Archives West Finding Aid
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Abbie Ewart Watkins Army Nurse Corps Collection, 1916-1919
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Watkins, Abbie Ewart, 1889-1977
- Title
- Abbie Ewart Watkins Army Nurse Corps Collection
- Dates
- 1916-1919 (inclusive)19161919
- Quantity
- .21 cubic feet, (1 box)
- Collection Number
- 1987.60 (accession)
- Summary
- Collection of photographs, official documents, diary and ephemera related to Abbie Ewart Watkins' service as a military nurse during World War I
- Repository
-
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
- Languages
- English.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Kentucky-born Abbie Ewart (1889-1977) moved to Seattle with her family in 1907. The Ewarts built a house at 3160 Government Way, and Abbie's father Thomas, a Scottish immigrant, worked as a real estate agent with an office in the Leary Building. Abbie attended Broadway, Lincoln and Queen Anne High Schools, graduating from the latter in 1910. She then began her training as a nurse, graduating from Seattle General Hospital School of Nursing in 1913. After two years of caring for tuberculosis patients at Firland Sanatorium, Abbie Ewart opened a single-day surgery clinic in Seattle with another nurse. Ewart sold the surgery in late 1917 to begin training as a military nurse after the United States entered World War I. Seattle area nurses trained at Fort Lewis, then were transported to New Jersey and New York before shipping overseas for service. Ewart was assigned to Base Hospital No. 47 in France, and left New York in June 1918 on the White Star Line's SS Megantic, landing at Le Havre on June 28. Ewart served at Base Hospitals 47 and 43 in France in 1918, and at Evacuation Hospitals in Germany in 1919 before returning to New York in June 1919 on the SS Imperator, exactly one year from the day that she'd left.
In the diary that is part of the collection, Abbie Ewart often refers to a young man, Sam, dropping by to visit. This was Lt. Samuel C. Watkins, whose unit appears to have been stationed close to Ewart's, and whom Ewart knew from Seattle. After the war ended, Abbie Ewart married Sam Watkins, long-time engineer and water superintendent for the City of Aberdeen. The couple married on August 24, 1919 and moved to Aberdeen after Sam's discharge from the Army in September 1919. The couple had three children, all of whom entered the armed services. Abbie and Sam Watkins lived at various locations in Oregon and Washington while Sam served as civilian engineer with the army in the 1940s, before settling in Medford, Oregon. The couple retired and returned to Seattle in 1961. Sam Watkins died in 1969 and Abbie Ewart Watkins n 1977.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of items related to Abbie Ewart's service in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I. Ewart's diary entries capture the alternating boredom and exhaustion of work at an Army Base Hospital, describing long stretches of waiting interspersed with arrivals of hundreds of wounded men in one day. Her Army permits and record of assignment document the movement of her nursing units across Europe at various points during and after the war. The photographs document the working wardrobe of the Army nurses, including rain gear, outdoor uniforms and nurse outfits designed for travel on steamship.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.
Restrictions on Use
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Abbie Ewart Watkins Army Nurse Corps Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
WritingsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Folder | ||
1 | 1987.60.1: Abbie Ewert's diary
Diary of brief entries, not inclusive of all days in range, covering the period beginning shortly before
Abbie Ewart's entry into training at Fort Lewis through her return to Paris en route home to the U.S.
|
1917 December 23 - 1919 June 16 |
2 | 1987.60.2: Note cards removed from diary
Six 3 x 5 filing cards with notes by Ewart about the itinerary of her service, and on trips taken during
various leaves of absence.
|
circa 1919 |
2 | 1987.60.3: Letter from Abbie Ewart to her mother
Letter written while Ewart was on duty in France.
|
1918 October 26 |
Army papersReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Folder | ||
3 | 1987.60.4: Army Nurse Corp Record of Assignment and Pay of Abbie V.
