Folder 6)
    9. Russell, Rosalie, 1934 (née Beams)    (Newsprint items removed to Oversize Box 1, Folder 6)
    10. Rutledge, Theresa, 1909
    11. Saprichian, Sarra, 1933
    12. Shaw, Sarah E., 1896
    13. Shepard, John B., 1903  (SEE ALSO Series 6, Artifacts Box 3, Class notebooks, textbook; Oversize Box 1, Diploma; Oversize Box 2, Photographs)
    14. Sigman, Blanche F., 1929  (SEE ALSO Class of 1929 album dedicated to Sigman (1948); the album also includes info on military nursing in WWII, uniform pageants, and other things from 75th anniv. of Bellevue)
    15. Taylor, Elizabeth (Betty) Delores, 1956
    16. Taylor, Ruth Carol, 1955
    17. Tomaselli, Mary V., 1957
    18. Tracy, Julia R., 1932
    19. Traver, Adele A., 1882
    20. Turner, Anna R. 1890  (SEE ALSO Series 6, Artifact Box 1, Wooden box with awards; Series 4, Bellevue Alumnae Association Annual Report, 1901)
    21. Van Deusen, Dana, 1878
    22. Vient, J. Virginia, 1906
    23. Von Kurowsky Stanfield, 1917
    24. Wadley, Mary E., 1884
    25. Ward, Clara, 1887  (SEE ALSO Muriel Wright in Series 5: Books)
    26. Weinbaum, Harriet Yourke, 1964 (photo)   (SEE ALSO Textile Box 7)
    27. West, Susan, 1877
    28. Woodworth, Margaret 1885 (photos)   (SEE ALSO Oversize Box 1, Folder 2)
    29. Youtz, Irene R., (née Robertson), 1930 Class of 1929   (SEE Class of 1929 album dedicated to Blanche Sigman)

Non-alumnae

    1. Bowdin, Helen (Sister)
      South African Medical Journal 33:36, 18 August 1962
    2. Goodrich, Annie Warburton
    3. Nightingale, Florence. Copy of letter to Dr. Wylie (1872), miscellaneous materials about her life and influence.
      Original letter to Dr. Wylie in frame  (SEE Artifact Box 6)
    4. Nightingale, Florence. Miscellaneous materials about her life and influence.
    5. Nightingale, Florence. Letter from Nightingale to Mrs. Joseph Hobson, August 21, 1873.
    6. Noyes, Clara D.
    7. Noyes, Clara D. Letters from Noyes to Dr. Taliaferro Clark and to Miss Reading, 1916, 1919   (SEE ALSO Series 6: Artifacts Box 1 for badge from the 1947 Congress of the International Council of Nurses.)
    8. Nutting, Mary Adelaide
    9. Osborn, Alice Dodge
    10. Richards, Linda
    11. Schuyler, Louisa Lee
    12. Schuyler, Louisa Lee. Correspondence with Dr. Mary Forrester Hobart, 1915-1917. (re Bellevue’ status as the first professional nursing school in the U.S.)
    13. Tyndall, Rose Mary Murphy – “A History of the Bellevue School for Midwives: 1911-1936” (Part 1)
    14. Tyndall, Rose Mary Murphy – “A History of the Bellevue School for Midwives: 1911-1936” (Part 2)
    15. Wylie, Dr. Walker Gill
Box 3: War/Military Materials
SEE ALSO Series 1, Box 1: Alumnae. Some alumnae files contain information on military activities. Folder:

