Record Book of Marie Jones Francis
Dublin Core
Title
Record Book of Marie Jones Francis
Alternative Title
Marie Francis Record Book
Subject
African Americans--Florida--Sanford
Sanford (Fla.)
Georgetown (Sanford, Fla.)
Midwives--United States
Maternity homes--United States
Description
A record book owned by Marie Jones Francis, the "midwife of Sanford," for the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall, located at 621 East Sixth Street in Georgetown, an historic black neighborhood in Sanford, Florida. The house was originally the home of Reverend John R. Hurston, the father of Zora Neale Hurston.
Marie Jones Francis, the "midwife of Sanford," left behind a successful hotel and restaurant she owned in Sarasota in 1942 to return to Sanford and become a midwife. World War II caused a shortage in doctors and nurses, so Florida's Children's Bureau sent Francis to Florida A & M to acquire her practical nursing license in 1945. She specialized in premature babies and returned to Sanford to aid her mother, Carrie Jones, at Fernald-Laughton Memorial Hospital before they opened the ward in their home. "When her health starting failing," she recollects in a newspaper article, "I took over." Francis converted her house at 621 East Sixth Street to also serve as a maternity ward, where she delivered over 40,000 babies over her 32 year career. She became a midwife in the same vein as her mother, Carrie Jones, and together they ran the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall in Georgetown.
Francis served her community in several ways. She delivered babies for both white and black families from Seminole County, primarily patrons who either preferred natural births or could not afford deliveries at a hospital. In the 1950s, it cost $70 to stay nine days where soon-to-be mothers were taken care of. Francis was assisted by her sister, Annie Walker, who did the cooking. The house and ward also served as a school, where Marie Francis taught nurses the art of midwifery. Nurses would come from across the state to learn how to delivery infants naturally. A heavy burden on a single working mother, Marie Francis had three daughters, Cassandra Clayton, Daphne Humphrey, and Barbara Torre. Clayton and Humphrey became school teachers and Torre became a purchaser at Seminole Memorial Hospital.
Marie Jones Francis, the "midwife of Sanford," left behind a successful hotel and restaurant she owned in Sarasota in 1942 to return to Sanford and become a midwife. World War II caused a shortage in doctors and nurses, so Florida's Children's Bureau sent Francis to Florida A & M to acquire her practical nursing license in 1945. She specialized in premature babies and returned to Sanford to aid her mother, Carrie Jones, at Fernald-Laughton Memorial Hospital before they opened the ward in their home. "When her health starting failing," she recollects in a newspaper article, "I took over." Francis converted her house at 621 East Sixth Street to also serve as a maternity ward, where she delivered over 40,000 babies over her 32 year career. She became a midwife in the same vein as her mother, Carrie Jones, and together they ran the Jones-Francis Maternity Hall in Georgetown.
Francis served her community in several ways. She delivered babies for both white and black families from Seminole County, primarily patrons who either preferred natural births or could not afford deliveries at a hospital. In the 1950s, it cost $70 to stay nine days where soon-to-be mothers were taken care of. Francis was assisted by her sister, Annie Walker, who did the cooking. The house and ward also served as a school, where Marie Francis taught nurses the art of midwifery. Nurses would come from across the state to learn how to delivery infants naturally. A heavy burden on a single working mother, Marie Francis had three daughters, Cassandra Clayton, Daphne Humphrey, and Barbara Torre. Clayton and Humphrey became school teachers and Torre became a purchaser at Seminole Memorial Hospital.
Source
Original record book by Marie Jones Francis: Private Collection of Daphne F. Humphrey.
Publisher
Boorum & Pease
Date Created
ca. 1945-1977
Contributor
Humphrey, Daphne F.
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original record book by Marie Jones Francis.
Is Part Of
Marie Jones Francis Collection, RICHES of Central Florida, Georgetown Collection, Sanford Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Requires
Format
application/pdf
Extent
281 KB
Medium
1 record book
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Jones-Francis Maternity Hall, Georgetown, Sanford, Florida
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Provenance
Originally owned by Marie Jones Francis.
Inherited by Daphne F. Humphrey.
Rights Holder
Copyright to the resource is held by Daphne F. Humphrey and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Curator
Firpo, Julio R.
Digital Collection
Source Repository
Private Collection of Daphne F. Humphrey
External Reference
Dickinson, Joy Wallace. A Very Rich Trail: Florida’s Black Heritage is Celebrated in an Updated and Expanded State Publication." The Orlando Sentinel, February 24, 2008, J1. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/02/24/3287685.htm.
Moore, Stacy. "Midwife on Job Here 32 Years." The Little Sentinel, April 4, 1979, 26.
Jeria, Michelle. "Sanford'S Birth Place: Marie Jones Francis Delivered More than 40,000 Babies in Her Sixth Street Home." The Sanford Herald, Feb 16, 2003, 1C.
Flewellyn, Valada Parker, and the Sanford Historical Society. African Americans of Sanford. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2009.
"Oral History of Daphne F. Humphrey." Interview by Julio R. Firpo. Home of Daphne F. Humphrey. April 8, 2011. Audio record available. RICHES of Central Florida.
Transcript
RECORD
Property
Jones-Francis Maternity Home
621 E 6th St.
Sanford, Fla.
Phone[?]
Osteen 3223780
Standard Blank Book
No. 66
Journals Double $ and Cts. no Units
Cash Books Double $ and Cts. no Units
Day Books Double $ and Cts. no Units
S. B. Ledgers Double $ and Cts. no Units
D. E. Ledgers Full Page Form no Units
Long Day Books
Records with Margin Line
In 150. 300 and 500 Pages
Made in U. S. A.
TO REORDER THIS BOOK, SPECIFY NUMBER, RULING AND THICKNESS AS INDICATED ON BACKBONE OF BOOK
A BOGRUM & PEASE PRODUCT
Property
Jones-Francis Maternity Home
621 E 6th St.
Sanford, Fla.
Phone[?]
Osteen 3223780
Standard Blank Book
No. 66
Journals Double $ and Cts. no Units
Cash Books Double $ and Cts. no Units
Day Books Double $ and Cts. no Units
S. B. Ledgers Double $ and Cts. no Units
D. E. Ledgers Full Page Form no Units
Long Day Books
Records with Margin Line
In 150. 300 and 500 Pages
Made in U. S. A.
TO REORDER THIS BOOK, SPECIFY NUMBER, RULING AND THICKNESS AS INDICATED ON BACKBONE OF BOOK
A BOGRUM & PEASE PRODUCT
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1 record book
Collection
Citation
“Record Book of Marie Jones Francis,” RICHES, accessed April 26, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/2931.