Abigail Hopper Gibbons
| Abigail Hopper Gibbons | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 7, 1801 |
| Died | January 16, 1893 (aged 91) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | schoolteacher |
| Known for | abolitionist |
Abigail Hopper Gibbons, (December 7, 1801 – January 16, 1893) was an American abolitionist, schoolteacher, and social welfare activist. She assisted in founding and led several nationally known societies for social reform during and following the Civil War.
She grew up in Philadelphia in a Quaker family; her father, Isaac Hopper, opposed slavery and aided fugitive slaves. She grew to share her father's beliefs and spent much of her life working for social reform in several fields. In 1841, the New York Monthly Meeting disowned Gibbons' father and husband for their anti-slavery writing. Abigail Gibbons resigned the following year, also removing her minor children.
Gibbons was prominent during and after the American Civil War, when her work in Philadelphia, Washington, DC and New York City included civil rights and education for blacks, prison reform for women, medical care for Union officers during the war, aid to veterans returning from the war, to help them find work; and welfare. Because she was a known abolitionist, her house was among those attacked and destroyed during the New York City draft riots of July 1863.
Abigail Hopper was born in Philadelphia in 1801, the third of ten children. She was informally called Abby. Her father, Isaac Tatem Hopper, was of the Hicksite branch of Quakers.
He became an active and leading member of The Pennsylvania Abolition Society. He often directly confronted slave kidnappers, who frequented Philadelphia and sometimes kidnapped free blacks for sale into slavery, as well as capturing fugitive slaves to gain bounties. Called upon to protect the rights of African Americans, Hopper and his wife garnered a reputation as friends and advisers of the "oppressed race" in all emergencies. The Hoppers also sheltered many poor Quakers in their house, despite their own family's large size and the father's unstable financial status. The children early on were called to aid others.
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