  1. Gardiner, Belva (Class of 1936) Excerpts from Diary and Photograph, World War II     (SEE ALSO Artifact Box 1 – pins and ring and MC 7)
  2. Ryan, Thelma J. Biographical material, 1946-1993
  3. Ryan, Thelma J. “1st General Hospital from Col. A.A. Albright’s files with pictures for identification”
  4. Ryan, Thelma J. “The 1st (U.S.) General Hospital, World War II, 1942-1945.” (Compiled in binder by T. J. Ryan)
  5. Ryan, Thelma J. “The 1st (U.S.) General Hospital, World War II, 1942-1945.” (Compiled in binder by T. J. Ryan)
  6. Ryan, Thelma J. 1st General Hospital – photographs
  7. Ryan, Thelma J. Diploma case, Bellevue School of Nursing, 1927
  8. Ryan, Thelma J. Diplomas, certificates, and other personal papers, 1927-1965
  9. Ryan, Thelma J. Distinguished Alumna Award from Bellevue Alumnae Association, 1992. (photographs)
  10. Ryan, Thelma J. Military documents, 1943-1945
  11. Ryan, Thelma J. Original newsclippings (copied and in original locations; includes issues of Starch & Stripes)
  12. Ryan, Thelma J. Photographs
  13. World War I    SEE ALSO Series 3: Photographs
  14. World War II    SEE ALSO Class of 1929 album dedicated to Blanche Sigman
  15. Yeakel, Catherine (1896). Letter about Mrs. Whitelane Reid and the Spanish-American War.
  16. Original news clippings   SEE ALSO Series 6, Artifact Box 1 – Bellevue Alumnae members and Bellevue graduates in the Armed Forces – Compiled by Olive A. Eroh [194?]

Sub-series 1: Edamay Bollenbach Bialko Papers, 1948

Box 1
Folder:

  1. Tuberculosis Theory notes, c. 1948
  2. Chest Surgery notes, c. 1948
  3. Psychiatry ward notes, c. 1948
  4. Handbook for Graduate Nurses, 1948
  5. Pediatrics notes, c. 1948
  6. Siphology and OPD notes, c. 1948
  7. Advanced Nursing notes, c. 1948
  8. Microbiology, Chemistry, and Pathology notes, c. 1948
  9. Medical Disease and Medical Nursing notes, c. 1948
Box 2
Folder:

  1. Nursing Arts notes, c. 1948 (1 of 2)
  2. Nursing Arts notes, c. 1948 (2 of 2)
  3. Surgery and Operating Room notes, c. 1948
  4. Anatomy notes, c. 1948
  5. Anatomy Laboratory notes, c. 1948
  6. Pamphlets and publications, 1947, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1976, 1981, 1986, undated
Box 3
Folder:

  • Bellevue cape, c. 1948
  • Pin: “Bellevue Salutes it’s Nurses” (sic), 1982
  • Bookmark
Box 4: Books
Folder:

  1. 1873-1923 Fiftieth Anniversary Bellevue Training School for Nurses. 1923
  2. The Alumnae Association of the Bellevue School of Nursing. Jostens Printing and Publishing: Topeka, KS, 1989.
  3. Bellevue: A short history of Bellevue Hospital and of the Training School. The Alumnae Association of Bellevue Pension Fund Committee: NY, 1915.
  4. Brown, Jo Probie. Nightingale Press: Rutherford, NJ, 1947.
  5. Carlisle, Robert J. An Account of Bellevue Hospital. The Society of the Alumni of Bellevue Hospital: NY, 1893. 1986 reprint.
  6. The Crane 1928, 1931
  7. Crane and Cross 1948, 1969
  8. Cutolo, Salvatore. Bellevue is My Home. Doubleday & Co.: Garden City, NY, 1956.
  9. Cutolo, Salvatore. Bellevue is My Home. Perma Books: NY, 1957. (paperback edition)
  10. Leek, Sybil and Glen A. Hillan. Inside Bellevue. Mason/Charter: NY, 1976.
  11. My Oath: Fiftieth anniversary publication of the Mills School of Nursing. Bellevue Hospital: New York, 1937.
  12. Rubin, Theodore Isaac. Miracle at Bellevue. MacMillan Publishing: New York, 1986.

Sub-series 2: Sonya Pawliw Papers and Memorabilia, 1965

Box 1
Folder:

  1. Article: Morrisey, Alice B. “Rehabilitation in Hemiplagia… Major Nursing Functions.” 1962
  2. Chase award, 1965
  3. Class notes: Biological-Physical Sciences, c.1963 (1 of 2)
  4. Class notes: Biological-Physical Sciences, c.1963 (2 of 2)
  5. Class notes: Nursing Foundations, c.1963
  6. Class notes: Pediatric Service, c.1963
  7. Class notes: Social Science, 1963
  8. Events programs, 1965, 1973
  9. Newsclippings, c.1965
  10. Nursing Foundations experience record, 1963-1964
  11. Receipt, 1964
  12. Report card, 1964
  13. Vaccination records, 1963-1964
  14. Photographs
Box 2
Artifacts and Books

