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    Abigail Gibbons (Hopper)

    Birth: 12-7-1801

    Death: 1-16-1893

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Biography

Gibbons was an important figure in many of the reform movements in the middle and late nineteenth century. Her father, Isaac Tatem Hopper, was an ardent abolitionist and Quaker. Gibbons was also active in the abolitionist movement and in prison reformer. She served as a Civil War nurse and visited army camps in that period and also was a welfare worker. After the War, she established a "Labor and Aid Society" to provide work for returning veterans. She was one of the founders of the Women's Prison Association and The Isaac T. Hopper Home in NYC, which was established to aid former prisoners' return to society, the fits of its kind. Her home was destroyed by a mob in the 1863 draft riots. She directed Quaker schools throughout her life. After her father and her husband were disowned by the New York Monthly Meeting in 1841 for their writing and testimonies against slavery, she resigned her membership the next year, along with her four children. Despite this, the family remained "Quakerly" in worship and life-style.

- Adapted from Swarthmore College's background note 

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Citations

Biography and Citation Information:
Biography: 

Gibbons was an important figure in many of the reform movements in the middle and late nineteenth century. Her father, Isaac Tatem Hopper, was an ardent abolitionist and Quaker. Gibbons was also active in the abolitionist movement and in prison reformer. She served as a Civil War nurse and visited army camps in that period and also was a welfare worker. After the War, she established a "Labor and Aid Society" to provide work for returning veterans. She was one of the founders of the Women's Prison Association and The Isaac T. Hopper Home in NYC, which was established to aid former prisoners' return to society, the fits of its kind. Her home was destroyed by a mob in the 1863 draft riots. She directed Quaker schools throughout her life. After her father and her husband were disowned by the New York Monthly Meeting in 1841 for their writing and testimonies against slavery, she resigned her membership the next year, along with her four children. Despite this, the family remained "Quakerly" in worship and life-style.

- Adapted from Swarthmore College's background note

Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/friends/ead/5174ahgi.xml
Title of Webpage: 
Abby Hopper Gibbons Family Papers, 1824-1992
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Website's Last Modified Date: 
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Citation for Birth Info:
Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/233178/Abigail-Hopper-Gibbons
Title of Webpage: 
Abigail Hopper Gibbons
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Citation for Death Info:
Citation Type: 
Website
Citation URL: 
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/233178/Abigail-Hopper-Gibbons
Title of Webpage: 
Abigail Hopper Gibbons
Website Viewing Date: 
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 - 21:30
Website Last Modified Date: 
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