Monthly Nurse

[Browneyes]

Erm...is there a reason why there's not a topic heading in occupations for medical occupations or have I just not looked properly?

I discovered that my Great Grandmother was a monthly nurse. Her job was to 'attend women during the first month after childbirth, aka 'Confinement Nurse'. Sometimes also listed as Subsidiary Medical Services (S.M.S.).

She was widowed sometime between 1891 and 1901 and is marked as 'sick' on the 1901 census but I can't find out if she received a pension/assistance and am assuming that one daughter who worked and lived elsewhere as a servant and one son who worked on the railway in Swindon sent money back to her...she had two daughters living with her who I guess were looking after her but aren't shown to be working. She lived in Cornwall with the two daughters and I'm a bit puzzled she managed to stay in her house if the three of them had no income. Her husband had been a carpenter.

Browneyes

[busyglen]

Erm...is there a reason why there's not a topic heading in occupations for medical occupations or have I just not looked properly?


Browneyes

Could be that nobody has had a specific medical occupation query up to now or have asked a question on the general forum. As queries have been raised new headings have been set up, but there are so many occupations, it would be impossible to name every one.

I've had a look around, but can't find out if the Monthly Nurses had a pension.
So far, it doesn't look like it, but I would have thought that they would have had a reasonable income. Possibly the daughters were doing odd jobs and didn't register the fact on the Census?

Glenys

[ET in the USA]

She was widowed sometime between 1891 and 1901 and is marked as 'sick' on the 1901 census

Just a random thought. When you say she was marked "sick" in the 1901 census, could it be that it clarified the type of nurse she was ??? I have seen "Nurse domestic" which I assumed meant she was really a servant who just happened to care for the 2 & 3 years old in the house. The 'Nurse' was only 15 herself. I have also seen "Nurse" who was 26 & lived in the household with a doctor, L.R.C.S. certified. I assumed that this nurse had actually trained to be a nurse. I also believe I have seen "Nurse maternity" when a very new baby was in the house.

[Browneyes]

Thankyou Glenys & ET.

Her age is given as 54. Her profession is given as Monthly Nurse and then in different larger handwriting the word 'sick' is written next to it. Further down on the page on another entry for someone else (unrelated) three doors away the same writing is used where someone's profession was stone breaker and it's crossed through and the larger replacement (?) word says 'road lab' so presumably they changed their job to labouring for some reason.

I wonder if either of her daughters helped her in her work. And it makes me wonder about them 'babysitting' or 'childminding' ??

ET - maybe she was caring for the 'sick'. After all, now I think about it, why would they write on the census that she was sick?

[Bo Peep]

Erm...is there a reason why there's not a topic heading in occupations for medical occupations or have I just not looked properly?

I discovered that my Great Grandmother was a monthly nurse. Her job was to 'attend women during the first month after childbirth, aka 'Confinement Nurse'. Sometimes also listed as Subsidiary Medical Services (S.M.S.).

She was widowed sometime between 1891 and 1901 and is marked as 'sick' on the 1901 census but I can't find out if she received a pension/assistance and am assuming that one daughter who worked and lived elsewhere as a servant and one son who worked on the railway in Swindon sent money back to her...she had two daughters living with her who I guess were looking after her but aren't shown to be working. She lived in Cornwall with the two daughters and I'm a bit puzzled she managed to stay in her house if the three of them had no income. Her husband had been a carpenter.

Browneyes

There is now!

[Browneyes]

Wow! Thank you Bo Peep!

Just going to change rooms then....

[Jan1954]

Wow! Thank you Bo Peep!

Just going to change rooms then....

Done!

[Bo Peep]

Fast and furious, that's us!

[Jan1954]

Oh Bo! You should know by now that I'm built for comfort, not for speed!

[Browneyes]

I didn't even have time to make a cuppa that was so quick!! Thank you.

A newspaper extract (retyped and online) at http://west-penwith.org.uk/wb18873.htm gives a newly appointed nurse at a workhouse the salary of £16 per year in 1887