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While the average woman in the U.S. Civil War times lived to the age of about 40, a group of 17 extraordinary nurses--including Louisa Mae Alcott, Dorothea Dix, and Clara Barton--survived to much older ages. A variety of possible reasons, from social and marital status to altruism and religion, is explored. More than any tangible factor, however, the presence of a "pioneering spirit" seems to be at the root of their longevity.
Wendy A. Woodward (Tue,) studied this question.