Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to Linda Richards Correspondence

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0221
Creators:
Richards, Linda, 1841-1930 (nurse)
Dates:
1886-1890
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.15 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:
Linda Richards was the first woman nurse trained in the United States at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. When these letters were written, she was a missionary nurse and the head of the first training school for nurses in Japan.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of six letters written by Miss Richards to three friends. The letters relate to Miss Richards' work as a missionary nurse and head of the first training school for nurses in Japan. Typewritten copies of each of the letters are a part of the collection.
In her letters, Miss Richards describes what she is doing both as a nurse trainer and a missionary in Japan. She gradually masters the language enough to work in the hospital but finds evangelizing among rural people requires an interpreter. She complains often about her own health - particularly colds and abscessed ears. Subjects include primarily personal information and missionary work, not nursing or nursing education.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Linda Richards was the first woman nurse trained in the United States at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. When these letters were written, she was a missionary nurse and the head of the first training school for nurses in Japan. An e-mail from Donna Bellemare, 7/17/06, refers to her as Melinda Ann (Linda) Richards.

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Custodial History
Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Medical Sciences (now Division of Medicine and Science), August 4, 1986.
Processing Information
Collection processed by NMAH Staff, undated

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Linda Richards Correspondence, 1886-1890, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Medical sciences -- 1880-1890 -- Japan Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nursing -- 1880-1890 -- Japan Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Missionaries -- 1880-1890 -- Japan Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nurses -- 1880-1890 -- Japan Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Letters (correspondence) -- 1880-1890 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women missionaries -- 1880-1890 -- Japan Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Japan -- 1880-1890 Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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