Petra Pinn Explained

Petra Pinn
Other Names:Petra F. Walker (during marriage 1911-1913)
Birth Name:Petra Fitzalieu Pinn
Birth Date:February 9, 1881
Birth Place:Zanesville, Ohio, US
Death Date:February 21, 1958 (aged 77)
Death Place:Xenia, Ohio, US
Occupation:Nurse, hospital administrator
Known For:President of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (1923–1924)

Petra Fitzalieu Pinn (February 9, 1881 – February 21, 1958) was an American nurse and hospital administrator, and president of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in 1923 and 1924.

Early life

Petra Pinn was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of William H. Pinn and Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hicks Pinn. Her father was born in 1840, enslaved on a plantation in Warrenton, Virginia; in adulthood, he worked at a glass factory and was a policeman in Ohio.[1]

Pinn trained as a nurse at the Tuskegee Institute, graduating in 1906,[2] and was founder and president of the nursing program's alumni association.[3]

Career

Pinn began her nursing career in Montgomery, Alabama. From 1909 to 1911, she served as superintendent of nurses and matron at a Red Cross sanitarium and training school in Louisville, Kentucky. She was in private nursing positions for several years, then in 1916 she moved to Palm Beach, Florida, to help open and run Pine Ridge Hospital. She moved to New York City and worked at the Seaview Hospital on Staten Island. In 1931 she sued and won a cash award[4] from a hospital in South Carolina after a contract dispute,[5] though the legal process dragged into 1932.[6] In 1932, she was director of nurse training at Bethune–Cookman College.[7]

She joined the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) early in her career. She represented the NACGN at the American Nurses Association meeting in Atlanta in 1920.[8] In 1923, she was elected president of NACGN;[9] she resigned the presidency in 1926 for health reasons.[10] She served as treasurer of the organization from 1929 to 1946, and won the NACGN's first Mary Mahoney Award in 1939.[11] [12] She retired from nursing and from NACGN in 1946.

Personal life

Pinn was married in Louisville in 1911, to William D. Walker.[13] They divorced in 1913, and she reassumed her birth name.[14] In retirement, Pinn lived with her sister in Wilberforce, Ohio. She died at a hospital in Xenia, Ohio in 1958, after a stroke,[15] aged 77 years.[16] [17]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1905-04-05. William Henry Pinn Dies Tuesday Morn. 5. The Times Recorder. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  2. Book: Davis, Marianna W.. Contributions of Black Women to America: Civil rights, politics and government, education, medicine, sciences. 1982. Kenday Press. 367. en.
  3. Web site: Davis. Althea T.. Pinn, Petra Fitzalieu (1881-1958), nursing administrator. 2021-02-12. American National Biography. 2000. en. 10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1201109. 978-0-19-860669-7.
  4. News: 1931-12-19. Petra Pinn Awarded $750.50 By Court. 3. The Greenville News. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  5. News: 1931-03-20. Hospital Head Gives Statement. 18. The Greenville News. 2021-02-12.
  6. News: 1932-01-28. Ansel Hears Two Motions Argued. 14. The Greenville News. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  7. News: 1932-12-09. Tuskegee Grads Gain Leadership in Many Fields. 18. The Montgomery Advertiser. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  8. News: 1920-09-18. Colored Graduate Nurses in 13th Annual Convention. 2. The New York Age. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  9. Massey. G. Estelle. 1933. The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses. The American Journal of Nursing. 33. 6. 534–536. 10.2307/3412359. 3412359. 0002-936X.
  10. News: 1926-09-04. National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses in19th Annual Meet With Largest Delegation from Virginia. 3. The New York Age. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  11. News: 1939-09-09. Graduate Nurses Assn. Elect Mrs. Gaines as New President. 3. The New York Age. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  12. News: 1939-08-19. Nurses Assn. Expects Big Attendance at Annual Convention. 9. The New York Age. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  13. News: 1911-04-19. Pinn-Walker. 5. The Times Recorder. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  14. News: 1913-09-04. Court Notes. 5. The Courier-Journal. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  15. News: 1958-02-22. Petra Pinn Formerly of City Dies. 8. The Times Recorder. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  16. News: 1958-03-15. Miss Petra Pinn. 6. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.
  17. News: 1958-02-24. Deaths. 13. The Times Recorder. 2021-02-12. Newspapers.com.