Abby May facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Abigail May Alcott
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Abigail May Alcott
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| Born | October 8, 1800 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Died | November 25, 1877 (aged 77) Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Occupation | Housewife, Social Worker |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Anna Alcott Pratt Louisa May Alcott Elizabeth Sewall Alcott Abigail May Alcott Nieriker |
| Parent(s) | Colonel Joseph May and Dorothy Sewall |
Abigail "Abba" Alcott (born Abigail May, October 8, 1800 – November 25, 1877) was an American woman who worked hard for many important causes. She was one of the first people in Massachusetts to be paid for her social work, helping others in need. Abba was married to Amos Bronson Alcott, a thinker known as a transcendentalist. She was also the mother of four daughters, including the famous author Louisa May Alcott, who wrote Little Women.
Contents
Abba Alcott's Early Life
Abigail May grew up in a well-known family in New England. Her mother's family included the Sewall and Quincy families. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Sewall, was a judge during the Salem witch trials. Her father, Colonel Joseph May, was a respected Unitarian church leader.
As a child, Abba did not go to a regular school. Instead, she learned history, languages, and science from her tutor, Abigail Allyn, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She met her future husband, Amos Bronson Alcott, in Brooklyn, Connecticut. Later, Abigail May applied for a job as an assistant at Alcott's school in Boston. They got married in 1830. They also worked together on projects, including a community called Fruitlands, which did not succeed.
Abba Alcott's Activism
Abigail May Alcott was a strong supporter of many important causes. She believed that women should have the right to vote, which is called woman suffrage. She also supported the temperance movement, which worked to reduce alcohol use. Abba cared deeply about helping people who were poor. She was also a strong voice for the abolition of slavery, meaning she wanted to end slavery completely.
Abba and her husband taught their four daughters these strong values. They even helped people escape slavery by being "stationmasters" on the Underground Railroad. This was a secret network that helped enslaved people find freedom.
Her daughter, Louisa May Alcott, once wrote that her mother "always did what came to her in the way of duty and charity." This means Abba always helped others, even if it meant giving up her own comfort. Her desire to help people went beyond her family. In 1848, she took a full-time job as a social worker in Boston, Massachusetts.
Abba Alcott's Writings
Abigail May Alcott's personal writings were put together and published in 2012. The book was called My Heart Is Boundless: Writings of Abigail May Alcott, Louisa's Mother. Her great-niece, Eve LaPlante, edited this collection. Eve LaPlante also wrote a book about Abba and Louisa called Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother.
Abba also put together a collection of vegetarian recipes. Her husband was a vegetarian, and his cousin, William Alcott, studied with a food reformer named Sylvester Graham. These recipes were similar to the diet described in Transcendental Wild Oats (1873). This was a story written by Louisa May Alcott about the Fruitlands community.
Abba Alcott's Children
- Anna Bronson Alcott (March 16, 1831 – July 13, 1893)
- Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888)
- Elizabeth Sewall Alcott (June 24, 1835 – March 14, 1858)
- May Alcott (July 26, 1840 – December 29, 1879)
Abba Alcott's Death
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Sewall, who was the inspiration for the character Beth in Little Women, passed away on March 14, 1858. This made Abba very sad and depressed. Nineteen years after Lizzie's death, Abba herself died in November 1877.
Louisa wrote in her journal about her mother's passing: "I never wish her back, but a great warmth seems gone out of life... She was so loyal, tender, and true, life was hard for her and no one knew all she had to bear but her children." Abba is buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord. She rests there alongside her husband and three of her daughters.
See also
In Spanish: Abby May para niños
- Amos Bronson Alcott
- Transcendental Club
- Utopias
- Women's Rights
