Daisy M. Saffell, 1875-1918
Inscription
DAISY M. SAFFELL (1875-1918) - An intrepid educator & businesswoman, Saffell devoted her life to serving African Americans during an era of segregation. She became the second Black woman in Ky. to obtain embalmer’s & undertaker’s licenses, operating Saffell Funeral Home in Shelbyville with husband George. As tribute to her civic activism, colleagues named a local hospital after her in 1918.
DAISY SAFFELL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL - Opened in 1916 by Saffell and five other African American women in the Martinsville neighborhood, the hospital greatly expanded access to quality healthcare for Black residents of Shelby Co. At this time, few such opportunities existed anywhere in Ky. due to the racial segregation of medical services. DSMH closed in 1954 when an integrated hospital opened.
Location
Sources
More markers in Shelby
"Horrible Massacre"
On January 25, 1865, Co. E. 5th United States Colored Calvary (USCC) attacked by Confederate guerillas while driving herd of 900 cattle...
Lewis and Clark in Kentucky - 1806 Return of Expedition & Death of Meriwaether Lewis
Shelbyville, KY
Meriwether Lewis & William Clark, leaders of the 1803-06 journety to the Pacific, visited Shelbyville several times.
Lewis and Clark in Kentucky - Death of Meriwether Lewis
William Clark, coleader of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific, spent the night of October 28, 1809, at John Shannon's...
Thelma Stovall
Entered political service in 1949 when she was elected to the Kentucky state legislature.
Birthplace of Governor Augustus Owsley Stanley
Shelbyville, KY
A. O. Stanley, Governor of Ky.