  • Navy blue felt Bellevue School of Nursing pennant
  • Uniform with multiple aprons, cuffs and collars
  • Spare buttons
  • Brass Bellevue School of Nursing plaque mounted on wood
  • Bookmiller, Mae M. and George L. Bowen. Textbook of Obstetric Nursing. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1963.
  • Brown, Amy Frances. Medical Nursing. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1962.
  • Engeman, Jack. Student Nurse: Her Life in Pictures. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1958.
  • de Gutierrez-Mahoney, C.G. and Esta Carini. Neurological and Neurosurgical Nursing. St. Louis: The C.V. Mosby Company, 1960.
  • Rubin, Theodore Isaac. Miracle at Bellevue. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1986.

Sub-series 3: Sheldon Ornstein Papers and Memorabilia, 1959

Letter of Recommendation for entry into Bellevue-Hunter School of Nursing
18 textooks used in academic education
1 sterilizer used by Sheila Schuman Ornstein (Bellevue Class of 1958) in her job as a school nurse at Blessed Sacrament School, Jackson Heights, NY.

Sub-series 4: Bonnie “Bunny” Bolker Adler Memorabilia, 1965

Box 1
Bellevue Memorabilia: Graduate Pin, Class Ring, commemorative mugs, Crane and Cross 1963-1965, Centennial book, 8 Kodacolor™ slides (including pictures of Sonya Pawliw).
Nurse Midwife pin.
Cape   (SEE ALSO Textile Box 8)

Series 2: Student Life

Box 1
Folder:

  1. Announcement (information booklets about Bellevue and Mills Schools of Nursing), 1931-1936
  2. Announcement (information booklets about Bellevue School of Nursing), 1915-1916, 1924-1927, 1929
  3. Announcement (information booklets about Bellevue School of Nursing), 1937-1941
  4. Brochures for Bellevue and Mills Schools of Nursing, 1944-1953
  5. Brochures for Bellevue and Mills Schools of Nursing, 1954-1956
    Hospital newspapers: The Bellevuer, 1962-1963 SEE Oversize Box 2, Folder 3
  6. Student Handbook (F. Fuch’s copy), ca. 1909
  7. Student Handbook, 1934 (with map), 1935 (Mills School), undated, + bound volume with copies from the 1930s
  8. Student Handbook, 1952-1956
  9. Student Handbook, 1960-1965, undated
  10. Student newspapers: 4-Forty Winks, 1937 (3 issues)
  11. Student newspapers: Belle Views, 1945-46 (4 issues)
  12. Student newspapers: Starch and Stripes, 1955(?), 1963 SEE ALSO Oversize Box 2, Folders 4-5 (issues from 1955-1966)

Yearbooks

Note: All of the yearbooks published by the Bellevue School of Nursing are in this collection. The tradition was not well established in the 1920s, and publication was put on hold in the wake of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Box 2
Folder:

  1. 1921 – Bellevue (2 copies)
  2. 1922 – “September 1922” [class that graduated in1925]
  3. 1927 – The Owl
  4. 1928 – The Crane
  5. 1929 – The Crane
  6. 1930 – The Crane
  7. 1931 – The Crane
  8. 1932 – The Crane [damaged]
Box 3
Folder:

  1. 1938 – Crane and Cross
  2. 1939 – Crane and Cross
  3. 1940 – Crane and Cross
  4. 1941 – Crane and Cross
  5. 1942 – Crane and Cross
  6. 1943 – Crane and Cross
  7. 1944 – Crane and CrossNote: From 1938 onward, Bellevue yearbook includes Mills School of Nursing
Box 4
Folder:

  1. 1945 – Crane and Cross
  2. 1946 – The Crane
  3. 1947 – Crane and Cross
  4. 1948 – The Crane – 75th Anniversary
  5. 1949 – Crane and Cross
  6. 1950 – Crane and Cross
Box 5
Folder:

  1. 1951 – Crane and Cross
  2. 1952 – Crane and Cross
  3. 1953 – Crane and Cross
  4. 1954 – Crane and Cross
  5. 1955 – Crane and Cross
Box 6
Folder:

  1. 1956 – Crane and Cross
  2. 1957 – Crane and Cross
  3. 1958 – Crane and Cross
  4. 1959 – Crane and Cross
  5. 1960 – Crane and Cross
Box 7
Folder:

