Hyde County

County History: 
Hyde
Region: 
Coastal
Quick Facts
People and Biographies
Notable individuals from nursing history.
  • Kathleen Bragg (1897-1975): Pioneer Outer Banks nurse from Ocracoke.
  • Bessie Gibbs Cahoon (1910-1997): Born in Hyde County on October 17, 1910, Cahoon was the daughter of the late Willie K. and Addie Hall Gibbs. She was the widow of Robert Baxter Cahoon, Sr. who died in 1971. Mrs. Cahoon attended the former Tayloe Hospital School of Nursing in Washington. After her schooling, she worked for several Beaufort County physicians, the former Fowle Hospital, and Pungo District Hospital. She also worked for Dr. H.J. Liverman in Engelhard. She was active in Home Extension Service, the Craftsman Guild and Happy Hearts Club in Engelhard.
  • Elsie Ballance Garrish (u.d.-2003): Registered nurse born in Ocracoke, and graduate of Rex Hospital School of Nursing 1938. A 1988 interview with Garrish can be found attached in the Resources section below.
  • Almyra Maynard Watson (1917-): Special field hospital nurse for the US Army Nurse Corps during World War II, and volunteer Red Cross nurse. (Biographical sketch available on NCpedia: Agan, K. (2018). Watson, Almyra Maynard. NCpedia. https://www.ncpedia.org/watson-almyra-maynard.)
Resources
Additional resources for further research.

Articles and Publications

  • Ballance, A. (1989). Ocracokers. University of North Carolina Press.
  • Howard, P. (2012). Midwifery in North Carolina and on Ocracoke Island. Village Craftsman [newsletters]. Available online at https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/midwifery-north-carolina-ocracoke-island.
  • Howard, P. (2012). Ocracoke Nurses. Ocracoke Island Journal. Available online at https://villagecraftsmen.blogspot.com/2012/03/ocracoke-nurses.html.
  • Impact Assessment, Inc. (2005). Ethnohistorical Description of the Eight Villages adjoining Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Interpretive Themes of History and Heritage. Report prepared for Cape Hatteras National Seashore National Park Service. PDF available through National Park Service. Report contains information about nurses Elsie Garrish and Kathleen Bragg.

Newspaper Clippings

Compiled by: 
Phoebe Pollitt