Camilla Louise Wills Papers
Scope and Contents
Dates
- 1910s-1950s
Biographical / Historical
Remaining in New York for the subsequent academic year, Wills attended the Columbia University Teacher's College, where she began a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, a degree she would ultimately complete in 1931. In the interim, Wills taught adult home nursing courses from 1920-22 in Clovis and Las Vegas, New Mexico for that state's Bureau of Public Health. She was briefly on staff at Cragmore Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before accepting a position as a high school biology teacher in Martinsburg, West Virginia, for the 1924 and 1925 academic years, returning to Columbia for more coursework in the summer of 1924. She joined the nursing staff of Virginia State Board of Health in 1925, where she became, first, the Assistant State Director for Tuberculosis Education, then, after the spring semester 1926 at the University of Virginia, the Superintendent for Public Welfare for Charlottesville, Virginia. In 1929, Wills returned full-time to Columbia for the BS in Nursing, then continued at Columbia for a Master's degree in Health Education, teaching concurrently at the State Teachers' College in Newark, New Jersey. She continued to teach health education, physiology, and biology at various colleges and high schools for the remainder of her career. Wills retired to Charlottesville in the early 1960s, the place she had always considered home.
Wills' wartime experiences marked her in a significant way. She realized that with greater knowledge of biology, she could have alleviated much needless suffering for her soldier patients. Her career in teaching and public health led new generations of students to that goal.
Extent
1.75 Linear Feet (4 document boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Arrangement
The initial folder contains a variety of biographical materials. Sequential folders contain early correspondence (1907-1913) and items relative to Wills' education. World-War-One-era correspondence (1917-1919) and related materials follow, including Wills' diary, a period guidebook to Paris, and various post card collections. The balance of her correspondence (1920-1975) precedes the subject categories "Columbia Teacher's College" through "Publications." The arrangement terminates with photographs and artifacts: first are World War One photographs and others by type or subject, then the reconstituted pages from a disbound photograph album (1917-1923). Reference is given for additional artifacts and oversized items stored elsewhere.
- Title
- Camilla Louise Wills Collection
- Author
- Henry K. Sharp
- Date
- 2014-15
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry Repository
University of Virginia School of Nursing
P.O. Box 800782
Charlottesville Virginia 22908-0782 United States
mailto:nurs-hxc@virginia.edu