  1. 1961
  2. 1962
  3. 1963
  4. 1964
  5. 1965
  6. 1966
  7. 1967
  8. 1968
  9. 1969
  10. Mills 1931 – M.T.S. Annual
  11. Mills 1937 – “My Oath”

Uniforms

Textile Box 1 (stripes are originals, but aprons are probably facsimiles)

  • 1873 outfit typical of that worn
  • 1875 black mourning dress
  • 1875 grey calico (summer “uniform”)
  • 1890 Bellevue stripes (leg-o-mutton sleeves)
  • 1900’s Bellevue stripes

Textile Box 2 (facsimiles)

  • 1875 blue calico (check)
  • 1880s – early 90’s Bellevue stripes
  • 1890 Bellevue stripes (leg-o-mutton sleeves)
  • Turn-of-the-century Bellevue stripes
  • 1900-early ’20s Bellevue stripes

Textile Box 3 (originals)

  • Pkg. #1
    • 1920’s (Helen Wago’s)
    • Pink probie
    • Public Health
    • White graduation
  • Pkg. #2
    • Student stripes 1930s-1950s
    • “Dress” stripes with long sleeves 1930s to early 1940s
    • Last student uniform 1959-69

Textile Box 4

  • World War I Nurse Corps: complete uniform with hat, overcoat, and high-button shoes

Textile Box 5

  • World War II Army Nurse Corps: complete uniform with hat, bag, shoes, boots & cape
  • Cadet Nurse Corps: summer uniform and winter bag
  • Navy Nurse Corps: complete uniform with hat

Textile Box 6

  • Bellevue School of Nursing blue wool cape
  • Mills “dress” uniforms: early 20th century; last student uniform

Textile Box 7

  • NYC Department of Health light blue and dark blue uniforms; polyester white duty uniform and shoes; graduate caps and carrier – all worn by Harriet Y. Weinbaum, 1960s-1980s.

Textile Box 8

  • Uniforms, cap, and cape worn by “Bunny” Adler, Elizabeth K. Gevas, and Ann Thomas.

Textile Box 9

  • Two capes. One worn by Lillian Nelson, 1949

 

Series 3: Photographs

SEE ALSO Series 1: People and Oversize Box 1

Box 1

  1. Bandaging class, 1920s
  2. Bellevue Hospital 1873-early 1900s (incl. Alms House 1736)
  3. Bellevue Hospital ca. 1919
  4. Bellevue Hospital ca. 1920
  5. Bellevue Hospital ca. 1920
  6. Bellevue Hospital 1930s – 1975(?)
  7. Bellevue Hospital ca. 1960(?) [photos by Marilyn Mitchell]
  8. Bellevue Hospital – Building and Interiors 1975
  9. Bellevue Hospital – Building and Interiors 1975
  10. Bellevue Hospital – Building and Interiors 1975
  11. Bellevue Hospital staff 1930s
  12. Bellevue School for Midwives
  13. Bellevue School for Midwives (incl. photocopies)
  14. Cap and pin
  15. Class photograph 1921 (damaged)
  16. Class photographs 1893, 1903, 1918, 1922, 1926, 1927, undated
    Class photographs SEE ALSO Oversize Box 1, Folders 4 and 5
  17. Dental clinic, with Elizabeth Conrad 1913
  18. Dock, Lavinia L. with group at Atlantic City ICN May 13, 1947
  19. Individuals (in uniform) 1875-1900s
  20. Individuals (in uniform) 1900s
  21. Individuals (in uniform) 1900s
    Individuals (in uniform) SEE ALSO poster from “Sentimental Women Need Not Apply” in Oversize Box 2
  22. Individuals (no uniform) 1879, 1889
Box 2
Folder:

  1. Lee, Lucille – various photos and slides of students, undated
  2. Lister, Jeanie H. (1924) – Pages from photo album
  3. Mills School for Men
  4. Nurses Residence 1877-1954
  5. Nurses Residence 1954-1969
  6. Nurses Residence 1954-1969
  7. Nurses Residence 1954-1969 (includes uniform images)
  8. Public health nurses, 1880s or 1890s
  9. Student life 1900-1930s
  10. Student life 1950s-1960s
  11. Student life 1950s-1960s
  12. Uniform pageants
  13. World War I
    SEE ALSO Oversize Box 2, Folder 6
  14. World War II – 1st General Hospital
    SEE ALSO panoramic photograph of 1st General Hospital Unit, on shelf
  15. World War II – 1st General Hospital, Florence Hosenfeld album
  16. Copies and copy negatives of selected photographs
  17. Bellevue SON, 1965: Seven slides with images of Camille Cantarella, Mrs. Burkhar(d)t, two groups of students, Belva Gardner with key to images

