Maude Frances Essig - Brokaw Director '23-'56

Maude Essig was born November 29th, 1884 on a farm near Elkhart, Indiana. She graduated from Passavant Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1907. Maude held various positions working for the Chicago Visiting Nurse Association, at Elkhart General Hospital, and she joined the U.S. Army Base Hospital in 1917. On February 20th, 1919 Maude began her trip back to the U.S. on SS America and on May 4th, 1919 she returned to civilian service.

For the next two years, Maude worked as Director of Nursing at the Elkhart General Hospital, with a brief position as an instructor of the training school of the Women’s Christian Hospital in Jamestown, NY. Then she moved to Normal, Illinois to serve as the director of the Brokaw Hospital School of Nursing from 1923 to 1956. Maude Essig passed away on September 6, 1981 and was buried at the Dayton National Military Cemetery. This section of our exhibit highlights her life and work while at the Brokaw Hospital School of Nursing.