Helen Evangeline Banks Harrison papers

Helen Evangeline Banks Harrison was born in Hampton, Virginia in 1898, to Issiah and Anna DeCosta Banks. Often called Evangeline, or Vangi, she attended city schools in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as Avery Normal Institute, and Howard University. In 1922 she married Armistead B. Harrison and in 1935, she began working as a clerk in the out patient clinic of Charleston's segregated Hospital and Training School for Nurses. Harrison became Medical Records Librarian at McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital, the successor organization to the Hospital and Training School. Evangeline Banks Harrison retired in 1966 and continued to serve a number of women's, social and civic organization, including the Charleston Chapter of LINKS, of which she was a charter member. Mrs. Harrison died in 1985. The collection consists of personal materials and those documenting Harrison's mother, Anna DeCosta Banks, the Hospital and Training School for Nurses, and McClennan-Banks hospital. Personal papers of Evangeline Banks Harrison and her family include her Avery Institute graduation program (1917), biographical data, inspirational clippings, photographs, and a sporadically kept diary (circa 1937-1940s). Armistead Harrison materials document his membership in the Owls Whist Club and his long time career as a barber at Felder's Barbershop, Charleston, South Carolina. Anna DeCosta Banks materials include photos, biographical data, and diplomas. There are early graduation programs from the Hospital and Training School for Nurses, and clippings and notes regarding the history of the segregated hospital founded by Dr. Alonzo McClennan including photocopies of some issues of The Hospital Herald journal he edited. Included are constitutions, bylaws, and charters of that institution and its successor, the McClennan-Banks Memorial Hospital. With significant correspondence (1947-1959) regarding the closing of the earlier institution, and the struggle to secure financing to support a hospital to treat African Americans. With some miscellaneous materials regarding hospital staff and their descendants.