Memorial Hospital Photograph Collection

Judson L. Taylor: Surgeon [Student and Vent Outlet] Jeanette James: R.N. [Student in Doorway] [Student on Rooftop with Outstretched Arm on Vent Outlet] [Student on Rooftop with Folded Hands] [Concourse Surgery] [Standing Student in Uniform] "Birdie" Byrd: O.R. Supervisor [Seated Student in Uniform] [Trio on Porch] [Nursing Students on Bench] [Physician Smoking on Concourse] [Side Profile with Hat in Hand] [Physician on Street corner with Bag] [Physician in a Dark Suit] [Physician in a White Suit Leaning on Fence] [Bespectacled Physician] [Physician in a Dark Suit and Hat] [Physician in White] Pat Heard: Surgeon Herman W. Johnson: Obstetrician Frank Iiams: Gynecologist E. Freeman Robbins: Surgeon Herbert Thomas Hayes: Proctologist Hellmuth Jack Ehlers: Surgeon Louis E. Willford: General Practitioner Arthur Thurman Talley Sr.: Obstetrician; Gynecologist Harry Bunyan Burr: Proctologist Martin J. Taylor: Surgeon and Gynecologist Russell F. Bonham: Anesthesiologist Charles Sanford Alexander: Ophthalmologist Jewell Clyde Alexander: Proctologist/Urologist Johnson Peyton Barnes: Surgeon Ernst William Bertner: Surgeon Allan Penny Bloxsom: Pediatrician J. Reese Blundell: Urologist Adam Napolean Boyd: General Practitioner James Albert Brown: Neurosurgeon Charles E. Bruhl: General Practitioner Thomas Walker Burke: Internist Frank O. Calaway: Pediatrician Ray G. Collins: General Practitioner Lewis Bertrand Corbett: General Practitoner Peyton Roland Denman: Surgeon Hellmuth Jack Ehlers: Surgeon Monroe L. Elliott: General Practitioner Elisha D. Embree: Anesthesiologist Edward O. Fitch: Pediatrician James G. Flynn: Surgeon Alvis E. Greer: Internist Alvis E. Greer: Internist John Hoskins Foster: Otorhinolaryngologist Charles S. Gates: Surgeon C. McFerrin Griswald: Dermatologist James Greenwood Jr.: Neurosurgeon John Wade Harris: Proctologist T. Fred Harris: General Practitioner Herbert Thomas Hayes: Proctologist James A. Hill: Surgeon Gordon F. Hinds: Pediatrician Fred M. Hughes: General Practitioner Hector Mason Janse: Otorhinolaryngologist Franklin Hartman Kilgore: Internist Harvey Lee Kincaid: Obstetrician/Gynecologist Frank Huston Lancaster: Pediatrician Paul Veal Ledbetter: Internist Allen L. McMurrey: Gynecologist A. S. McNeill: Surgeon Henry R. Maresh: Internist Rudolph E. Maresh: General Practitioner Flavius Downs Mohle: Internist Henry S. Meyer: Pediatrician McDonald Orman: General Practitioner J. Herbert Page: Hospital Administration Archie Lane Mitchell: Pediatrician James M. Mitchner: Orthopedist James Howard Park: Pediatrician Herbert F. Poyner: Surgeon John Roberts Phillips: Surgeon William Edward Ramsay: General Practitioner E. Freeman Robbins: Surgeon Thomas Arnold Sanderson: Anesthesiologist Everett Richardson Seale: Dermatologist Carl W. Shirley: Urologist/Proctologist George Herschel Spurlock: Obstetrician/Gynecologist Earl William Thoma: Surgeon William Burton Thorning: Surgeon Joseph Dudgeon Walker: Ophthalmologist Paul Randolph Stalnaker: Urologist Hugh C. Welsh: Proctologist Seward Haff Wills: Obstetrician/Gynecologist John Henry Wootters: Surgeon Ernest Wright: General Practitioner James R. Bost: Orthopedist Robert Lee Cox: Surgeon/General Practitioner Thomas Eugene Dunnam: Surgeon/General Practitioner Joseph Thomas Jones: Urologist Alfred Morris Parsons: Surgeon John B. Legnard: Urologist
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Identity elements

