Nursing in the 1860’s – with giveaway -- By Donna Schlachter

Often, when we think back to medicine in history, leeches and bleeding comes to mind. And while those techniques were used for centuries, we do see great strides made and progress in surgeries and the understanding of how the human body works.

One of the major reasons for advancements in medicine in general, and nursing in particular, was the American Civil War. Hundreds of thousands of men died in combat, but more died on the operating tables and in the field hospitals that popped up near every battle, major and minor.

Often, the only answer to the catastrophic injuries sustained on the battlefield was amputation. Nurses were often soldiers pressed into service to hold the patient down, or to administer chloroform directly from a bloodied rag that had been used for a dozen patients or more prior. Camp followers, accustomed to cooking meals and doing laundry, were often asked to carry damaged and diseased appendages outside the camp and burn them.

Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton, highly trained nurses themselves, were appalled with this situation, and resolved to make changes. After the war ended and the country entered into an uneasy truce with itself, they petitioned government to set up training schools for young women to learn anatomy, biology, physiology, and pharmacology.

However, in the uneasy years immediately after the war, when nurses were still needed to care for those recovering from their wounds, as well as to offer assistance in hospitals and medical practices, others set up shorter-term training schools which trained nurses in the rudiments of medicine, encouraging them to spend extra-curricular hours of learning and apprenticeship under trained doctors, to graduate and send them out into the cities and towns where they were sorely needed.

Many industrious young women, or older spinsters and widows, undertook this rigorous training. These informal schools filled the gap until the longer, more formalized schools admitted students in the late 1860’s and early 1870’s.

By this time, the Lister method of sanitary surgery, which included sterilizing instruments and sanitizing the patient, the doctor and attending staff, and the operating theater, were much in discussion. While American doctors initially decried the extra work, it soon became apparent that their mortality rate was much higher, and the time spent fighting infection soon convinced them to adopt the method.

Research into breathing issues such as asthma was also generating alternatives. While initially the cause of asthma was thought to be excess exercise or cold air, studies soon proved there were other causes, including allergies. Several new treatment options were adopted, including the guarded use of belladonna, and strong coffee, both of which proved successful in many cases.

Nurses were often employed in small communities that did not require the services or could not support a full-time doctor. They carried basic instruments, common medicines, and could as easily deliver a child as remove tonsils or pull a tooth.

While the role of nurses has changed a great deal since then, no doubt there are many who would never have survived without the basic medical skills taught these brave women in our history.

Leave a comment and be entered into a drawing for an eBook version of A Nurse for Caleb, as a special pre-release gift.





Resources:

Two Centuries of American Medicine: 1776-1976—Bordley and Harvey

On the Pathology of Asthma—Dr. Henry Salter

About A Nurse for Caleb (releases September 3, 2020):

In 1868, Tessa, a Mennonite nurse graduates from nursing school and is assigned to the Amana Colonies in Iowa because of her expertise in treating asthma and other breathing problems. As a former student at a women's medical school, she knows more than most about respiratory diseases. She's also had her fair share of heartbreak when, upon her mentor's death, she was forced to abandon her dream of becoming a doctor. Will she be able to use her skills? Or will her gender keep her from helping those who truly need her?

Seth, a widower in Amana, is still nursing a broken heart from his sweetheart's passing two years before. Now raising their invalid son Seth on his own, he wonders why God didn't listen to his prayers for healing for his family. Caleb has been afflicted with the same form of asthma that killed Anna, and Seth stands by helplessly as his son fades away. Can he trust God and trust medicine, or is faith in one mutually exclusive of faith in the other?


About Donna:

Donna writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, and has been published more than 30 times in novellas, full-length novels, and non-fiction books. She is a member of ACFW, Writers on the Rock, SinC, Pikes Peak Writers, and CAN; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com

Ephrata Cloister

Ephrata Cloister, one of America’s earliest religious communities, was founded by Johann Conrad Beissel. He was born in Eberbach am Neckar, Germany, in March 1691 at the close of a century of religious wars that devastated Europe and was an orphan by the time he was 8. As a young man he learned the baker’s trade. During his travels he encountered and joined a movement called Pietism that aimed to reform the state-supported Protestant churches. Pietists, who met in small, unsanctioned groups to study the Bible and pray, were persecuted by the established church. Banished from Germany in 1715, Beissel immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1720, drawn by William Penn’s offer of freedom of conscience to those who settled in his colony.

Beissel spent a year in Germantown, just outside Philadelphia, before moving to the Conestoga area, where he was appointed leader of the newly formed Conestoga Brethren Church in 1724. His radical views of Saturday worship and celibacy soon caused a split in the congregation. He withdrew from the church in 1728 and in 1732 moved from the Conestoga area to Cocalico Creek in northern Lancaster County to seek the life of a hermit.

