Fall 1992 VolS No I
IN SEARCH OF HrSTORICAL RESOURCES RELATING TO RELIG IOUS WOMEN AND NURSING MARY P TARBOX,
RN, EDD
Histori ans of nursing have long recoguized re ligiou. women' s infl uence on the developmeot of liuIsing . Thi s is seen in nearly every history of nursing text or overview usi ng words like these of Mary M. obert," American nurses are the iuherito of great traditions \ hich have come to II fr m military orders, Catholic and Angl ican sisterhoods, and from the Deaconess movement . " I Les oft ell de clared and as yet not fully recognized are the details of UlOse "great traditions," \ hose origins call be fo und in the cOlllltless untold stories aboUt the work of peci fic orders, their individw'll members, and the motives and methods that (hey emplo_ ed to inst ill those " traditi ons." Although my earl effol1s in doctoral reseru-cLl oLlnufsing by the Si~lers ofMerc in the United Stat s explored Ill any source ofrele ted historical dJtJ, conti nued reseJrch during the Lilliat holtis Brunner Sum mer Fellowship for Hi lorical Research ill Nursillg revealed man new ru \d ullIapped sources fo r add itional study. Tllis briefdescriptioll of the resources, revelations and frust[Jti t of uch research lIlay be of part icular interest to those who are, or wish to be, involved III si milar projects. 1t m<J also encourage others to pay closer atte ntion to the previou sly ment ioned "tradi tion ' " and tit ir infl uence on nurses aud nursing_ . cco unts of the \vorks of speci fic orders can b tound in significant Ilumbers within 111 privJte collections of the 0 deI'S, Llsuall y at the motherllOuse fr III which the work of the orde r is djrected. Once confI ned! the cloister of the motherhouse, these work are becomi ng more accessible to re earche rs. Books and monographs are ofte n the works of sisters \\1 110 wished to cloc uneu! the order's history (volun tarily or assigned) on Ibe occasion of an anlliver-ary of the orde r or of a spec itl c instituti on. These works were often inte nded to be r ad b membe of the orcler and more spec ifica lly b_ younger, newer memb rs so as to i.nspire their- continued loyalty and en thusiasill for the mi ssion of the orde r2 I
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Do ulllentati on of speci fi c details was often lacking due more to ine perienc than il1tent i o []~'l 1 negl Cl. p n care ful perusal of these commemorative works, one occasiOltall find inconsistencies ancl ~ m1rS iLl details. The primary documents that IlIa veri I detaIls ill very ofte n lo't , discarded, or never "xistecL Nonetheless, tJlese works do have val ue tor the researcher: as initial SOLU-ces for clironolog icJI accounts of si gn ifi cant events, as records of work conducted by specific member' or or ers, or as examples of the sources Mkl10wledge used by members of the order in reference to its progenitor, signifi cant leaders, and infl uent ial inst itut ions. In rece nt years h' toriaJls of re ligioll' orders ha e made effi rts to clarify and rectif apparent gaps in the reSOlIfces ava ilable.
Center for The Study of The History of Nursing UNIVERSITY
OF PENNSYLVANIA
SOIO L OF NUR I 'G
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Archi ves were often mandated in the constitutions and niles of specifi c orders. Many "vere maintained on a sporadic, runat lLr basis if at al l, unti l recent years wheu Uleir value has been more tillly realized botb by members of the orders at d outside researchers. The prese nt-day congregational archives have r ceived more ,ttent ion; ho ever, their maintenance is oft n rei gated to re tired memb rs or those \ it h other fUll-time respollSibilities. Si ters of Mercy archi vists ha ve Illost often been retired isters witll a sincere dev tion to collecting, maintaini ng, l111d catalog ing archival holdings, but with limited experie nce and time. As orders of re ligious women expanded, moved , renovated building' and bllil t new inst itutions, their historical documents \vere someti m lost or destroyed. In ome instances resources are scattered tlu'oughout various 1l10therhouse and ( cV lllilll/ cd () lIjW!j
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