Abigail Hopper Gibbons facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Abigail Hopper Gibbons
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Abigail Hopper Gibbons, from an 1895 publicaiton
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| Born | December 7, 1801 |
| Died | January 16, 1893 (aged 91) New York City, New York
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| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Abby |
| Occupation | schoolteacher |
| Known for | abolitionism, social activism, prison reformation |
| Spouse(s) | James Sloan Gibbons (m. 1833) |
| Children | William, Sarah Hopper, Julia, Lucy, Isaac, James |
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Abigail Hopper Gibbons (December 7, 1801 – January 16, 1893) was an American teacher and social activist. She worked hard to end slavery and improve society. Abigail helped start and lead many important groups. These groups worked for social change during and after the American Civil War.
Abigail grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her family were Quakers. Her father, Isaac Hopper, was against slavery. He helped people who had escaped slavery. Abigail shared her father's strong beliefs. She spent most of her life working to make society better. In 1841, her father and husband were removed from their Quaker group. This happened because they wrote against slavery. Abigail left the group the next year. She also took her young children out of the group.
Gibbons was very important during and after the Civil War. She worked in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City. She fought for civil rights and education for Black people. She also worked to improve prisons for women. During the war, she helped care for Union soldiers. After the war, she helped veterans find jobs. She also worked to help people in need. Because she was known for fighting slavery, her home was attacked. This happened during the New York City draft riots in July 1863.
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Early Life and Activism
Abigail Hopper was born in Philadelphia in 1801. She was the third of ten children. People often called her Abby. Both her parents were strong supporters of ending slavery. Her father, Isaac Hopper, was a Quaker. Her mother, Sarah Tatum Hopper, was a Quaker minister. She helped run schools for Black children.
Pennsylvania had already ended slavery. Many free Black people lived in Philadelphia. Abigail's father was a leader in the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. He often stood up to people who kidnapped free Black people. These kidnappers would sell them into slavery. He also helped slaves who had escaped. Isaac Hopper and his wife were known for helping Black people. They were seen as friends and advisors. The Hoppers also welcomed many poor Quakers into their home. Even with a large family, they always helped others. Their children learned to help people from a young age.
Abigail and her siblings grew up with Quaker beliefs. They went to Quaker schools. In 1821, Abigail started her own school. It also taught Quaker values. In 1830, she moved to New York City. There, she became a teacher at a Quaker school.
Abigail strongly believed in ending slavery. She worked with famous abolitionists. These included Lydia Maria Child and William Lloyd Garrison. In 1841, Hopper joined the Manhattan Anti-Slavery Society. This group was mostly made up of African Americans. It spoke out against other anti-slavery groups that only allowed white members.
Marriage and Family
On February 14, 1833, Abigail Hopper married James Sloan Gibbons. He was also a Quaker from New York. James was also very passionate about ending slavery. In 1836, the couple moved to New York City. They had six children together. Their daughters included Sarah Hopper Emerson and Lucy Gibbons Morse. Sarah later wrote a book about her mother's life.
Quaker Beliefs and Changes
Some Quaker groups faced disagreements. In 1841, Abigail's father, Isaac Hopper, and her husband, James Sloan Gibbons, were removed from their Quaker meeting. This happened because of their writings and actions against slavery. The next year, Abigail Hopper Gibbons left the Meeting in protest. She also took her four young children out of the group. Even though they left the official group, Abigail and her family continued to follow Quaker practices and beliefs.
Helping Women in Prison
Gibbons became involved in many social reform movements. For twelve years, she was the president of a school in New York. This school helped children who lived on the streets. In 1845, she and her father started the Women's Prison Association (WPA) in New York City. She pushed the city government to make prisons better. She also asked for women to be hired as police matrons. These women would search and watch over female prisoners. She also wanted separate prisons for women. At that time, women were held in the same places as men. She often visited prisons around New York City.
In 1853, the Women's Prison Association became its own group. Gibbons got a special permission from New York State for her group. She worked hard to change laws at the city and state levels. She wanted to improve prison conditions for women. She spoke out against crowded jails. She demanded that only female matrons search women prisoners. She also believed that women's prisons should be run by women.
Civil War Efforts
When the American Civil War started, Gibbons knew that nurses would be needed. They would care for wounded soldiers. The United States Sanitary Commission was created in 1861. Its job was to find nurses and provide good medical care. It also raised money for these efforts. Gibbons trained to be a nurse at David's Island Hospital in New York.
In the South, she worked closely with "contrabands." These were escaped slaves who found safety with the Union army. Hopper helped them with childbirth and family issues. She also collected donations from the North. She gave these to the escaped slaves. She even used her own pay to help with medical costs for people in the contraband camps.
Gibbons traveled to Washington D.C. She helped at the Washington Office Hospital. There, she cared for wounded officers and gave out supplies. She also helped set up two field hospitals in Virginia. At Point Lookout, Maryland, the government turned a hotel into a hospital. It was called Hammond General Hospital. Gibbons became its head matron. In 1863, she left the hospital. It was then used as a prison for Confederate soldiers.
In New York City, people were very tense. The government started drafting men into the army. Many Irish immigrant workers did not support the war or ending slavery. They were angry that rich men could pay others to take their place in the army. After the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, they feared losing their jobs to Black people. During the New York City draft riots, Irish mobs attacked Black people and their homes. They also attacked the Colored Orphan Asylum. The children were saved, but the building burned down. The rioters also attacked the homes of white people who were known to be against slavery. On July 14, 1863, the Gibbons' home in Manhattan was burned and destroyed by the rioters.
After the War
After the war, Gibbons started the Labor and Aid Society in New York. This group helped soldiers returning from the war find jobs. To help women who had been in prison, she co-founded The Isaac T. Hopper Home. It was named after her father. This home helped women get back into society after being released from prison. Because of her work, Gibbons wrote letters to other important leaders. These included Lydia Maria Child and Theodore Roosevelt.
She also cared deeply for women and children. Gibbons founded the New York Diet Kitchen. This kitchen provided food for babies, the elderly, and the poor. She also led the New York Committee for the Prevention and Regulation of Vice. This group worked to control problems like drinking and gambling.
Death and Legacy
Gibbons died of pneumonia in New York in 1893. She was 91 years old. Her obituary called her "one of the most remarkable women of the century." This was because of all her work for social change. She is buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
- Her daughter, Sarah Emerson Gibbons, wrote a book about Abigail Hopper Gibbons. It was published in 1896.
- The Women's Prison Association (WPA) still exists today. It helps women learn skills to find jobs and manage their money. It is the oldest group in the country that works only with women prisoners.
