Julia C. Stimson, RN Papers

Collection

Identifier: US-NNCORMA-RGPPM-060

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Scope and Contents

The Julia C. Stimson, RN Papers contains correspondence, diaries, newspaper clippings, military paperwork, publications, speeches, and artifacts related to her life and career. Some personal materials from Julia Stimson’s early life, such as her childhood bible and college yearbook, as well as items from her time as a nursing school student, such as her report card and dissertation entitled “Compulsory Health Insurance,” are also housed within this collection.

The diaries, which span 1908-1948, provide brief glimpses into Stimson’s career and personal life. Though the entries are generally short – usually no more than a sentence long - they provide insight into Julia Stimson’s daily activities and thoughts.

The personal and official includes letters from family, friends, nursing colleagues, and the U.S. military. Stimson’s 1917-1919 correspondence provides first-hand observations about her experiences as a nurse during World War I, and these letters later served as the basis for her book Finding Themselves- The Letters of an American Army Chief Nurse in a British Hospital in France (1919). The wartime letters from Julia Stimson to her parents also include messages from her brother, Dr. Philip Moen Stimson (Cornell University Medical College, Class of 1914), who also served during World War I and briefly spent time recuperating from a shrapnel injury at Julia’s base hospital in France. Julia Stimson’s later correspondence focuses strongly upon her publications about nursing, administrative work, and her daily routines. The collection also includes correspondence regarding Julia Stimson’s death.

Colonel Stimson was a strong advocate for the nursing profession and her commitment is demonstrated through her many publications and speeches, as well as her membership in several nursing organizations (such as the National Nurses Council for War Service and International Council of Nurses), all of which are documented within the collection.

Her work and dedication toward the Army and the Army School of Nursing are displayed in her military portfolio, letters of appointment, medals and awards, the scrapbook of her Army recruitment tour of 1943-1944, official papers, as well as in her wartime correspondence.

The newspaper clippings generally document Colonel Stimson’s experience as a nurse during World War I, as well as her many later career achievements, such as book reviews and citation announcements.

Additionally, the collection contains scrapbook materials (mostly photocopies) and a household book she kept during the 1940's detailing her properties, furnishings, and bond purchases. Copies of Colonel Stimson’s health records and family wills can also be found within the collection.

Finally, the collection includes a number of artifacts. This includes a sewing box, medals, buttons, various military insignia, ration books, professional cards, and other items presumably collected by or from Julia C. Stimson.

Dates

1894 - 1949

Conditions Governing Access

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), internal policies requiring protection and confidential handling of PHI (protected health information), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), or other institutional polices regarding internal or confidential records, and may require additional permissions prior to access. Some records in this collection are restricted and require additional permissions prior to access. View the container inventory for more information and visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding access to historical materials containing restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Materials from this collection cannot be reproduced outside the guidelines of United States Fair Use (17 U.S.C., Section 107) without the advance permission of the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine or the copyright holder. In the event that anything from the collection become a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine is required.

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and internal policies which require protection and confidential handling of all protected health information (PHI). Materials containing PHI, personally identifiable information (PII), and/or student information (protected under FERPA) have been restricted and require additional permissions prior to reproduction and use.

Please visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding reproduction and use.

Biographical / Historical

Julia C. Stimson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on May 26, 1881, into the prestigious family of Rev. Henry Stimson. She attended Brearly School in New York City for her preliminary education and went on to Vassar College, graduating in 1901. In 1908, she received her diploma from the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses and took the position of Superintendent of Nurses at Harlem Hospital. In 1910 Stimson moved to St. Louis, becoming the first Director of the Social Services Department for the Children's Hospital and the Washington University Hospital the next year. In 1913 she was appointed the Superintendent of Nurses for both institutions. She returned to school at Washington University and received her Masters degree in 1917 with the completion of her dissertation on "Compulsory Health Insurance."