Beissel’s charismatic personality attracted like-minded men and women to his teachings, however, which led him to establish Ephrata, which means Camp of the Solitary. Originally a small hermitage, it quickly grew into a thriving community. Between 1735 and 1746 the members built eight major European-style dormitories and meetinghouses and a number of smaller dwellings, workshops, and mills. A married order of families who accepted Beissel’s spiritual leadership lived among the celibate members as well, worshiping with them on the Sabbath and working with them during the week, which enabled the Cloister to become self-sustaining. At its height in the 1740s and 1750s the Ephrata community extended over 250 acres and numbered around 80 celibate men and women, with approximately 200 more composing the married congregation.

Ephrata Hymnal

Besides religious activities, members carried out the typical tasks of a community, farmed and gardened, did carpentry work, made paper, manufactured clothing in a mill, taught children in a German school, and ran a printing press. The Cloister became well-known for its a cappella music, much of which was composed by the members; German-style calligraphy known as Frakturschriften; and a publishing center that included a paper mill, printing press, and book bindery. Ephrata owned the second German printing press in the American colonies and published hymns and books written by Beissel and others.

Beissel served not only as the community’s spiritual leader, but also as its leading composer and devised his own system of composition. The Ephrata hymnal was printed in 1747. At the request of a group of Mennonites, Ephrata also published the Martyrs Mirror, a history of the deaths of Christian martyrs from the time of Christ until 1660.

Prayer Room

Beissel’s theology mixed pietism and mysticism with an emphasis on celibacy; worship on the Saturday Sabbath; Anabaptism; and strict discipline. Celibate Sisters lived in a convent (the Sister House) and Brothers in a monastery (the Brother House). Their beds were narrow wooden benches, with wooden blocks for pillows, and they slept only from 9 p.m. to midnight. Then they took a two-hour break to watch for Christ’s coming, after which they slept again from 2 until 5 a.m. Members partook of one small meal of vegetables a day, only eating meat during communion, when lamb was served. The members of the cloister spent most of their time at work, praying privately, and attending Saturday worship led by Beissel, which often lasted several hours.

The community faced dissention at various times, with its greatest crisis coming from Israel Eckerlin, prior of the brotherhood, who challenged Beissel’s leadership. The controversy came to a head in 1745, with Eckerlin being expelled. Ephrata declined rapidly after Beissel’s death in 1768. By 1813 the last of the celibate members died, and the following year the remaining members of the married congregation formed the German Seventh Day Baptist Church. Poorer members moved into some of the original buildings on Cloister property and remodeled them to suit their needs. In many cases the original 18th-century furniture was given a coat of paint, cut down to fit a space, or repaired with disregard to original construction methods or materials.

Interior of Bissel House

In 1929 the remaining church members living at the Cloister were involved in a lawsuit over disagreements about the disposition of the site and its artifacts. As a result, the charter of the Church at Ephrata was revoked in 1934. A court appointed receiver took charge of the property and in 1941 sold the remaining 28 acres to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Restoration of the nine surviving original buildings was begun immediately under the direction of architect G. Edwin Brumbaugh. When he left the project in 1960, the restoration was completed by architect John Heyl. The last surviving member of Ephrata Cloister, Marie Kachel Bucher, died on July 27, 2008, at the age of 98.

Excavations on the site have revealed that, among other things, the Cloister was used as a hospital during the Revolutionary War. Also, in 1998 archaeologists unearthed the only glass trumpet of its kind in North America. The instrument, which is believed to have come from Germany, was found in excellent condition, which led archaeologists to conclude that it was intentionally buried. The only part missing was the mouthpiece, and it isn’t known whether the trumpet was ever played.

Today Ephrata Cloister is a National Historic Landmark administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and is open for tours, special programs, and research. Ephrata Cloister maintains a rich collection of original artifacts including furniture, books, manuscripts, baskets, and ceramics. With the exception of paper items, most artifacts are on exhibit in the buildings. To learn more go to Ephrata Cloister’s official website.

This is another historical site that I’d love to visit one day. Is there a historical period, event, or person that you’re especially drawn to? Or do you own an item from an earlier time that has given that period in history a special meaning for you? If so, please share with our readers!

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J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is also an author, editor, and publisher. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. Northkill, Book 1 of the Northkill Amish Series coauthored with Bob Hostetler, won Foreword Magazine’s 2014 INDYFAB Book of the Year Bronze Award for historical fiction. Book 2, The Return, releases April 1, 2017. One Holy Night, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the
Year.

