GB 0102 MS 380325 - Cousins, (Ethel) Constance

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0102 MS 380325

Title

Cousins, (Ethel) Constance

Date(s)

  • Created 1865-1974 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

4 boxes

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Constance (Ethel) Cousins was born on 22 September 1882, in Antananarivo (Tananarive), Madagascar. She was the daughter of the Rev. William Edward Cousins, missionary to Madagascar with the London Missionary Society, 1862-1899. By 1885, Constance and her siblings had returned to England, where they attended the Walthamstow Hall School for the daughters of missionaries. Constance then attended Oxford University, gaining first class honours in Physiology in 1904.

In 1911, Constance Cousins' application to serve with the London Missionary Society was turned down on the grounds that she displayed the symptoms of latent epilepsy (a diagnosis never subsequently confirmed). In November 1911, she went to the Almora Sanatorium for Tuberculosis in North India as an unpaid medical assistant. The Church of Scotland ran the Sanatorium and in November 1913 she transferred to the Church of Scotland's medical mission at Kalimpong (North India). Her appointment to the mission staff was confirmed in January 1914. During her period of service at Kalimpong (1913-1923) she was requested to help combat a cholera epidemic in neighbouring Bhutan. Thus, in August 1918, she and her assistant, Nurse Brodie, became the first European women to be admitted to that country. In 1923 Cousins returned as a permanent member of staff to the Almora Sanatorium. She also obtained a diploma from the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London. She continued to work at Almora until her death in May 1944.

Archival history

GB 0102 MS 380325 Created 1865-1974 Collection (fonds) 4 boxes Cousins , Ethel Constance , 1882-1944 , medical missionary
Constance (Ethel) Cousins was born on 22 September 1882, in Antananarivo (Tananarive), Madagascar. She was the daughter of the Rev. William Edward Cousins, missionary to Madagascar with the London Missionary Society, 1862-1899. By 1885, Constance and her siblings had returned to England, where they attended the Walthamstow Hall School for the daughters of missionaries. Constance then attended Oxford University, gaining first class honours in Physiology in 1904.

In 1911, Constance Cousins' application to serve with the London Missionary Society was turned down on the grounds that she displayed the symptoms of latent epilepsy (a diagnosis never subsequently confirmed). In November 1911, she went to the Almora Sanatorium for Tuberculosis in North India as an unpaid medical assistant. The Church of Scotland ran the Sanatorium and in November 1913 she transferred to the Church of Scotland's medical mission at Kalimpong (North India). Her appointment to the mission staff was confirmed in January 1914. During her period of service at Kalimpong (1913-1923) she was requested to help combat a cholera epidemic in neighbouring Bhutan. Thus, in August 1918, she and her assistant, Nurse Brodie, became the first European women to be admitted to that country. In 1923 Cousins returned as a permanent member of staff to the Almora Sanatorium. She also obtained a diploma from the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London. She continued to work at Almora until her death in May 1944.

Donated in 1980.

Papers, 1865-1974, of and relating to (Ethel) Constance Cousins, including correspondence with her family, photographs, press cuttings and the unpublished typescript biography by her niece Janet E. Cousins. Also includes letters dated 1893-1900 from her father, Rev. William Edward Cousins, chiefly from Madagascar.

The material has been arranged into seven sections: biography; family letters; education and life in England 1890-1911; early years in India: Almora, North India, 1911-1913; years in Kalimpong 1913-1923 (including a journey to Bhutan, August 1918); the second period at Almora 1923-1944; general.

Unrestricted.

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.
English

Unpublished handlist.

15 May 2000 Actinomycetales infections Almora Ancient religions Anglicanism Asia Asian cultures Bhutan Biographies Children of missionaries Christianity Church of Scotland Church of Scotland medical mission , Kalimpong, India Church of Scotland sanatorium for tuberculosis , Almora, India Clergy Cousins , Ethel Constance , 1882-1944 , medical missionary x Cousins , Constance Cousins , family , of England and Madagascar Cousins , Janet E , fl 1947-1974 Cousins , William Edward , b 1840 , missionary Diseases Druk-Yul East Africa Educational systems Health services India Kalimpong Lay missionaries Literary forms and genres Literature Madagascar Medical centres Medical missionaries Medical missionary work Missionaries Missionary Society x LMS , London Missionary Society x London Missionary Society Missionary work National cultures Newspaper press Ordained missionaries Pathology Photographs Press Press cuttings Prose Protestantism Religions Religious activities Religious groups Religious institutions Religious movements Social sciences Social welfare South Asia Students Travel Travel abroad Tuberculosis University of Oxford x Oxford University Uttar Pradesh Visual materials West Bengal Women missionaries Womens education Womens missionary work Women students Catholicism

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Donated in 1980.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers, 1865-1974, of and relating to (Ethel) Constance Cousins, including correspondence with her family, photographs, press cuttings and the unpublished typescript biography by her niece Janet E. Cousins. Also includes letters dated 1893-1900 from her father, Rev. William Edward Cousins, chiefly from Madagascar.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

The material has been arranged into seven sections: biography; family letters; education and life in England 1890-1911; early years in India: Almora, North India, 1911-1913; years in Kalimpong 1913-1923 (including a journey to Bhutan, August 1918); the second period at Almora 1923-1944; general.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Unrestricted.

Conditions governing reproduction

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Unpublished handlist.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

School of Oriental and African Studies

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area