Charlotte de Tonnancour (1898-1950) Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of three notebooks, quarter bound in cloth and marble paper. They contain hand-written notes in ink and pencil, as well as several drawings and sketches, all by Charlotte de Tonnancour. The notebook labelled “Medical Lectures” (#1.3) contains fourteen sheets of loose paper containing further notes. All of the notes pertain to medical lectures and topics. Only one of the notebooks contains a date. “Charlotte deTonnancour ‘20” is inscribed in ink and a May 1919 date is recorded at the top of a single page of lecture notes in one of the notebooks.
The lecture notes cover a wide variety of course topics taught by various doctors and nurse instructors including: Diseases of Children with Dr. Place, Diseases of the Newborn with Dr. V. Reuss, Diseases of Nutrition with Dr. J[ohn Lovett] Morse, Intestinal Obstructions with Dr. Leland, Anesthesia with Dr. Allen, Food Preparation and Breast Feeding with Dr. Hill, Child Welfare with Ms. Besom, Bronchial Pneumonia with Ms. Frey, Formulas with Ms. Sullivan, and notes of infant diet by Czerny-Kleinschmidt.
One of the drawings takes up an entire page and shows three nurses in uniform. They are marked “MGH, CH, PBB” and document the respective nurse uniforms worn at Massachusetts General Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
Dates
- 1919-1920
- undated
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is unrestricted. All of the materials in this collection are fragile and must be handled with care.
Conditions Governing Use
Request for permission to publish material from the collection should be discussed with the hospital archivist.
Biographical Note
Marie-Charlotte G. de Tonnancour was born August 10, 1898 in Fall River, Massachusetts to Anna and Godfrey de Tonnancour. Her father was editor of L'Independent, a French language newspaper. Charlotte attended the Children’s Hospital School of Nursing between 1919 and 1921. The Nurses’ Alumni Bulletin of the Children’s Hospital, Boston for 1922 records the marriage of Charlotte De Tonnoncour [sic] to Mr. Earl Heathcote (Vol. IV, No.4, p.19) They had one daughter, Jeanne M. Heathcote (Wallace), born February 14, 1923, in Fall River (d.2010, Montgomery County, PA).
Earl William Heathcote (b.28 Feb. 1900) was a police reporter for the Fall River News at the time of their marriage. He was a member of the Coast Artillery Corps, Massachusetts National Guard, eventually reaching the rank of Major. He was later head of the Fall River Bureau of the Providence Journal. The couple moved to Illinois in 1947, where Colonel Heathcote served as Executive Officer of the 5th Army Inspector General's Office at Fort Sheriden. Charlotte was a member of the Fort Sheridan's Women's Club, the 5th Army Headquarters Women's Club, and the Catholic Women's Club of Fall River. She passed away on February 3, 1950. Her husband died on April 14, 1989. Both are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Extent
3 Files (0.5 manuscript boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were purchased by the Hospital Archives in October 2014 from Carmen D. Valentino American Historical Manuscripts, 2956 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134.
Processing Information
One sheet of loose note paper is split in two by a tear. This sheet was enclosed in an archival plastic sleeve.
- Title
- CHARLOTTE DE TONNANCOUR, 1898-1950
- Subtitle
- Papers, 1919-1920, undated
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Rebecca M. Fullerton, Archivist
- Date
- 10 Oct 2014
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Boston Children’s Hospital Archives Repository
300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
Boston MA 02115 United States
(617) 355-5286
archives@childrens.harvard.edu