Gibbons, Abigail Hopper

Gibbons, Abigail Hopper

▪ American social reformer
née  Abigail Hopper  
born December 7, 1801, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
died January 16, 1893, New York, New York

      American social reformer, remembered especially for her activism in the cause of prison reform.

      Abigail Hopper was born into a pious Quaker family with a deep tradition of good works, which was reflected throughout her life in her devotion to social causes. She attended Friends' schools and in 1821 established her own school for Quaker children. In 1830 she moved to New York City and became a teacher in a Quaker school. In February 1833 she married James S. Gibbons, a Quaker merchant of substantial means; they lived in Philadelphia until 1835 and thereafter in New York City. They were active abolitionists (abolitionism) and leading members of the Manhattan Anti-Slavery Society, and their home became a refuge for runaway slaves. In 1842 the Friends Meeting in New York disowned Abigail Gibbons's father and husband for their abolitionist activities, whereupon she resigned from the antislavery society.

      Other causes attracted her support, including temperance, abolition of capital punishment, relief of the poor, and, especially, prison reform. Gibbons became a leading figure in the female department of the Prison Association of New York, founded in 1845 by her father and others, and in 1846 she was elected to a committee of women in charge of a halfway house (later the Isaac T. Hopper Home, named for her father) for discharged women prisoners. She continued to be active in the female department long after its reorganization as the independent Women's Prison Association and Home in 1853. In 1859 she became president of the German Industrial School. She was also a frequent visitor to the New York City children's asylum on Randall's Island. For nearly four years during the American Civil War, she worked as a volunteer nurse in army camps and hospitals around Washington, D.C., and during that time she was noted for her outspoken criticism of army medical management and practice.

      After the war Gibbons resumed her connections with the Women's Prison Association, of which she became president, and with the Hopper Home, and over the next several years she often lobbied the state legislature for financial support. She founded the Labor and Aid Society to help veterans find work and to provide relief to war widows and orphans. In 1873 she helped found the New York Diet Kitchen Association, which, upon a physician's prescription, provided food to the ailing poor. She also helped establish the Protestant Asylum for Infants and was president of the New York Committee for the Prevention of State Regulation of Vice, established in opposition to proposals to license prostitution. She was in large part responsible for the legislation that created a women's reformatory in New York City in 1892.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Abigail Hopper Gibbons — (7 December, 1801 ndash; 16 January, 1893) was an abolitionist, activist, and a nurse during the American Civil War.Gibbons grew up in a Quaker family, and her father,Isaac Hopper, spent much of his time and money aiding runaway slaves. Abigail… …   Wikipedia

  • Abigail Hopper Gibbons — souvent Abby Hopper Gibbons (7 décembre 1801 16 janvier 1893) est une abolitionniste, activiste sociale américaine, qui servit comme une infirmière lors de la Guerre de Sécession. Abigail grandit au sein d une famille quaker, son père, Isaac… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Abby Hopper Gibbons — Abigail Hopper Gibbons Abigail Hopper Gibbons souvent Abby Hopper Gibbons (7 décembre 1801 16 janvier 1893) est une abolitionniste, activiste sociale américaine, qui servit comme une infirmière lors de la Guerre de Sécession. Abigail grandit au… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of nurses — List of prominent nurses A D*Saint Alda (died c. 1309), Italian Catholic saint *Sir Jonathan Asbridge was the first president of the UK s Nursing and Midwifery Council *Charles Atangana (1880–1943), paramount chief of the Ewondo and Bane in… …   Wikipedia

  • Draft Riots — Affiche officielle du recrutement, New York 23 juin 1863. Les Draft Riots (en français : « Émeutes de la conscription »), que l on nomme à l époque Draft Week[1] (en français : « Semain …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste Des Étoiles Du Hollywood Walk Of Fame — Cette liste répertorie les étoiles présentes sur le Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sommaire : Haut A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des etoiles du Hollywood Walk of Fame — Liste des étoiles du Hollywood Walk of Fame Cette liste répertorie les étoiles présentes sur le Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sommaire : Haut A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des étoiles du hollywood walk of fame — Cette liste répertorie les étoiles présentes sur le Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sommaire : Haut A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of cemeteries — This list of cemeteries compiles notable cemeteries, mausoleums and other places people are buried, worldwide. Reasons for notability include their design, their history and their interments.Argentina*La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires burial… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”