Mary Seacole Facts
Check out these fast facts about Mary Seacole, a nurse who helped soldiers in the Crimean War, the same one where Florence Nightingale helped!
Mary Jane Grant was born in 1805 in Kingston, Jamaica, which was part of the British Empire. She died in London in 1881 aged 76.
Her mother was a Jamaican healer and her father was a Scottish soldier. Mary described herself as British and Jamaican.
Mary’s mother taught her how to care for sick people using herbal remedies and Jamaican and African treatments.
In 1836, Mary married a merchant called Edwin Seacole. Poor Edwin was ill a lot and he died 8 years after he married Mary.
Mary travelled a lot visiting the Bahamas, Cuba, Panama and Haiti. She learnt to treat people suffering with cholera, yellow fever and other diseases.
In 1854 Mary heard about the Crimean War and went to Britain to try and help. She asked the British War Office to send her to the Crimea to help, but they said no.
Mary was also turned down when she offered to join nurses travelling to the war with Florence Nightingale.
Mary was not put off and she really wanted to help so she borrowed some money and went anyway!
She came up with a business plan that would help her treat injured soldiers. She set up the British Hotel, renting rooms to soldiers and selling food & equipment to troops.
Mary often went out to treat wounded soldiers on the battlefield! She was given the name Mother Seacole by the soldiers she took care of.
Mary wrote a book about her life called ‘Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands’, lots of people read it! She was awarded medals for her bravery by Jamaica and Turkey.
Although Mary was well known when she was alive, after she died people began to forget about her. Nurses in Jamaica started to talk about her and people began reading about her again.