Series 4: Annual Reports

Box 1
Folder:

  1. Bellevue Alumnae Association Annual Report, 1899-1910
  2. Board of Managers Annual Report, 1959-1962
  3. Board of Managers Annual Report, 1963-1968
  4. Board of Managers Annual Report, bound copies:
    • 1900-1909
    • 1910-1919
    • 1920-1929
    • 1930-1939
    • 1940-1949
    • 1950-1959

Series 5: Books

Box 1

  • Bellevue Alumnae Association. Alumnae Association Annual Reports: 1899-1909. New York. (See Series 4, Folder 1)
  • Bellevue Alumnae Association. Bellevue School of Nursing: Roster of Graduates. New York: , 1938.
  • Bellevue Alumnae Association. Bellevue Training School, 50th Anniversary for Nurses 1873-1923. New York. (2 copies)
  • Bellevue Alumnae Association. Centennial Booklet. New York, 1989.
  • Bellevue Alumnae Association. A Short History of Bellevue Hospital and Training School. New York: 1915.
  • Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. London: F. Warne & Co., Nov. 1882, Apr. 1883.
  • Cooper, Page. The Bellevue Story. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1948. (A2004-44)
  • Cutolo, Salvatore. Bellevue is My Home. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1956.
  • Engeman, Jack. Student Nurse. New York, NY: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1958. Seventh printing, June, 1967.
  • Felter, Robert K. and West, Frances. Surgical Nursing. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company, 1938.
  • Giles, Dorothy. A Candle in Her Hand. New York: Putnam, 1949.
  • Gold, Don. Bellevue: A Documentary of a Large Metropolitan Hospital. New York: Harper & Row, 1975.
  • Hobson, Elizabeth Christophers. Recollections of a Happy Life. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916.
  • Keaney, George. Bellevue: A Series of Articles. : , 1945. Reprinted from the New York World Telegram.
  • Maynard, Lorraine. Bellevue. New York: Julian Messner, 1940.
  • Starr, John. Hospital City. New York: Crown, 1957. (2 copies)
  • Tjomsland, Anne. Bellevue in France, Anecdotal History of Base Hospital #1. New York: Froben Press, 1941.
  • Crane and Cross, 1942 (duplicate copy)

