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.
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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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.
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
Abbie Ewart Watkins Army Nurse Corps Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Gift of Jean Mattson; received July 7, 1987
A nurse's uniform owned by Abbie Ewart is held by the MOHAI Collections Department (Acc. No. 1963.3071.4C-991)
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
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.
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.
Letter written while Ewart was on duty in France.
Duty at Evacuation Hospital No. 3, Treves, Germany
Paper authorizing Ewart to accompany Base Hospital 47 in capacity as a nurse. Photo affixed to paper
Paper authorizing Ewart to work among the American troops at Base Hospital 43. In English and French with photo affixed.
Requesting transportation for Ewart from New York, New York to Seattle, Washington
For listed "Casual Nurses, Army Nurse Corps," including Ewart, to proceed to Brest, France, for embarkation to the United States.
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.
Photograph shows friends Adelaide Woods, Abbie Ewart and Nell Brown.
Handwritten on verso: Outfit to be worn on steamer - French cap, dark blue ulster & blue serge dress.
Handwritten on verso: Rainy day outfit & poncho in place of rain coat.
Handwritten on verso: Abbie Ewart (Watkins) in Germany after 1st World War
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.
Mailed to Alta Ewart from Abbie Ewart with message.
This photo shows Ewart in uniform prior to her military service.
This photo shows Ewart at work before Army service, perhaps in the outpatient surgery she owned prior to the war.