Mary Ann Ball was born on 19 July 1817 in Ohio, the daughter of Hiram Ball and Elizabeth Gatton. She married Robert Bickerdyke on 27 April 1847 near Cincinnati, Ohio. Her husband, Robert, passed in 1859, and the 1860 US Census shows her living as a widow in Illinois with three children, all attending school that year: Census Image[1]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mary A Bickerdike | Head/ Nurse | F | 42 | N Y |
Mary Bickerdike | Daughter/ Student | F | 17 | Ohio |
James Bickerdike | Son | M | 10 | Ohio |
Hiram Bickerdike | Son | M | 7 | Ohio |
Dr Benjamin R Woodward, the surgeon of the 22nd Illinois Infantry, wrote a letter which was read prior to the sermon at a Galesburg, IL church and this letter inspired the citizens to collect medical supplies for the benefit of soldiers wounded during the US Civil War. As no one else was willing to deliver the supplies, Mary Bickerdyke volunteered to escort the supplies to the US Army hospital in Cairo, Illinois 350 miles south. This was the beginning of Mary Bickerdyke's association with the soldiers under the commands of Gen. U. S. Grant and Gen. W. T. Sherman.
She became known as "Mother" Bickerdyke to the soldiers she cared for. Mother Bickerdyke put forth a great effort improving sanitation, billeting, nourishment, clothing, battlefield evacuation, and the stockpiling of supplies to benefit of the wounded and is credited with establishing 300 hospitals during the course of the war. While in Cairo, Mother Bickerdyke worked with Mary J Safford who was known as the "Angel of Cairo" and both women's efforts were supported by Mary Livermore's work with the United States Sanitary Commission.
Marjorie Barstow Greebie writes in her book, Lincoln's Daughters of Mercy page 119...
After the war she worked with soldiers helping them apply for the pensions they had earned during their service. Later in life, she moved into the home of her son James in Kansas and passed away on 8 Nov 1901 in Kansas.
Her remains were transported to Galesburg and she was interred in the Linwood Cemetery, Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois. Find A Grave: Memorial #5416238[2]
And again Greenbie page 202...
Living very near the bronze statue honoring this dedicated nurse and the inspiration of researching nurses in the Civil War, thank you to Warren Kuntz for this glorious image.
See Also
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B > Ball | B > Bickerdyke > Mary Ann (Ball) Bickerdyke
Categories: Mount Vernon, Ohio | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cairo, Illinois | Bunker Hill, Kansas | Galesburg, Illinois | Linwood Cemetery, Galesburg, Illinois | Nurses, United States Civil War | Notables