Maria Cederschiöld (deaconess)

Anna Maria Cederschiöld (20 November 1815 in Växjö - 7 January 1892 in Lund) was a Swedish noble deaconess and nurse.

She was the daughter of the vicar in Forsheda, Kasper Hakvin Cederschiöld, and Helena Sofia Ingelman.

She was educated at home and managed a girls school in Lund in 1848-49, before she was promised the place as head of the future Deaconess Institution, which was at that point planned to be founded in Stockholm.

During her tenure as principal and deaconess, "Sister Maria" became known for her hard work, in particularly during the cholera in Stockholm in 1853.

In 1854, she co-founded the Fruntimmersällskapet för fångars förbättring in Stockholm with philanthropist Mathilda Foy, writer Fredrika Bremer, writer Betty Ehrenborg and Emilia Elmblad, founder of the Stockholm home for reformed prostitutes.