20″ x 20″
Sarah Garland Boyd Jones was born in 1866 to parents who were likely freed slaves. Her father worked for the Freedman’s Bureau, building schools for freed people. Sarah’s whole family was literate, which was unusual at the time. She went to school with Maggie Lena Walker and became a teacher. She married Miles Jones in 1888. Due to her marriage, she was no longer allowed to teach. Sarah started medical school at Howard University in 1890 and graduated three years later. She became the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in Richmond, Virginia. Her practice focused on women and children, although all were welcome regardless of race or gender. In 1902, she and her husband founded Richmond Community Hospital. Sarah died in 1905. In 1922, the hospital was renamed the Sarah G. Jones Memorial Hospital, Medical College and Training School for Nurses in her honor.
