Item Detail
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Anderson, Artemesia Draper
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1857-1940
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MSS SC 1021
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Biography
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Artemesia Draper Anderson was born 20 August 1857 in Draper, Utah to William Jr. and Mary Ann (Manhardt) Draper. The town of Draper was named after her father because he was the first LDS bishop in the area. Artemesia 's family then moved, and she grew up in Moroni, Sanpete, Utah where she spent the rest of her life. In 1872, when she was a child, a smallpox epidemic passed through the county. The school was closed because of the epidemic, so Artemesia was unable to further her education at that point. When Artemesia was a young woman, Eliza R. Snow came to the area and organized a branch of the Young Ladies Retrenchment Association, which Artemesia joined and became a counselor in the presidency. Artemesia married Ephraim Anderson in Cedar City on 24 August 1879; they were later sealed in the Endowment House. They raised their five sons and one daughter in Moroni. Her husband became ill in 1891 and was unable to work, so Artemesia went to Salt Lake City to study nursing at Dr. Ellis R. Shipp's School of Obstetrics. She became one of Utah's first licensed practical nurses and helped support her family while practicing as a midwife and nurse in Sanpete County. She was active in her community and stayed quite busy with her nursing license. Artemesia's final child delivery as midwife occurred when she was 80 years old; she delivered twins. She died two years later on 1 September 1940 in Moroni, Utah.
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This biography was written by Artemesia's granddaughter, Grace B. Westenskow in 1978. The brief history of Artemesia is four typewritten pages long and covers Artemesia's life from 1857-1940, but greatest emphasis is given to her role as a midwife/nurse in Sanpete County. As midwife she delivered about 2000 infants, which is why she was given the nickname Aunt Art. She also acted as a physician/nurse, traveling significant distances to reach her patients. She attended not only to expecting mothers but also to those with broken bones, smallpox, typhoid, etc. After her husband was healed from an illness, he also became interested in the medical field and became a self-trained veterinarian. This biography is a broad overview, few stories are elaborated, and little detail is given about her family, although names of her children are listed. Two other papers are included in this collection; one is a letter Grace B. Westenskow submitted with the history asking if she could donate the history. The final paper Grace sent is the LDS Relief Society Notes to the Field Nov.-Dec. 1977 vol. 7 no. 4 which contains information about submitting histories along with other data about Relief Society.
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1946-