Anderson, Ida Jane (1869 – 1957)

Ida Jane Anderson (12 January 1869 – 17 November 1957) was the first Registered Nurse in the State of New York.

She trained at the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital (later, The Genesee Hospital) Training School, one of the first nursing schools in the entire United States, graduating in the class of 1902.

Ida Jane Anderson spent almost her entire career working in the hospitals of Rochester, and was made night supervisor at the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital, the first graduate nurse appointed to the role.

Ida Jane Anderson was born on January 12, 1869 in Napanee, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Joshua Luman Anderson (1843-1920) was a shoemaker, and her mother was Anna Eliza Mills Anderson (1847-1931). Ida Jane had three brothers and three sisters, including orthodox physician Frank Cecil Anderson (1874-1955).

For reasons that are not entirely clear, in July 1887, at the age of 18, Ida Jane left Canada alone and settled in the city of Rochester, New York, where she took up work as a dressmaker. Three years later she was joined there by her brother Charles who followed in their father’s footsteps by establishing a successful business manufacturing baby shoes.

In June 1899, at the age of 30, she enrolled in the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital Nurses’ Training School. Living in the nurse’s residence on Alexander Street, she studied and worked long hours. She enjoyed her three years in nurses’ training as evidenced by her association with the alumni organization, the writing of the class poem, the class yell and class song:

Oh, the graduates of 1902
We’re the kind
That were always true blue
Their work never shirking,
With no interne’s flirting,
Those nurses of 1902.

[This class poem was composed in 1903 by Ida Jane Anderson while she was a nursing student]

After her graduation in 1902, her parents relocated to Rochester, living at 179 Henrietta Street with Ida Jane and their six-month-old granddaughter, Ila Anderson. Ida Jane, who never married, essentially stepped into motherhood and raised her niece, whose mother had died in 1903.

On October 21, 1902, just a few months after Ida Jane had graduated, the New York State Nurses Association held their annual meeting in Rochester. In attendance was Ida Jane, with Susan B. Anthony as the keynote speaker. The Nurse Practice Act, also known as the Armstrong Act, was the main agenda item as the meeting moved to “establish a uniform and definite basis for the practice of nursing” in the state. The following May, 1903, it became law, and in 1904 Ida Jane was issued the first registered nursing license.

During the Smallpox Epidemic of 1902-3 Ida Jane helped nurse the victims at Rochester’s Hope Hospital. She later provided  nursing aid to typhoid sufferers in southern New York state.

Ida Jane Anderson spent much of her career in private practice at local Rochester hospitals. She was a trailblazer, becoming the first graduate nurse to become a night supervisor at the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital. In 1909, she became the hospital’s second Social Worker. Later, in the 1940s, Ida Jane also worked at Strong Memorial Hospital.

In the 1930’s, Ida Jane became a world traveler. When home in Rochester, she preferred to travel on foot and was an avid walker. She was also expert in crocheting and knitting.

Ida Jane died at Monroe Community Hospital in November 1957 aged 88, and was buried alongside other family members at Rochester’s Mount Hope Cemetery, also the final resting place of social reformer, women’s rights activist and homeopathic supporter Susan B. Anthony.

Throughout her career Ida Jane remained active with the Alumni Association, holding several offices. On October 2, 2004, a marker was dedicated to Ida Jane Anderson by the Genesee Hospital School of Nursing Alumni.