Ewart
Duty at Evacuation Hospital No. 3, Treves, Germany
|
1919 February 16- May 21 |
3 | 1987.60.5: United States War Department Certificate of Identity for Abbie Viola
Ewart
Paper authorizing Ewart to accompany Base Hospital 47 in capacity as a nurse. Photo affixed to paper
|
1918 May 8 |
3 | 1987.60.6: Worker's permit for Abbie Ewart
Paper authorizing Ewart to work among the American troops at Base Hospital 43. In English and French
with photo affixed.
|
1918 July 26 |
4 | 1987.60.7: Paper giving permission for leave from Base Hospital 47 |
1918 December 7 |
4 | 1987.60.8: Paper giving permission for leave from Base Hospital 47 |
1919 January 8 |
4 | 1987.60.9: Army Nurse Corps, War Department, record of assignment, pay and movements
for Abbie Ewart |
1918 March 14 - 1919 June 11 |
4 | 1987.60.10: United States War Department Request for Transportation for Abbie
Ewart
Requesting transportation for Ewart from New York, New York to Seattle, Washington
|
1919 August 31 |
5 | 1987.60.11: Special Order from Headquarters, Hospital Center, Vannes,
France
For listed "Casual Nurses, Army Nurse Corps," including Ewart, to proceed to Brest, France, for
embarkation to the United States.
|
1919 June 9 |
5 | 1987.60.12: Travel order for Nurse Abbie Ewart for transport aboard the S.S.
Imperator at Brest on June 11, 1919 |
1919 June 9 |
5 | 1987.60.13: Bill from Hotel West-End, Nice, France |
1919 May |
6 | 1987.60.14: Menu for Thanksgiving dinner at Base Hospital 47, Beaune,
France |
1918 November 28 |
PhotographsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Folder | ||
7 | 1987.60.15: Four Army nurses in uniform in Gramercy Park, New York City
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Handwritten on verso: Brownie, Esther B., myself and Woodsie in Gramercy Park, New York, May '18. Out
door uniform. All Seattle nurses.
In this photo, "Brownie" is Ewart's friend Nell Brown, "Woodsie" is Adelaide Woods, and Esther B. is
Esther Backenclus.
|
1918 May |
7 | 1987.60.16: Three Army nurses in steamer uniforms
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Photograph shows friends Adelaide Woods, Abbie Ewart and Nell Brown.
|
1918 May |
7 | 1987.60.17: Abbie Ewart in Army nurse's steamer uniform on roof of Irving Hotel, New
York
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Handwritten on verso: Outfit to be worn on steamer - French cap, dark blue ulster & blue serge
dress.
|
1918 May |
7 | 1987.60.18: Abbie Ewart in Army nurse's rain uniform on roof of Irving Hotel, New
York
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Handwritten on verso: Rainy day outfit & poncho in place of rain coat.
|
1918 May |
7 | 1987.60.19: Abbie Ewart outdoors in Army nurse uniform
3.5 x 5.5 inches
|
circa 1919 |
7 | 1987.60.20: Abbie Ewart outdoors in Army nurse uniform
3.5 x 5.5 inches
Handwritten on verso: Abbie Ewart (Watkins) in Germany after 1st World War
|
circa 1919 |
7 | 1987.60.21: Group of Army nurses, including Abbie Ewart, and soldiers posed
outdoors
3.5 x 5.5 inches
|
circa 1919 |
7 | 1987.60.22: Group of Army nurses posed outdoors
3.5 x 5.5 inches
Handwritten on verso: World War I - Army nurses Unit #47 Base Hosp. Abbie Ewart on far left, Nell Brown
second from right, Adelaide Woods far right.
|
circa 1919 |
7 | 1987.60.23: Photo postcard of Firland Sanatorium
3.5 x 5.5 inches
Mailed to Alta Ewart from Abbie Ewart with message.
|
1914 |
7 | 1987.60.24: Abbie Ewart in nurse uniform
2.5 x 4.5 inches
This photo shows Ewart in uniform prior to her military service.
|
circa 1916 |
7 | 1987.60.25: Nurse Abbie Ewart and other nurses at a surgery table
3.5 x 5.5 inches
This photo shows Ewart at work before Army service, perhaps in the outpatient surgery she owned prior to
the war.
|
circa 1916 |
7 | 1987.60.26: Portrait of Abbie Ewart in Army nurse's outdoor uniform
4 x 7 inches
|
1918 |
7 | 1987.60.27: Studio portrait of Abbie Ewart
Hamilton
, Seattle
(photographer)
3.5 x 2.5 inches
|
circa 1915 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Military nursing
- Nurses - American - 1910-1920
- World War, 1914-1918 - People
Personal Names
- Watkins, Abbie Viola Ewart, 1889-1977
Form or Genre Terms
- Diaries
- Photographic prints