Mary Phinney von Olnhausen
| Mary Phinney von Olnhausen | |
|---|---|
 Image of Phinney from the frontispiece of her posthumously published diaries. Phinney was in her mid to late forties during the Civil War. | |
| Born |
1818 Massachusetts |
| Died | 1902 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | nurse |
| Known for | Diarist who recorded 19th Century medical techniques |
| Parent(s) | Elias and Catherine Bartlett Phinney |
Mary Phinney von Olnhausen (1818–1902) was an American nurse, abolitionist, and diarist.[1] Historians look to the book extracted from her diaries -- "Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars" to understand the medical techniques of the Civil War.[2]
Born in Massachusetts to Elias and Catherine Barlett Phinney, a lawyer and her mother the daughter of a doctor, Phinney was well educated at several academies. When her father died in 1849 at age 69 the farm was sold and she "sought employment as a designer of print goods" at the mills. There she met Gustav, Baron von Olnhausen (c. 1810–1860) who left Saxony after the 1848 unrest and financial troubles which led to selling his castle. He was making a meager living as a chemist in a dye-house of the Manchester Mills. They married when she was 40 years old on May 1, 1858 and he died two years later in 1860.[3]
Fictional portrayal
In 2015 the PBS Masterpiece Theatre series-produced six-part miniseries, Mercy Street, about the Mansion House Hospital, where Phinney was stationed, that relied heavily on her diaries.[1] A character based on Phinney, and named after Phinney, is the series' lead character.
References
- 1 2 Stanley B. Burns (2015). "Behind the Lens: A History in Pictures". PBS Masterpiece Theatre. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
Nurses, both Union and Confederate, wrote memoirs of their experiences providing an intimate and personal look at the war from varied points of view. Mary Phinney von Olnhausen’s (1818-1902) "Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars" gives a glimpse into the life of a Union nurse and was an inspiration for Mercy Street.
- ↑ "Civil War Nurses & The Mansion House General Hospital". Annandale Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
- ↑ "Adventures of an army nurse in two wars; ed. from the diary and ... Olnhausen, Mary Phinney von, 1818-1902". Retrieved 2016-02-07.