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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)
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.
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Biographical Note

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.

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Content Description

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.

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Use of the Collection

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

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Administrative Information

Location of Collection

2b.2.8

Acquisition Information

Gift of Jean Mattson; received July 7, 1987

Related Materials

A nurse's uniform owned by Abbie Ewart is held by the MOHAI Collections Department (Acc. No. 1963.3071.4C-991)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Writings

    • Description: 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.

      Dates: 1917 December 23 - 1919 June 16
      Container: Folder 1
      Location: Writings
    • Description: 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.

      Dates: circa 1919
      Container: Folder 2
      Location: Writings
    • Description: 1987.60.3: Letter from Abbie Ewart to her mother

      Letter written while Ewart was on duty in France.

      Dates: 1918 October 26
      Container: Folder 2
      Location: Writings

  • Army papers

    • Description: 1987.60.4: Army Nurse Corp Record of Assignment and Pay of Abbie V. Ewart

      Duty at Evacuation Hospital No. 3, Treves, Germany

      Dates: 1919 February 16- May 21
      Container: Folder 3
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 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

      Dates: 1918 May 8
      Container: Folder 3
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 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.

      Dates: 1918 July 26
      Container: Folder 3
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 1987.60.7: Paper giving permission for leave from Base Hospital 47
      Dates: 1918 December 7
      Container: Folder 4
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 1987.60.8: Paper giving permission for leave from Base Hospital 47
      Dates: 1919 January 8
      Container: Folder 4
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 1987.60.9: Army Nurse Corps, War Department, record of assignment, pay and movements for Abbie Ewart
      Dates: 1918 March 14 - 1919 June 11
      Container: Folder 4
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 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

      Dates: 1919 August 31
      Container: Folder 4
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 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.

      Dates: 1919 June 9
      Container: Folder 5
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 1987.60.12: Travel order for Nurse Abbie Ewart for transport aboard the S.S. Imperator at Brest on June 11, 1919
      Dates: 1919 June 9
      Container: Folder 5
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 1987.60.13: Bill from Hotel West-End, Nice, France
      Dates: 1919 May
      Container: Folder 5
      Location: Army papers
    • Description: 1987.60.14: Menu for Thanksgiving dinner at Base Hospital 47, Beaune, France
      Dates: 1918 November 28
      Container: Folder 6
      Location: Army papers

  • Photographs

Finding aid prepared by Jody Hendrickson
2014

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