Mary Seacole Quiz | People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Mary Grant was the daughter of a free Jamaican Creole women and a Scottish officer in the British Army. Which country was she born in?

Answer: Jamaica

Mary Grant was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1805. She spent time in Panama, England and other parts of the world. Even though her father was Scottish it isn't known if she ever visited Scotland.

2. Mary Grant grew up in "Blundell Hall", a boarding house and hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. Its patrons were mainly sick sailors and soldiers. In treating what disease did she acquire her nursing skills?

Answer: Yellow fever

Many of the patrons of "Blundell Hall" were suffering with yellow fever. Blundell Hall burned down on 29 August 1843 and was replaced by the New Blundell Hall. She did treat people for cholera during the 1850 epidemic which killed up to 32,000 Jamaicans.

The National Library of Jamaica in Kingston bears a blue plaque which marks the location of Blundell Hall, since the library was built on the site of Blundell Hall.

3. Mary Grant married Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole on the 10 November 1836 in Kingston. Who is according to the Seacole family legend, was Edwin's father or godfather?

Answer: Horatio Nelson

According to the legend Edwin's father is Horatio Nelson, and is the illegitimate son of Nelson and Lady Hamilton and was then adopted into the Seacole family. Mary Seacole's will states that Edwin was the godson of Nelson. Regarding a diamond ring she gave to a Count Gleichen, it states "given to my late husband by his Godfather Viscount Nelson". Nelson's own will didn't mention Edwin at all, so if he is Nelson's son or godson we will never know. Edwin died during the marriage in October, 1844.

4. In 1851 Mary Seacole went to Panama to visit her brother who had gone there to open up a hotel in Cruces. Shortly after she arrived the town, cholera struck. Which of these did Seacole NOT use in her treatment of cholera?

Answer: Opium

She shunned opium completely in the treatment of cholera preferring to use mustard rubs, water boiled with cinnamon for rehydration and mercury chloride as a laxative. Her methods had little success, but since the only other doctor was inexperienced and in Seacole's own words was a "timid little dentist".

5. Mary Seacole read about the outbreak of war with Russia in the newspaper. She left Jamaica via Panama in 1854 to aid in what way she could. Which country did Mary Seacole first visit?

Answer: England

Upon arriving in England Mary Seacole took to the War Office letters of recommendation from doctors in Panama and Jamaica. She was refused an interview and resolved to travel to the Crimea using her own resources. While in England at this time she met up with a relative of her late husband, Thomas Day. Mary Seacole along with Thomas Day then left England with supplies to set up the "British Hotel" in the Crimea.

6. While in Malta on the journey to the Crimea, Mary Seacole met a doctor who gave her a letter of introduction to which person?

Answer: Florence Nightingale

The doctor gave Mary Seacole a letter of introduction to Florence Nightingale. She had a meeting with Nightingale at Nightingale's hospital at Scutari, her offer of help was refused by Nightingale, and many people were refused jobs with Florence Nightingale as they failed to meet high her standards.

7. The "British Hotel" was the hotel that Mary Seacole built near the British headquarters outside of Balaclava. She was often seen touring the battlefields dressed in bright colours giving aid to the wounded and comfort to the dying. What was the nickname that the British troops gave Mary in the letters they sent back home?

Answer: Mother Seacole

Mary Seacole was looked on fondly by the British troops and was given the nickname Mother Seacole by the troops in their letters. She often toured the battlefields giving aid and comfort to the troops. Mary Seacole also sold provisions to the troops and aided the injured brought out from Sevastopol to the British camp at Kadikoi.

8. Because the "British Hotel" sold alcohol to the troops and was open to tourists, Florence Nightingale in a letter referred to Mary Seacole as a "woman of bad character" who kept "a bad house". What type of establishment was Florence suggesting the "British Hotel" was?

Answer: Brothel

Florence Nightingale frowned upon the British Hotel because it sold alcohol to the British troops, this could have been down to high standards and her belief in her social superiority. She did her best to avoid association between her nurses and Mary Seacole.

9. When the Crimean War ended in 1856, Mary Seacole returned to England in August. In the year that followed she wrote her autobiography and had it published in 1857. What was the title of her book?

Answer: Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands

Mary Seacole's autobiography the "Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands" was published in 1857 and sold for the price of one shilling and six pence. It is regarded as the first autobiography by a mixed race women in Britain. William Howard Russell, a reporter with "The Times" newspaper, wrote in the preface "I have witnessed her devotion and her courage ... and I trust that England will never forget one who has nursed her sick, who sought out her wounded to aid and succour them and who performed the last offices for some of her illustrious dead." It is a shame she was forgotten for almost a century, mainly due to being overshadowed by the work of Florence Nightingale.

However, she is again celebrated for her bravery and medical skills.

10. A marble bust of Mary Seacole was carved in 1871 and displayed in a summer exhibition in 1872. This bust was carved by a friend of Mary Seacole, who was a nephew of Queen Victoria. Who was the sculptor?

Answer: Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg was the nephew of Queen Victoria and was a friend of Mary Seacole, he is also known by the name Count Gleichen. He had visited the British Hotel while serving in the Crimea. After retiring from the navy he became a sculptor. Prince Victor was the recipient of Mary Seacole's diamond ring which had belonged to her husband, when she died on the 14th May 1881 at the age of 76.

In 1991 Mary Seacole was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.

Source: Author zonko

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Mary Seacole Trivia Quiz

Mary Seacole ... Have you heard the name? Enjoy learning more about this famous nurse.

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