Frances Cleveland Dodge - A Nurse in California

For many years, I have wondered about the nursing career of my great-great aunt, Frances Cleveland Dodge. When I first started this family history search 20 years ago, I found Frances in the 1910 Census in Longmont, Colorado, where she was a nursing student at the Longmont Hospital Training School for Nurses. When she married her first husband, Thomas Fogalsang, in California in 1916, their marriage license stated that Frances was a Nurse and that she was residing in San Francisco.

Several years ago, I found the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection website. This website has digitized and transcribed numerous newspapers from Colorado, including The Longmont Call and the Longmont Ledger. Both newspapers recount the graduation ceremony for Frances, which took place on July 12, 1911. The Longmont Ledger from July 14, 1911 indicates: 'The training school for nurses is a very important part of the work, and for two years has turned out graduating classes of young ladies fully prepared for the profession of nursing.' Frances was one of three nurses to graduate.

Shortly after I began my family history research, I found a newsletter that contained a history of the Longmont Hospital, including the Longmont Nursing School. Here is a link to the newsletter that I saved:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzsieQx5uaIqdzNkOElhN0lOeGc/view?usp=drive_link&resourcekey=0-ZpSU4NVYsgio0mP7GroReQ

More recently, I found an advertisement that was published in the magazine Colorado Medicine: The Journal of the Colorado State Medical Society from October of 1909 for Nurses' Training at the Longmont Hospital. Below is that advertisement:

Both The Longmont Call and the Longmont Ledger from December 8, 1911 explain that Frances had completed her work and that she had taken a nursing position at a hospital in Raton, New Mexico. The Salida Record from January 2, 1914 wrote: 'Mrs. James Newitt, of Buena Vista, was operated on at the Red Cross Hospital Monday. Her sister, Miss Frances Dodge, of Buena Vista, is attending her.' This was the only indication of Frances' nursing career that I had found.

Recently, however, I have found a handful of newspaper articles from California that shed light to Frances' nursing career. I found these newspaper articles on newspapers.com and newspaperarchive.com. They are from November 1912 to September 1915 and indicate that Frances worked as a nurse in San Francisco, Placerville, Sacramento & Yreka.

Siskiyou Daily News: November 7, 1912: Miss Dodge and Miss Cohn arrived from San Francisco the last of the week to accept positions as nurses in Mt. Shasta hospital.

Ferndale Enterprise: July 11, 1913: Miss Rebecca Hindley, a graduate nurse, and Miss Lena Schortgen, who is training at the Sequoia hospital, are enjoying a vacation with relatives in Upper Mattole. A Miss Dodge, also a nurse, arrived at the same time, and all were visitors for a day or two at the Kirll home, where Miss. Schortgen is visiting her mother and other relatives.

Ferndale Enterprise: July 22, 1913: Miss Dodge, a nurse, whose home is at Arcata, returned there the first of the week after a very happy vacation spent with Miss Lena Schortgen, also a nurse, at the home of the latter’s mother, Mrs. C. Krill.

Placerville Mountain Democrat: December 12, 1914: Mrs. Harry Wenzel, wife of the assistant district passenger agent of the S.P. Co., came up from Sacramento last Tuesday for a brief visit with her friend Mrs. Frances Dodge, head nurse at the Wrenn Sanatorium.

Placerville Mountain Democrat: April 24, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge, nurse at the Wrenn Sanatorium, returned from Sacramento Sunday evening.

Placerville Mountain Democrat: May 8, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge, head nurse at the Wrenn Sanatorium, left Thursday for Nevada to spend her vacation. Her place will be filled by Miss Hazel Hoak, who returned from Redding the first of the week.

Record Searchlight: May 8, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge, after spending one day in this city visiting Mrs. Volney Fox, departed Saturday morning for Gazelle, where she will spend a week with relatives before returning to her home at Placerville.

Siskiyou Daily News: September 2, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge arrived in Yreka Monday evening from Sacramento to accept the position of head nurse at Mount Shasta hospital. Miss Dodge was one of the nurses at this hospital when the late Dr. Carlson was in charge, and her Yreka friends are glad to welcome her back. Since leaving Yreka she has nursed in Placerville and Sacramento.

Siskiyou Daily News: September 23, 1915: Little Billie Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. Julius Miller, was very sick Wednesday night. The little fellow had spasms and Dr Hall and nurse, Miss Dodge, worked with him some time before he recovered. He was much better this morning.

I haven't found anything to indicate when Frances went to San Francisco prior to her marriage to Thomas Fogalsang, but to have these newspaper articles shed light on her days as a nurse is such an amazing find.