Rebecca was born free and not into slavery, in Delaware, circa 1831 to parents Absolum Davis and Matilda Webber. She was raised by an aunt in Pennsylvania who very likely inspired Rebecca to go into the medical field. Her aunt was the major helping hand in her community, since there were very few places that treated black people at the time, Rebecca’s aunt, having some knowledge in the field of nursing was the person to whom everyone came for medical assistance. It is believed that as a result of watching her aunt helping others, it inspired Rebecca to have the urge to want to help people. This can be seen from an excerpt in her book “Book of Medical Discourses” Where Rebecca states that she knew her work had to be in a field where she could “relieve the sufferings of