Janet Jennings
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Jane Jennings (abt. 1840 - 1917)

Jane (Janet) Jennings
Born about in Ontario, Canadamap
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at about age 77 in Washington, District of Columbia, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 12 Nov 2021
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Contents

Biography

Canada Flag
Janet Jennings was born in Ontario, Canada.
Janet served as Civil War nurse in tents, on the field or in hospitals at Yorktown Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg; took charge of temporary hospital set up for African-American soldiers at City Point and turned it from deplorable to the best in the department.
Janet Jennings was interred in Wisconsin.

Jane preferred being called Janet.

Jane was born in about 1840 in Ontario, Canada (note birth dates vary - see Research Notes). Her parents were John Ellis Jennings (1807-1894) and Ann McIntyre Jennings (1814-1891). She was the third of twelve children.

Jane's family moved from Canada to Monroe, Green, Wisconsin in about 1852, and they remained there at least until her death in 1917.

In 1860, Jane is living with her parents and siblings. (Magg is listed as born in Canada, but that cannot be true if they immigrated in 1852).[1]

HouseholdRoleSexAgeBirthplaceOccupation
John J JenningsheadM52Pennsylvaniafarmer
Ann JenningswifeF45Canada
Jane JenningsdaughterF21Canada teacher
Dudley JenningssonM19Canadafarmer
Adaline JenningsdaughterF17Canada
John JenningssonM16Canada
Ann JenningsdaughterF14Canada
Barnelia JenningsdaughterF11Canada
Magg JenningsdaughterF9Canada
Mary JenningsdaughterF5Wisconsin
Nettie JenningsdaughterF2Wisconsin

Her brother Guilford Dudley enlisted in the Civil War in 1861, and when he was severely wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jane went to the Washington Armory Square Hospital and nursed him back to health. She continued working at the hospital as a volunteer nurse.

She was single and too young to meet superintendent of nurses Dorothea Dix's requirements to serve as a nurse, however she found a way around these requirements by appealing to the head of Washington hospitals and was enlisted at Armory Square in 1864. Jane ended up taking charge of a few hospital units, and remained there until she was discharged in August 1865. She enlisted on 9 Aug 1864 and was discharged 9 Aug 1865. [2] During this time, Jane became close associates with Clara Barton.

After the Civil War, Jane remained in Washington, D.C., and became a government employee and reporter at the United States Treasury Department, and remained there for fifteen years. Following her government work, she became a freelance reporter and contributed articles to the New York Tribune and the Chicago Herald – Tribune, among others.

In 1880, Jane is living with her parents and siblings.[3]

HouseholdRoleSexAgeBirthplaceOccupation
John C JenningsheadM72Pennsylvaniafarmer
Ann JenningswifeF65Canadakeeping house
Jane E JenningsdaughterF38Canadaretired school teacher
John C JenningssonM34Canadafarming
Maggie JenningsdaughterF26Wisconsinat home
Mary JenningsdaughterF24Wisconsinat home
Nettie JenningsdaughterF21Wisconsinschool teacher
Freddie LeegrandsonM9Wisconsinat school

At the breakout of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Jane, now 59 years old, used her ties with Clara Barton to acquire a Red Cross pass to go to Cuba as an affiliate and reporter. She had not planned on nursing in Cuba, but when she arrived, she found the hospitals desperate for aid. She tirelessly cared for patients and also submitted articles to newspapers. Shortly after arriving, Jane boarded the army ship, U.S.S. Seneca, with two inexperienced physicians, as the only nurse on board, and aided in the transfer of roughly 100 of the worst wounded and sick soldiers to New York. Conditions on the Seneca were horrific – unsanitary, putrid water, scarce food, and very few medical supplies. Jane worked twenty-four hours a day and succeeded in transporting every soldier to New York. She gained the nickname "Angel of the Seneca".

Arriving in New York, she reported to newspapers about the terrible and unsanitary conditions on the Seneca, and blamed the government for not providing appropriate transport for soldiers. Headlines read "A Filthy Transport" and "Voyage of Horror on Hospital Ship". President McKinley investigated, and confirmed Jane's claims. Changes were made to responsibilities for the fitting of hospital ships, and a nurse reserve corps was established to allow women to serve on the war front.

Following the war, she returned to Wisconsin continuing with her journalism and publishing two books about the Civil War – "Abraham Lincoln, the Greatest American" and "The Blue and the Gray".

In 1900, Jane is the head of household with her brother John and niece Dorothy Smith living with her. Jane and John immigrated to the United States in 1852.[4]

HouseholdRoleSexAgeBirthplaceOccupation
Janet JenningsheadF56 (Dec 1844)Canada
John JenningssonM50Canadafarming
Dorothy SmithnieceF13Wisconsin

Jane suffered a stroke in 1915 and passed away 31 Dec 1917 in Washington, D.C. at her sisters home and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Monroe, Wisconsin.[5]

Research Notes

Birth date is uncertain. Sources indicate 1839, 1840, 1842 and 1844.

Sources

  1. 1860 Census "United States Census, 1860", citing Page: 77; Affiliate Publication Number: M653; Affiliate Film Number: 1411; FHL microfilm: 805411; Record number: 15860, FamilySearch Record: MWM1-4Y5 (accessed 6 April 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9BSZ-8YD Image number 00394, Jane E Jennings (21) in Monroe, Green, Wisconsin, United States. Born in Canada.
  2. Veteran Headstone Application "United States Headstone Applications for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1949", FamilySearch Record: QV1Z-H6LN (accessed 6 April 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-99WR-29NJ Image number 02132, Jane Jennings burial (died on 31 Dec 1917) in Monroe, Wisconsin, United States.
  3. 1880 Census "United States Census, 1880", citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm , FamilySearch Record: MN42-4WY (accessed 6 April 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YBP-C87 Image number 00338, Jane E Jennings (38), single daughter, Retired School Teacher, in household of John E. Jennings (72) in Monroe, Green, Wisconsin, United States. Born in Canada.
  4. 1900 Census "United States Census, 1900", citing enumeration district (ED) 124, sheet 6B, family 149, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,789, FamilySearch Record: MMKK-JYS (accessed 6 April 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6X19-SJ2, Janet Jennings (56), single head of household in Monroe city Ward 1 & 4, Green, Wisconsin, United States. Born in Canada.
  5. Memorial Find a Grave (has image), Find A Grave: Memorial #86340603 (accessed 6 April 2023), Memorial page for Janet “Jane” Jennings (1842-31 Dec 1917), citing Greenwood Cemetery, Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin, USA (plot: Block 10, Row 2, Lot 16); Maintained by Ted Beckman (contributor 47723172).
  • Monumental inscription. Greenwood Cemetery, Monroe, Wisconsin. 31 Dec 1917 (b. unmarked) JENNINGS, Jane. Photographed by: Find A Grave contributor Mike Appleby, ID 47174553.
See Also:

Acknowledgements





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