Linda Richards Correspondence
name: label: Author
content: Richards, Linda, 1841-1930 (nurse)
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medical Sciences
place: label: Place
content: Japan -- 1880-1890
topic: label: Topic
content: Medical sciences -- 1880-1890 -- Japan
label: Topic
content: Nursing -- 1880-1890 -- Japan
label: Topic
content: Missionaries -- 1880-1890 -- Japan
label: Topic
content: Nurses -- 1880-1890 -- Japan
label: Topic
content: Women missionaries -- 1880-1890 -- Japan
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
creator: label: Author
content: Richards, Linda, 1841-1930 (nurse)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Linda Richards Correspondence
abstract: label: Summary
content: Linda Richards was the first woman nurse trained in the United States at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. When these letters were written, she was a missionary nurse and the head of the first training school for nurses in Japan.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Linda Richards was the first woman nurse trained in the United States at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. When these letters were written, she was a missionary nurse and the head of the first training school for nurses in Japan. An e-mail from Donna Bellemare, 7/17/06, refers to her as Melinda Ann (Linda) Richards.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.15 Cubic feet (1 box
)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1886-1890
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Medical Sciences (now Division of Medicine and Science), August 4, 1986.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0221
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Letters (correspondence)
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged chronologically.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by NMAH Staff, undated
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Letters (correspondence) -- 1880-1890
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of six letters written by Miss Richards to three friends. The letters relate to Miss Richards' work as a missionary nurse and head of the first training school for nurses in Japan. Typewritten copies of each of the letters are a part of the collection.

In her letters, Miss Richards describes what she is doing both as a nurse trainer and a missionary in Japan. She gradually masters the language enough to work in the hospital but finds evangelizing among rural people requires an interpreter. She complains often about her own health - particularly colds and abscessed ears. Subjects include primarily personal information and missionary work, not nursing or nursing education.