Search

This oral history interview was conducted with Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans on July 27, 2006 by Jessica Roseberry as part of the Women in Duke Medicine Oral History Exhibit.
Duration: 1:41:06
Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans speaks about her memories of what health care was like when she was a young woman; health care for her mother; the former chair of Medicine, Dr. Frederick Hanes; the Hanes family; her interest in, but not necessarily involvement with, the Duke Department of Psychiatry; Dr. H. Keith H. Brodie, former president of Duke University; Dr. Josiah Trent, her first husband; collecting medical history items; the preservation of rare books of this nature; Dr. Trent's appreciation for Duke; Dr. Trent working with conscientious objectors at Duke during WWII; her work in the Department of Social Services; Reba Hobgood, head of the department; socialization within the hospital; the Duke family's involvement with Lincoln Hospital, Durham's hospital for African-American patients; the integration of Lincoln Hospital and Watts Hospital, the hospital for Durham's white patients; the possibility that Dr. Wilburt Davison, former dean of Duke School of Medicine, would become president of Duke University; the relationship between Duke Medical Center and Duke University; Dr. Davison's involvement with the Duke Endowment; Dr. William Anlyan, former leader of Duke Medical Center; Dr. James Semans, her second husband; Dr. Semans's work with sexual dysfunction; Dr. Semans's work with the North Carolina School of the Arts; Dr. Semans's work with the Cultural Services program at Duke Hospital; Dr. John Dees; and Dr. Susan Dees. The transcription of this interview was made possible by a grant from the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation. Includes 2 master CDs, 2 use CDs, and 1 transcript