Reference code

IC 103

Level of description

Collection

Title

Memorial Hospital Photograph Collection

Date(s)

  • 1903-1976 (Creation)

Extent

3.5 cubic feet (7 boxes)

Name of creator

(1907-1997)

Administrative history

Founded on September 1, 1907 as the Baptist Sanitarium, Memorial Hospital began as a two-story, wood-framed building at the end of the trolley line on Lamar and Smith. It had 17 beds and eight trained nurses on staff. It was the second general hospital established in Houston after St. Joseph Hospital which opened in 1887. It was also the second Baptist-supported hospital in the United States. The other was the Missouri Baptist Sanitarium in St. Louis.

In 1904 the only general hospital in Houston, St. Joseph Hospital, had 125 beds. The lack of hospital care available in Houston at the time became a discussion between two Baptist ministers, Dr. L. T. Mays (South Main Baptist Church) and Rev. D. R. Pevoto (Clark Avenue Baptist Church). They wanted to open a new hospital to serve the people of Houston regardless of race, religion, or wealth. It remained only an idea for years as discussions began to involve more people in the community, like Dr. J. L. Gross (pastor of First Baptist Church of Houston), Dr. George Truett, and George Hermann. Mrs. Charles Stewart, member of First Baptist Church of Houston gave $1,000 as a down payment to purchase the two-story Ida J. Rudisill Sanitarium for $18,000. The building had only been in use for two years since 1905. Mrs. Rudisill stayed on serving as director of nursing until about 1912. In 1910, the Baptist Convention of Texas was officially affiliated with the hospital. Pevoto, who managed the hospital until 1917, wrote, “ In those days a hospital was looked upon with apprehension as just a place where one went to die. We decided to change all that.”

Memorial Hospital expanded “piecemeal” one building or building addition at a time, adding more beds as they could. The original Rudisill Building stood for over 50 years. Becoming the nurses quarters and even moved across the street at one point. Below is a brief timeline for the early expansion of Memorial Hospital:

1911: A four-story fireproof building was built and increased capacity to 50 beds.
1915: The hospital built an eight-story building and doubled the capacity to 100 beds.
1924: “A” wing was added, increasing the capacity to 215 beds.
1942: Another addition increased capacity to almost 300 beds.
1945: H. R. Cullen gave $2 million to Lillie Jolly School of Nursing for the construction of the Professional Nurses’ Building.
Through its history, Memorial Hospital was a leader in health care in Houston, establishing many “firsts”:

First chartered school of nursing, 1909
First general hospital to offer psychiatric care, 1920s
First “fever box” in the US to resuscitate newborns, 1930s
First therapeutic tank to treat polio, 1930s
First hospital in Texas to have air-conditioned operating rooms and nurseries, 1930s
First hospital in Texas to receive penicillin shipment, 1943
First hospital to expand services into the Houston suburban areas and developed the hospital satellite system, 1960s
In the 1940s, Memorial opted not to move into the Texas Medical Center, remaining in downtown where it was closer to patients. With the same, consistent mission to provide the communities of Houston with excellent health care at a reasonable cost, Memorial developed the hospital satellite system. In the 1960s, it open three community hospitals in the Southwest (1962), Southeast (1963), and Northwest (1966). The new system allowed regional hospitals to serve the community around them while sharing services, resources, and costs with other hospitals in the Memorial Healthcare System. As W. Wilson Turner, administrator of Memorial Hospital 1958-1981 remarked, “Memorial was a pioneer of multiple health care units under one administrative management in the country.”

