Eleanor Donaldson papers, 1909-1954

Eleanor Donaldson was born in 1874 and came to Oregon in 1900 from the County Down in Ulster, Ireland with her father James and her sister Annie and three brothers, Dave, Bill, and John (known as Jack and grandfather of donor Greg Donaldson). Annie was purportedly killed by a wagon. Dave and Bill settled in the Maupin, Oregon area on the Deschutes River. Jack was a ranch worker, shearing sheep and providing labor. He homesteaded in Bakeoven Canyon, just outside of Maupin. Jack married Lottie Crabtree.

Eleanor graduated from the St. Vincent School for Nurses in 1902. She enlisted in August 1917 with the Nurse Corps during WWI, and alongside Nurse Grace Phelps, served in the all-volunteer unit Base Hospital 46 as Acting Chief Nurse. She also later served as President of the Oregon State Nurses Association.

According to donor and great nephew Greg Donaldson, Eleanor remained single throughout her life. She may have spent some time with the Whitten family in the now extinct community of Kingsley. She passed away in October of 1954 at the age of 84. Her funeral was held on October 27 at J. P. Finley and Son's Rose Chapel, and she was buried at Kingsley Cemetery in Dufur, OR.