Janie Garner Burruss

[Photo and text: The Voice of the Negro v.3-4 (1906-07)] She was the wife of Dr. George Sanford Burruss who established the Burruss Sanitarium in 1901, in Augusta, Georgia. It was a complete hospital for blacks in the South, with twenty-seven rooms, modern equipment, a staff of twelve black physicians, and a training department for nurses.

The two married in 1899. Mrs. Burress (1876-1924), proved to be a helpmate to her husband, and frequently worked in his drug store or in the Sanitarium overseeing things. She was a graduate of Paine College, in Augusta, Georgia.

April 25, 1919 at the age of 53 her husband, Dr. Burruss died as a result of septicemia, due to a wound accidentally received while performing a surgical procedure.

Dr. Burruss and his wife are buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Richmond County, Augusta, Georgia.