On May 15, 1917, Stimson became a member of the Army Nurses Corps and sailed to Europe as the Chief Nurse of Base Hospital 21, the St. Louis Unit. She was stationed in France and served the Hospital group until April 1918, when she was assigned the duties of the Head of all Nurses associated with the American Red Cross Nurses in France. In December, she also became Director of Nursing Service of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and oversaw the Army Nurses Corps.

Ordered to return to America in July of 1919, Stimson was appointed Acting Superintendent of the Army Nurses Corps (later becoming full superintendent) and Dean of the Army School of Nursing. When Congress amended the National Defense Act in 1920, the amendatory act authorized that the Superintendent of the Nurses Corps have the rank of Major, thus making Major Julia C. Stimson the first woman in the Army of that grade.

Besides being the recipient of many honorary awards and medals for her wartime services (including the American Distinguished Service Medal, British Royal Red Cross, among others), Major Stimson was the author of two books: The Nurses Handbook of Drugs and Solutions (1910) and Finding Themselves- The Letters of an American Army Chief Nurse in a British Hospital in France (1919). She published numerous articles pertaining to nursing as a career and gave many speeches attempting to resolve the problems and obstacles nurses frequently faced.

Stimson was President of the American Association of University Women, an active member and President of the Alumni Association of Cornell University-New York Hospital School of Nursing, as well as President of the American Women's Association of New York City. She was also a founding member of the Army and Navy Country Club in Washington, D.C. Major Stimson retired from her post as Dean of the Army School of Nursing in 1933 and as Superintendent of the Corps in 1937. During World War II she returned to duty for a short time to help recruit nurses from around the country to go overseas. She also served as an air-raid warden. She was given the rank of Colonel by an Act of Congress in August 1945.

Colonel Stimson died suddenly in September of 1948.

Extent

4.54 Linear Feet (10 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

French

Additional Description

Abstract

Julia C. Stimson graduated from the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1908 and became the first woman to ever receive the rank of Major in the United States Army. She was later promoted to the rank of Colonel after World War II. The Julia C. Stimson, RN Papers contain correspondence, diaries, newspaper clippings, military paperwork, publications, speeches, and artifacts related to her life and career.

Arrangement

The collection’s documents have been arranged in alphabetical order by folder title. The artifacts have been placed at the end of the collection in Box 10.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers of Julia C. Stimson are on indefinite loan to the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine. On September 14, 1986, Dr. Philip Moen Stimson, Julia’s brother, signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Department formalizing the loan of memorabilia and personal papers of his sister, which had originally donated to the Army in 1957. On December 9, 1986, four cartons were sent from the Army and placed in temporary storage in New York, NY. In 1974, upon completion of the Stimson Room in the Cornell University Medical College Library, the records were removed from storage and placed in the Medical Center Archives.

In addition to the materials on loan from the Army there are other items included in the collection, which are fully under the purview of the Medical Center Archives. This includes a scrapbook of Julia C. Stimson’s Army Nurse Corp Recruitment tour (1942-1944), which was received from the Cornell University Medical College Library.

Related Materials

The Photograph Collection includes an abundance of photographs and a photographic scrapbook covering Julia C. Stimson’s life and career, which were removed from the Julia C. Stimson, RN Papers by Medical Center Archives staff at an earlier, unknown date. The photographs include portraits of Major Stimson in uniform and in civilian clothes, candid photographs of her family and friends both abroad and at home.

Processing Information

This collection was originally processed in 1974 upon completion of the Stimson Room in the Cornell University Medical College Library by an unknown staff member, after the records were moved from their temporary storage location to the Medical Center Archives.

Medical Archives Assistant Rebecca Snyder reprocessed the collection in 2021, including rehousing the collection, updating the restrictions and Scope and Content note, adding an arrangement note, processing note, language note, restrictions note, and an abstract, and arranging the folders in alphabetical order.

Minor modifications to the finding aid were made during migration to ArchivesSpace in 2024.