In 1971, in order to accept federal and community funds, Memorial Hospital broke ties with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. After 70 years, Memorial closed its downtown hospital in 1977 and moved to the Southwest location on the Southwest Freeway at Beechnut. Everything was moved patients, equipment, supplies, furnishings, and even the Bowles Chapel, which was disassembled and rebuilt piece by piece.

In 1997 Memorial Hospital merged with Hermann Hospital, becoming Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. Today, it is one of the largest non-for-profit healthcare system in Texas with roughly 19 hospitals and several specialty service points throughout the Greater Houston area.

Other notable individuals in the collection:

Lillian Irene Wilson Burnett Jolly (Lillie Jolly) was born near Louisville, Kentucky in 1877. She graduated from the School of Nursing at the Kentucky School of Medicine in 1907. Before attending school she worked in mental health institutions. In 1908, she moved to Houston to be a surgeon’s assistant and director of nurses at the Baptist Sanitarium (later Memorial Hospital). Lillie Jolly was director of the Hospital Training School for Nurses for over 30 years, 1908-1947. In 1945 the school was renamed in her honor, the Lillie Jolly School of Nursing. From 1917 to 1920, she served as superintendent, leading the hospital for two years before re-focusing her attention to the nurses and the nursing school. Robert Jolly became superintendent and served in the position from 1920-1945. Robert and Lillie Jolly were married at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day 1924. She retired in 1947. Lillie Jolly died in 1953.

Robert Jolly was born in Cave City, Kentucky in 1885. He was a Baptist minister. He became the Business Manager for the Baptist Sanitarium in 1919. In 1920 he took over as superintendent for the hospital, a position he held until his retirement in 1945. As superintendent, Jolly oversaw the development and growth of the hospital for 24 years. Jolly was a great fundraiser and worked to make Memorial Hospital one of the leaders in health care. In 1922, the American College of Surgeons awarded Memorial its hospital certification. Jolly also represented the hospital in national organizations, taking leadership positions in the Texas Hospital Association, American Protestant Hospital Association, American Hospital Association, and American College of Hospital Administrators. Robert Jolly died in 1952.

Lela Smith Hickey (Mrs. H. H.) graduated from the Lillie Jolly School of Nursing in 1933. She donated a collection of about 31 photographs that depict the nurses, nursing students, physicians, and facilities of Memorial Hospital in 1932, including the operating room supervisor “Birdie” Byrd. According to a note found in the collection, she was a distant cousin of D. R. Pevoto, founder of Memorial Hospital, and worked “CU” [perhaps, Intensive Care Unit] until early 1960s. Lela Smith Hickey died May 7, 1970.

Col. J. W. Neal and wife, Elizabeth Mitchell Neal, founders of the Cheek-Neal Coffee Co. that made Maxell House famous, were staunch Baptists who supported Memorial Hospital. He became a trustee in the 1920s, and they created two trust funds at the hospital in memory of their children Margaret Ophelia Neal for sick and disabled children and James Robert Neal for X-ray treatment of cancer. In 1944 Mrs. Neal gave Memorial Hospital the block used for their Nurses’ Professional Building in Downtown Houston. Hugh Roy Cullen provided the funds to construct the building, donating $2 million. The building was completed in 1948.

SOURCES:

