Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
MacKenzie, Jemima (Mina), Dr.
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1872-1940
History
Dr. Jemima (Mina) MacKenzie was born in Waterside, Nova Scotia on August 18, 1872. She went to Pictou Academy and worked as a school teacher before attending Dalhousie Medical School. She graduated in 1904 and worked an internship in Boston, before leaving to pursue missionary work in India with her sister. She worked in various rural communities in India, started a hospital, and adopted dozens of orphaned children. In 1919 she was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind medal, India’s highest honour, for her work in medicine in India. She returned to Nova Scotia in 1920 when her father was ill, and practiced medicine out of her home in Pictou County until she returned to India in 1923 after her father’s death. She worked in India until 1939, when she returned to live in Nova Scotia until her death in 1940. During her time in India she started many hospitals and orphanages. Many of her adopted children moved to Canada, where their descendants have continued the work of Dr. Mina through the Dr. Mina MacKenzie Memorial Trust Fund, which continues to provide healthcare and orphanages in rural India.