Cherokee County

County History: 
Cherokee
Region: 
Western
Quick Facts
  • County seat: Murphy, NC
  • Population: ~28,774 (2020 census)
  • Part of the historic Cherokee homelands
  • Cherokee county website
People and Biographies
Notable individuals from nursing history.
  • Marilyn Augustin (1980s): Non-profit nurse in Cherokee County dubbed "Healer of the Hills" (1987).
  • Bessie Mae Sneed Dakin (1940s): Nurse Bessie Mae Sneed Dakin, a Fort Sanders Hospital (Knoxville, TN) graduate was with her businessman husband in the Philliines when the Japaneese invaded at the start of WWII. She nad her husand were held for 3 years in various Japaneese internment camps. She wrote about her experiecnes as a captive in the book Captured By The Japanese.
  • Lula Owl Gloyne (1891-1985): Lula Owl Gloyne was the first Eastern Band Cherokee Indian (ECBI) Registered Nurse and possibly the first Native American Registered Nurse in the United States.
  • Elsie (Nelson) Lail (1925-2014): Knox County Health Department nurse, she also trained for U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps and was a public health nurse for over 35 years. (Memorial available on Legacy website.)
  • Sue Lynn Ledford ( ): Public health administrator from Cherokee county.
  • Ernestine Walkingstick (1937-1999): Director of Community Health Nursing for the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
Compiled by: 
Phoebe Pollitt