Box 2

  • A Manual for Nursing. New York: G.P. Putnam, 1878. Compiled/developed under the aegis of the Board of Managers of the Training School for Nurses Attached to Bellevue Hospital. [2 copies??]
  • Bradshaw, Marjorie. The Doll House: Story of the Chase Doll. 1988.
  • Connecticut Training School. Handbook of Nursing. Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott, 1884.
  • Division of Nursing, Department of Hospitals. Standard Nursing Procedures. New York: Macmillan, 1943.
  • Dock, Lavinia. Materia Medica for Nurses. New York: G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1892.
  • Dock, Lavinia. Materia Medica for Nurses. New York: G.P. Putnam & Sons, 1894. [Belonged to Theresa Cox 1885.]
  • Dock, Lavinia L. and Isabel Maitland Stewart. A Short History of Nursing. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1931. In Korean: Korean edition printed at the Chang Mon Sa, Seoul, Korea, 1933.
  • Fullerton, Anna M. Surgical Nursing. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston’s Son, 1899.
  • Hill, Dorothy Dix. Textbook of Nursing Procedures, Bellevue School of Nursing. New York, Macmillan, 1923. [1921 graduate; based on Carrie Brink’s procedures.]
  • Hobson, Elizabeth Cristophers. Recollections of a Happy Life. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916. (With an introduction by Louisa Lee Schuyler.)
  • Keen, [William W.]. Gray’s Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical. 1887. 11th edition. [Title page missing; appears to have belonged to Carrie J. Brink]
  • Kimber, Diana Clifford. Text-book of Anatomy and Physiology for Nurses. New York: Macmillan, 1897. [Inscribed by author to Estelle M. Valentine, 1888 graduate.]
  • A Manual of Nursing prepared for the Training School for Nurses, attached to Bellevue Hospital. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, undated Putnam’s Handy Book Series of Things Worth Knowing, No. XVII. NOTE: title page missing, but author probably Victoria White, M.D. and revised by Mary Putnam Jacobi, MD.
  • McIsaac, Isabel. Primary Nursing Techniques. New York: Macmillan, 1908.
  • Morrissey, Alice B. Rehabilitation Nursing. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1951.
  • Nast, Minette. Simplified Drugs and Solutions for Nurses. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby, 1964. [Signed by author.]
  • Nutting, M. Adelaide and Lavinia L. Dock. A History of Nursing. Berlin: Rermer & Vohsen, 1911. German edition
  • Pfefferkorn, Blanche and Marian Rottman. Clinical Education in Nursing. New York: Macmillan & Co., 1932.
  • Richards, Linda. Reminiscences of Linda Richards. Boston: Barrow, 1929.
  • Stewart, Isabel M. and Anne L. Austin. A History of Nursing from Ancient to Modern Times. New York: Putnam, 1962. 5th edition.
  • Rice, Edith M. 2 booklets originally belonging to Miss Lillian Frankenheim (1906). [Donated by Margaret Taylor Ritchie, Class of 1946.]
    “If I Forget”. New York: Lakeside Publishing, 1910.
    Solutions. New York: Lakeside Publishing, 1909.
  • Robb, Isabel Hampton. Nursing: Its Principles and Practice. Cleveland: E.C. Koeckert, 1907. 3rd Edition.
  • Roberts, Mary M. American Nursing, History and Interpretation. New York, Macmillan, 1954.
  • The Bellevue Hospital Nomenclature of Diseases and Conditions adopted by the Board of Trustees, 1908, revised 1911. [donated by Franklin Ober, Mills School Class of 1963]
  • Weeks, Clara S. Text Book of Nursing. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1886.
  • Weeks, Clara S. Text Book of Nursing. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1885. [Annie Damer’s copy)
  • West, [Charles]. How to Nurse Sick Children. New York: Samuel S. & William Wood, 1855.
  • Whitley, Nancy Nolan. Reveille & Redemption. New York: J. P. Lippincott, 2001. [Graduate class of 1964]
  • A Manual of Clinical Obstetrics.  New York: J. P. Lippincott, 1985
  • Wright, Muriel H. Springplace Moravian Mission and the Ward Family. From the Genealogical notes of Miss Clara A. Ward and Other Sources. Guthrie, OK: Co-operative Publishing Co., 1940. [1887 graduate]

Series 6: Artifacts

SEE ALSO Oversize Box 1

On desk in lobby:

  • Bell
  • Lantern

On display:

  • Dolls in period uniforms

Box 1

  • 2 nurses kits: Mary B. Rappaport, Class of 1922 and Ivy Cunningham
  • 1944 Nursing pin
  • Anna Turner box and medals
  • Architect’s drawing of hospital
  • Arline Lauffenberger’s pin, Class of 1931
  • Bellevue Alumnae members and Bellevue graduates in the Armed Forces – Notebook compiled by Olive A. Eroh [194?]
  • Belva M. Gardiner’s pin and ring, Class of 1936, Pi Lambda Theta pin (in orginial box) dated 1948
    Monogram pin (obverse) inscribed “A.M.C.S.N. Faculty, 1974” (on her retirement) [Slingerland, A2008-15]
  • Framed Class of 1876 photograph
  • Gavel, Bellevue Alumnae Association. Reported to be made of wood from Mount Vernon.
  • Medallion (paperweight?–1973) and ashtray (1948) with Bellevue seal [Hamje A2002-32]
  • B. Moran’s pin, Class of 1944
  • Pin and ring, Joan M. Roche, 1956
  • One student pin originally belonging to Anna L. Harkness, 1902 [Candler A2003-33]
  • One badge from the 1947 Congress of the International Council of Nurses
  • 3 caps
  • WWI Victory Medal given to Naomi W. Abbott, Class of 1917
  • Key chain in black box, souvenir of 50th annual alumnae day, 2006
  • Memorabilia from Class of 1958 “50th Year” Reunion, 2008.  Large framed proclamation from Borough of Manhattan President (located at F-4-5).
  • Large framed proclamation from Borough of Manhattan President Gale Brewer, May 18, 2019, ‘Bellevue Alumni Appreciation Day’ (located at F-4-5).
  • Pin from May 18, 2019 reunion

