Clara Jane Thornton Peck (March 1, 1862 – 15 June 1926) was an English-born American public health nurse and hospital matron, based in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Early life and education Clara Jane Thornton was born at Stroud, Gloucestershire in 1862, one of the five children of John Thornton and Jane Thornton. The Thorntons emigrated in 1872, settling first in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Clara attended the Pershing Conservatory of Music and was a soloist in her church choir.Ethel Stephens Arnett, "Clara Jane Thornton Peck" in William S. Powell, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography (UNC Press 1996).
Career In 1898 she moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1901, as a 39-year-old widow, she trained as a nurse at Greensboro Hospital, and showed such aptitude that she was soon the hospital's first matron. By 1909, "Mother Peck" had the experience and reputation to be selected as Greensboro's first district nurse, by the newly formed District Nurse and Relief Association,"A Noble Work" Greensboro Daily News (November 23, 1914): 4. via Newspapers.com and paid by a public subscription drive."Clara Peck obit" North Carolina Nursing History, Appalachian State University. Every month, she attended hundreds patients in need,"A Great Work is Done by the District Nurse" Greensboro Daily News (August 17, 1919): 5. via Newspapers.com usually in their homes,"Work of Mrs. Peck" Greensboro Daily News (June 22, 1916): 6. via Newspapers.com and became a common sight walking between visits."Appeal for 'Mother' Peck Gets an Answer" Greensboro Daily News (September 11, 1914): 5. via Newspapers.com Her experiences in the community gave her a close familiarity with tuberculosis, and insights into possible preventive measures."Need of Educational Work Against Disease" Greenboro Daily News (May 30, 1915): 12. via Newspapers.com She became head of a small tuberculosis hospital in town,"District Home Adds Porch and a New Resident Nurse" Greensboro Daily News (April 27, 1922): 5. via Newspapers.com"To Provide Rest Cottage Within Next Four Weeks" Greensboro Daily News (March 4, 1920): 11. via Newspapers.com and in 1923, was a founder of North Carolina's first county-supported sanatorium."Kiwanians Supporting Bonds for Sanatorium" Greensboro Daily News (December 16, 1921): 5. via Newspapers.com She also worked with the local American Red Cross chapter during the 1918 flu pandemic. She was so much a community institution that, when she was knocked unconscious by a hit-and-run driver in 1921, a reward was raised to find the culprit."Mrs. Clara Peck Hurt by an Unknown Person" Greensboro Daily News (January 7, 1921): 8. via Newspapers.com"Trained Nurse in Greensboro Injured" Winston-Salem Journal (January 8, 1921): 6. via Newspapers.com Said one Greensboro doctor and colleague, "Nurses, like poets, are born, not made, and Mrs. Peck is a shining example of this truth."
Personal life Thornton married Delbert Stephen Peck in 1883. They had three children; a son died young, and two daughters, Saza and Cora, survived Clara."Mr. Wilson and Miss Peck Wed" Greensboro Telegram (September 16, 1910): 5. via Newspapers.com She was widowed when Delbert Peck died in 1899. Clara Peck died in 1926, age 64.
An elementary school in the Glenwood section of GreensboroGlenwood History, Greater Glenwood Neighborhood Association. has been named for Clara J. Peck since 1929.Clara J. Peck Elementary School, Greensboro NC, website. The county sanatorium Peck helped to found is now the site of the Guilford Technical Community College.Kristin Zachary, "Main GTCC Campus Took over TB Sanatorium Grounds" High Point Enterprise (October 30, 2014).
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