Zepherina Philadelphia Smith (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Zepherina Philadelphia Veitch; 1 April 1836 – 8 February 1894) was an English nurse and social reformer who promoted increased education and training for midwives. Her work led to the

Royal College of Midwives The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is a British midwives organisation founded in 1881 by Louisa Hubbard and Zepherina Veitch. It has existed under its present name since 1947, and is the United Kingdom's only trade union or professional organis ...

Early life

Smith was born in

Sopley Sopley is a village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It lies on the old main road from Christchurch to Ringwood, on the east bank of the River Avon. The parish extends east as far as Thorny Hill ...

and was the daughter of the Reverend William Douglas Veitch. He was the vicar of St Saviour's church in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

. Her parents were very interested in issues affecting the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

, an interest that she later developed. In 1867 she was trained as a nurse at the

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

.Hannam, J. (2004-09-23). Smith ée Veitch Zepherina Philadelphia (1836–1894), nurse and social reformer. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 16 Jan. 2018, se
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Career

Early in her nursing service, she was put in charge of the surgical ward of

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by K ...

and served as the superintendent of nurses at

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

. In 1870 she served as a nurse in Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War. She was known for her ability to improvise when lacking the resources of a hospital. That year she also wrote ''A Handbook for Nursing the Sick'', which was well received by her fellow nurses. In 1873 she became qualified as a midwife. She was dismayed by the small amount of training many of her fellow midwives had received. She then worked with publisher

Louisa Hubbard Louisa Maria Hubbard (8 March 1836 – 5 November 1906) was an English feminist social reformer and writer. She is best known for her activism for increased opportunities for women's education and employment. Born into a wealthy merchant fam ...

to establish the Trained Midwives Registration Society. She was the treasurer of the new society. She served as the president of the Midwives' Institute from 1890 until her death in 1894. In this role she advised government regulators on legislation about midwifery.

Personal life

In 1876 she married Henry Smith, a widowed surgeon. After they were married she ceased working as a midwife and devoted herself to activism. She sought to increase the amount of training required to be certified as a midwife and also sought to attract middle-class women to the field.

Death

Smith died in 1894 at her home in

Horsell Horsell is a village in the borough of Woking in Surrey, England, less than a mile north-west of Woking town centre. In November 2012, its population was 9,384. Horsell is integral to H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel ''The War of the Wor ...

after being ill for several months. Her net worth at the time of her death was £473.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Zepherina 1836 births 1894 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century English women Nurses from London English activists English women activists English midwives People from New Forest District English nurses