Box 2

  • Class of 1929 album dedicated to Blanche Sigman
  • List of the attendees and table seating assignments, Bellevue SON Alumnae Association 75th anniversary dinner, May 10, 1948
Box 3
Folder:

  • Class notebooks and textbook owned by John B. Shepard, 1903
Box 4
Folder:

  • Letter from Florence Nightingale to Dr. Wylie in metal and glass frame, 1872
  • Scrapbook compiled by Amy Reneke Coury, class of 1947, containing many high-quality photos, her academic record, information about the Cadet Corps, a detailed written narrative about her time at Bellevue, and a pin.
Box 5
Folder:

  • Lightbourne, Helene memorabilia: graduate pin and pillow with embroidered image of Bellevue cap, undated

Oversize Materials

Oversize Box 1

  • Artifact
    Needlepoint Bellevue seal, by Marjorie P. Doyle, Class of December, 1946
  • Folder 1
    • Series 1: Certificates, Abbot – Lowry
      • Abbot, Naomi W. (Naomi Harris) 1917     SEE ALSO Series 1, Box 1; Series 6, Box 1
      • Allen, Ethel. Registered Nurse certificate 1924
      • Atkinson, Florence B. Nursing diploma, 1912.
      • Howitt, Helen. 1923
      • Joyce, Julia. 1915     SEE ALSO Series 1 Box 1
      • Lowry, Margaret. 1918
  • Folder 2
    • Series 1: Certificates, Shepard – Woodworth
      • Shepard, John Benjamin 1903
      • Smith, Jennye Springer
        Grammar school 1905
        Nursing license 1924
      • Speight, Mary. 1903
      • Woodworth, Margaret.
        New York Training School for Nurses 1886
        Registered Nurse certificate 1909
        SEE ALSO Series 1, Box 1
  • Folder 3
    • Series 3: Bellevue Alumnae Association Events 1912, 1923, 1932, 1948, 1952, 1973
  • Folder 4
    • Series 3: Class photographs 1895 (damaged), 1903, 1913, 1918, 1920, 1924, undated (1912?)
  • Folder 5
    • Series 3: Class photograph 1925 (damaged); Hospital staff, undated
  • Folder 6
    • Series 6: Newsprint

Oversize Box 2

  • Folder 1
    • Series 1: Dock, Lavinia. Registration Certificate, 1904. (damaged)
  • Folder 2
    • Series 1: Hamje, Dorothy – Newsclippings about Bellevue Hospital
      Series 1: Floyd, Mary Fredericks – Framed photograph of the Class of 1934
  • Folder 3
    • Series 2: Hospital newspapers – The Bellevuer, 1962-1963
  • Folder 4
    • Series 1: Shepard, John B. Photographs, 1902-c. 1910
  • Folder 5
    • Series 2: School newspapers – Starch & Stripes 1955-1957
  • Folder 6
    • Series 2: School newspapers – Starch & Stripes 1958-1961
  • Folder 7
    • Series 2: School newspapers – Starch & Stripes 1961-1966
  • Folder 8
    • Series 3: World War I, Bellevue Hospital Unit
    • Series 6: Poster for film “Sentimental Women Need Not Apply”

Poster for Bellevue Hospital’s 250th Anniversary celebration (3 copies)

  • [1]  Bellevue Hospital still maintains official student records and transcripts. To get an official copy of a transcript, contact:

    Office of the Director of Nursing
    Attn: Verification
    Bellevue Hospital Center
    1st & 27th Street
    New York, NY 10016

Revisions:
Amalia Beisler, Archivist 2003
Rachel Donaldson, Archivist November, 2006

March, 2007
 

Gertrude B. Hutchinson, Archivist

 

 December, 2008

July, 2009

February, 2010

October, 2012

October, 2014
Susan Birkhead, Volunteer May, 2019

 

Additional archival materials on the history of Bellevue Schools of Nursing and New York University can be found at:

© 2001-2006 Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association, Inc.
© 2006-2017 Foundation of New York State Nurses, Inc.

 

Guide to Archival Records