Nancy Maria Hill (November 19, 1833 – January 8, 1919) was an American

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

nurse who later became one of the first women

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s in the United States. She specialized in obstetrics and founded what is now called Hillcrest Family Services, an organization providing support to single mothers and their children in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

Biography

Hill was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, in 1833, to William and Harriet (Swan) Hill. She was well educated, and attended Mount Holyoke College. She served as a volunteer nurse during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, during which time she worked at the Armory Square Hospital in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

When the war ended, Hill was inspired by her nursing experiences to study for a medical degree and was admitted to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

's medical school in Ann Arbor. She graduated in 1874, at the age of 41, becoming one of the first female physicians in the United States. Shortly afterwards, she moved to

, where she would practice medicine for 36 years. She specialized in obstetrics and once noted, "I was never a mother but brought about 1000 children into this world." Hill established the Women's Rescue Society of Dubuque in 1896 to provide shelter and support for unwed mothers and their babies. She was involved in the organization until 1909 when she was forced to close the residential facility as a result of financial problems and her own advanced age. The facility was reopened by Anna Blanche Cook in 1914 as the Hillcrest Deaconess Home and Baby Fold and is now called Hillcrest Family Services. Hill died in 1919 and was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Dubuque. Seventy years after her death, Hill was inducted into the

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame The Iowa Women's Hall of Fame was created to acknowledge the accomplishments of female role models associated with the U.S. state of Iowa, and is an endeavor of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW). History In 1972, the state of Iow ...

in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Nancy M. 1833 births 1919 deaths American women physicians American obstetricians People from Dubuque, Iowa People from Boston People of Iowa in the American Civil War People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Physicians from Iowa Mount Holyoke College alumni University of Michigan Medical School alumni American Civil War nurses American women nurses