“History of Memorial Hospital Much Like city’s dynamic story” by Betty Ewing. Houston Chronicle, 1982, 11/27. Reference Files; Memorial Hospital System [Baptist Sanatorium], (Houston, Texas); John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
“Memorial Hospital Facility to Celebrate Its 75th Anniversary at banquet Tonight” by Mary Jane Schier. Houston Post, 1982, 11/29. Reference Files; Memorial Hospital System [Baptist Sanatorium], (Houston, Texas); John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
News clipping, Box 9, Folder 22, “Mrs. Lillie Jolly has Always Liked to Help People” by Bess Whitehead Scott, [unknown newspaper], Houston, TX. 1938, 01/09. Memorial Hospital records; IC 022; John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
“Memorial’s 50th Year Observed” by George DeMenil. Houston Post, 1957, 08/25. Reference Files; Memorial Hospital System [Baptist Sanatorium], (Houston, Texas); John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
Note and catalog card for P-176 in Lela Smith Hickey Collection. Memorial Hospital Photograph Collection; IC 103; John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
Francis, Ted and Carole McFarland. 1982. The Memorial Hospital System: The First Seventy-Five Years. Special Commemorative Edition. Houston: Larksdale Press.
Memorial Hermann website, About us, http://www.memorialhermann.org/about-us/, Accessed: 10/12/2018
Handbook of Texas Online, Diana J. Kleiner, “MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM,” accessed September 19, 2018, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/sbm07.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

The Memorial Hospital Photograph Collection contains 4039 photographic prints and negatives from 1903 to 1976 that chronicle the long history of the Memorial Hospital System (originally Baptist Sanitarium and Hospital). The photographs depict the staff, physicians, personnel, departments, nursing school students, faculty and Lillie Jolly (director), facilities and building construction of the Memorial Hospital System. The earliest dated photograph is the only nitrate negative (P-3387). It depicts Louisville Male High School graduating class of 1903, which includes Roger Jolly. It is in good condition. There is a separate series of about 31 photographs donated by Lela Smith Hickey that depict the nurses, nursing students, physicians, and facilities of Memorial Hospital in 1932, including the operating room supervisor “Birdie” Byrd. The entire collection equals 3.5 cubic feet and includes 7 boxes. Materials are in good condition.

System of arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:
Series I: Lela Smith Hickey Collection, 1932
Series II: Memorial Hospital System Collection, 1903-1979

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

Unrestricted. Material is open for research.

Physical access

Materials are in good condition.

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Permission to publish from this material must be facilitated through the repository, McGovern Historical Center.

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

Finding aids

Generated finding aid

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

Deed-1

Immediate source of acquisition

Memorial Hospital System donated the materials in 1979.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

No accruals are expected for this collection.

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

IC 022 Memorial Hospital System records; IC 071 Memorial/Hermann Healthcare records; IC 086 Hermann Hospital Archive records; IC 098 TMC Library Historical Photograph Collection; IC 104 TMC Photograph Collection; MS 181 Leta Denham RN papers; MS 210 Judson L. Taylor

Notes element

Specialized notes

  • Citation: Memorial Hospital Photograph Collection; IC 103; John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library. Please cite the box and folder numbers where appropriate.
  • Processing information: Copy of catalog card is housed with each item. The catalog card provides more information about the items, such as photographer service, dimensions, and, occasionally, brief historical or biographical descriptions of subjects. Finding aid provides a brief description of image, most often the name of who is pictured and their occupation at the hospital.
  • Processing information: The collection materials were pulled from IC 098 TMC Library Historical Photograph Collection to create this collection based on the donor, Memorial Hospital System. The images were previously cataloged and housed in acid-free envelopes. At that time, a photo identification number (P-### for prints or N-### for negatives) was assigned to each photograph or group of photographs. In 2018 the collection was processed as a new collection. The descriptions provided on the catalog cards were written on the envelope and inventoried, noting the description, dimensions, and quantity. The descriptive information was encoded for each envelope along with the quantity of photographs (in square brackets) in each envelope.
  • Processing information: Based on the catalog descriptions a group of photographs indicated as Lela Smith Hickey Collection were separated into their own series. Items are arranged within each series in numerical order based on the photograph identification number (P-####). Negatives and prints with the same photograph identification number were housed in the same envelope, indicated by folder number with both photograph identification numbers (P-####, N-####).

Alternative identifier(s)

TARO

00320

Description control element

Rules or conventions

Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Sources used

Archivist's note

Processed by Gagina Leonard, 2018. Finding aid prepared and encoded by Sandra Yates, 2018.

Access points

Place access points

Accession area