Amish Dress in the 18th Century

I live in Amish country—to be specific, Elkhart County in northern Indiana, the second largest Amish settlement in the country. Growing up Mennonite with many Amish relatives, and living in this community, has given me a pretty good look into their lives and customs. You might assume that since the Amish cling to tradition, their style of dress has always remained the same, but you’d be mistaken. Just like everyone else, the lifestyle of the Amish has undergone a lot of changes over the centuries, including the way they dress. Just over my lifetime styles have changed noticeably, although it’s happened much more slowly than in the outer culture.

When I started doing research for the Northkill Amish Series, which I’m writing with bestselling author Bob Hostetler, it quickly became obvious that we needed to describe our characters and what they’re wearing. To my dismay I discovered that there’s very little information available about Amish clothing in the eighteenth century, the period during which our series is set. Mennonite Attire through Four Centuries by Melvin Gingerich is the only detailed resource I found on the subject, but although it’s helpful, it doesn’t include much specific information about Amish fashion in the mid-eighteenth century. So I had to make some educated guesses. Happily I chanced across the images of the 18th century Swiss Anabaptist man and woman to the left and below right. The clothes they’re wearing would be very close to what the Amish wore during the same period, except for the stripes on the woman’s apron. They may be Mennonites, who were a bit more fancy in their dress.

One thing I learned was that when the Amish broke away from the Mennonites in Europe at the end of the 17th century, they continued wearing much the same general style of clothing as the common rural people of the Alsace, the Palatinate, and other parts of Europe where they lived. In fact, the dress of Amish women is very similar to examples from the 17th and 18th centuries displayed in Palatine museums. Because of their beliefs, they chose to dress much more plainly and modestly, however, and to adopt little, if anything, from the ever-changing fashion scene. Colors remained very somber, and no adornments such as stripes or figures on the fabric, jewelry, ribbons, and shoe buckles were allowed. Of course, when the Amish emigrated to America they brought their style of clothing with them.

Like the majority of colonial men, Amish men would have worn a long linen shirt that also served as nightwear, a waistcoat, and knee breeches, with long hose and plain shoes as you see above. A dress coat was added for formal occasions such as attendance at church. Once they married, they were required to grow a beard.

Since women had to cook over open fires and do other labor, they wore a plain mid-calf-length petticoat with a separate bodice that pinned together down the front, and a pinner apron like the one worn by the woman in the painting on the left. Under this they wore a shift that did double duty as a nightgown, hose, and plain shoes. (Colonial women wore stays to support the bosom and back and to provide the right shape for their gowns, but I have no idea whether Amish women did so.) Over their bodice, they wore a Halsduch or neck cloth that covered the neck and bosom, which you can see both in this painting and in Wybrand Hendriks’ portrait of a Dutch milkmaid below right. In cold weather they would wear a shawl. A fitted white or black linen cap called a Haube, similar to the cap the old woman seated at the table in the last painting, by Adriaan de Lelie, wears but lacking a ruffle, covered their hair, which was pinned behind the head in a bun.

In the summer when they went outside, just like their colonial neighbors Amish women wore wide-brimmed straw hats with low crowns, which they set right atop their cap. These were called scoops because of the shape that resulted from passing a ribbon or cord over the crown and tying it under the chin, thus pulling the brim down over the ears. Amish men and women both wore flat black beaver hats, called in German Flamma deckle, during the cold months, and when needed, they tied the brims down on the sides to keep their ears warm or prevent them from blowing off.

Bonnets came into fashion in the early 19th century, but it wasn’t until the mid 1800s that Amish districts slowly began to allow women to wear them. Gingrich cites examples of Amish mothers who on their deathbeds pleaded with their daughters to promise never to wear this outrageous headgear, but to little effect. Bonnets took over, and today Amish women still wear them. One of my cousins who was raised Amish told me that she absolutely hated wearing the silly things, and she had a good laugh when I told her that they were once banned. How things do change, and perhaps one day the Amish will transition to something else!

Clothing became an important factor in why the Amish clung to the dress styles they brought with them from Europe instead of adopting new fashions as the society around them did. In America the Amish found themselves for the first time conscious that their clothing was distinctly different from their neighbors on the frontiers where they settled—the Scottish-Irish, Huguenot, Quakers, and English. Traditional Amish dress served to immediately identify those who were members of the community. Over time, it also served as a hedge against the pressure to change in ways could eventually cause the Amish community to go out of existence.

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J. M. Hochstetler is a descendant of Jacob Hochstetler’s oldest son John. An author, editor, and publisher, she is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. Northkill, Book 1 of the Northkill Amish Series, won ForeWord Magazine’s 2014 INDYFAB Book of the Year Bronze Award for historical fiction. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. One Holy Night, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year.