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Daisy Hill Northcross

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Daisy Hill Northcross
A middle-aged African-American woman, hair cropped to chin length, wearing a dress with a surplice neckline and pearls
Daisy Hill Northcross, from a 1942 book
BornDecember 9, 1881
Montgomery, Alabama, US
DiedJanuary 10, 1956 (aged 75)
Detroit, Michigan, US
Occupation(s)Physician, hospital administrator
Known forCo-founder of Detroit's Mercy General Hospital in 1917

Daisy Hill Northcross (December 9, 1881 – January 10, 1956) was an American physician and hospital administrator, based in Detroit, Michigan.

Early life

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Daisy L. Hill was born in Montgomery, Alabama, the daughter of William M. Hill and Frances Fair Hill.[1][2][3] She trained as a teacher in Montgomery in 1899, then earned a bachelor's degree at Temple University in Philadelphia in 1902, and completed her medical degree in 1913 at Bennett Medical College in Chicago.[4] She was the second Black woman to apply for a medical license in Alabama.[5]

Career

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Northcross taught elocution and vocal music as a young woman. She and her husband ran a sanitarium in Alabama.[2] They moved from Montgomery to Detroit in 1916, as part of the Great Migration.[6][7] The following year opened the city's first Black-owned and operated hospital, Detroit Mercy General Hospital, slightly before the establishment of the larger Dunbar Hospital.[8][9] They also ran a drugstore, a hotel,[10] and a nurses' training program.[11]

Daisy Northcross took over the hospital's management when her husband was fatally stabbed by a tenant in 1933.[12] She was assisted by other medically trained members of her family, including her nephew Remus G. Robinson,[13] her son David, and his wife. She was also active in church and club activities in Detroit,[14][15][16] and in the YWCA.[1][17] She judged a Healthiest Baby Contest in 1954.[18]

Personal life

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Daisy Hill married a fellow Alabama-born doctor, David Caneen Northcross, in 1909.[2] They had three children, Gloria,[19][20] David, and Wilson. Their son David Jr. (1917–2009) also became a physician in Detroit, and his wife Ophelia Burnett Northcross (1926–2019) was a nurse.[21][22] Daisy Hill Northcross died in 1956, aged 75 years, after abdominal surgery in Detroit.[11][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b Who's who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1942. pp. 381, 386.
  2. ^ a b c Mather, Frank Lincoln (1915). Who's who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent ; Vol. 1. p. 206.
  3. ^ Beckford, Geraldine Rhoades (2013). Biographical Dictionary of American Physicians of African Ancestry, 1800-1920. Africana Homestead Legacy Pb. p. 240. ISBN 978-1-937622-18-3.
  4. ^ "Announcing the Re-Opening of Mercy Hospital". The Detroit Tribune. 1946-11-09. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "A Negro Woman An Applicant for License". The Montgomery Times. 1914-01-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Dr. Stewart Leaves for Detroit". The Emancipator. 1918-03-02. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Johannson, Nsenga Lee. "Viewing African-American history through the lens of health: The Great Migration and African Americans in Detroit, 1916–1940" (PhD dissertation, University of Michigan 2004): 92. via ProQuest
  8. ^ Greenidge, R. (1936-04-04). "The Rise of Medicine in Detroit". The Detroit Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Mercy Hospital". Black Bottom Digital Archive. Archived from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  10. ^ "Suit Against Hotel Lost by Former Lodger". Detroit Tribune. December 17, 1938. p. 2. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. ^ a b Boyd, Herb (June 22, 2017). "The medical Northcross family of Detroit". Amsterdam News. Archived from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  12. ^ "Physician Fatally Stabbed". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1933-01-14. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Mercy Hospital Remodeled and Conducted Under New Manager". The Tribune Independent of Michigan. July 28, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  14. ^ "Woman's Day to be Observed at St. Peters Church". The Detroit Tribune. 1936-05-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Buzzing Club No. 6". The Tribune Independent of Michigan. 1934-09-08. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Dr. Northcross is New Era Hostess". The Michigan Chronicle. November 18, 1939. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via Chronicling America.
  17. ^ "'YW' Board to Hold Night Meetings". The Detroit Tribune. 1936-03-14. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "First Prize of $300 to Winner". The Detroit Tribune. 1954-12-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Thunder on the Social Front". The Detroit Tribune. 1942-12-12. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Dr. Northcross Feted at Surprise Birthday Party". The Michigan Chronicle. December 19, 1942. p. 16. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via Chronicling America.
  21. ^ "Ophelia Northcross". Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive. August 19, 1998. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  22. ^ "Ophelia Burnett Northcross, a Pioneering Woman" (PDF). Historic Boston-Edison Association Newsletter: 7. 2019.
  23. ^ "Northcross Rites at Plymouth". Detroit Tribune. January 21, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved February 12, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
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