Lucy Elizabeth (Seaman) Bainbridge (1842 - 1928)

Born 18 Jan 1842 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Wife of William Folwell Bainbridge — married 5 Sep 1866 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States

Descendants

Died 19 Nov 1928 at age 86 in New York City, New York, United States

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Biography

Lucy (Seaman) Bainbridge was born in Ohio.

Lucy aka "Sister Ohio," started nursing in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She was so successful, she was asked to go to the front of the Union Armies, and served at Port Royal, White House Landing, and City Point, all in Virginia.
Honored for eternity: In Memoriam

Lucy (Seaman) Bainbridge was a Rhode Islander.

Lucy (Seaman) Bainbridge was died in New York City, New York.

Lucy was born on 18 Jan 1842 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents John Seaman and Cleora Stevens.

Lucy had three brothers and was the only daughter. She was 8 years old at the 11 Aug 1850 Census when the family lived in Cleveland:^[1]

She was tutored at home until she was nine years old. She then attended grade school, high school, and the Cleveland Female Seminary for one year. ^[2]

A decade later 18 year old Lucy is with her family in Cleveland:^[3]

She was then transferred to a seminary at Ipswich, Massachusetts. Her extensive education was unusual for females living in that era.

Lucy describes a pivotal event in her life when she visited Washington, DC with her mother in 1864, a visit which brought about an immediate change in her life:^[2]

"We were guests at a public dinner where one of the speakers told of the need of nurses at the war front – a vital need, for which there was no adequate supply. At that time our country had no trained nurses; the women who took upon themselves that duty had only their home-experience and common-sense on which to rely."

Lucy immediately joined the Ohio Soldiers’ Aid Society and was sent to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she cared for the wounded soldiers as they were being transported by boat to Washington, DC. Very successful in this work, she was asked to go to the front of the Union Armies, and she subsequently served at Port Royal, White House Landing, and City Point, all in Virginia.

Lucy wrote of her service, and how she came to be known as Sister Ohio:^[2]

"Among the wounded men lying in one of the tents another day – men recently brought from the very Front and waiting to get to Washington – was a soldier who called out, “Say, Ohio Relief, what’s your name, please?” Pointing to my badge, I replied, “There’s my name.” “Well, Sister Ohio,” said the soldier, “I am from that state, too, and the worst of it is I am hungry, and the orderly has too much to do to bother with me. What are you going to do for a fellow who wants to eat and can’t feed himself?”

Both arms were shot through and he was helpless. I soon found that he was ready for bread-and-milk, and liked it better than anything else. So my supplies of crackers, toasted bread, and condensed milk were put to good use. I fed my wounded Ohioan for several days, until he was carried to a Washington hospital".

Lucy described her experiences on the battlefield in her autobiography, [https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/bookviewer?PID=nlm:nlmuid-55210320R-bk Yesterdays.

During her war service, Lucy met William Folwell Bainbridge, a young man working with the Christian Commission that sought to bring hope and faith to the soldiers. He had graduated from Rochester University in 1862 and was working his way through Rochester Theological Seminary.

After the war, William was minister to a Baptist church in Erie, Pennsylvania, and began visiting Lucy in Cleveland. At age 24, Lucy married William on 5 Sep 1866 in Cleveland.^[4] Soon thereafter, William was appointed pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island.^[2]

Lucy gave birth to a daughter, Clara, "Cleora" Emily Bainbridge at Cleveland on November 8, 1868, and . The infant died on April 14, 1870, less than 18 months old, from tuberculosis meningitis.

A son, William Seaman Bainbridge, was born on February 17, 1870. Lucy adopted a second daughter, Helen Augusta Bainbridge, who was born on November 23, 1872.

The Bainbridges returned to Providence for several years and then moved to Brooklyn, New York, where William was in charge of the New York City Mission Society. Lucy was appointed as Superintendent of the Woman’s Branch of that same organization, a position she held for 18 years. She managed a force of fifteen nurses, fifty missionaries and forty trained workers. She also lectured constantly and authored four books.

Lucy was an author and activist after the war. Among her lifetime achievements:

• First President of the Rhode Island WCTU,
• Founded the Woman's Branch of the Brooklyn City Mission Society,
• Led the Woman's Branch of the New York City Mission Society,
• Author of:

• Jewels From the Orient,
• Round the World Letters,
• Helping the Helpless in New York,
• Yesterdays,
• Woman's Medical Work In Foreign Missions - 1886, and
• The Work as Seen in Foreign Lands - 1921.

She left Providence, Rhode Island, on New Year’s Day 1879 to begin her first of two trips around the world with her husband. The first trip lasted two years and included stops in Japan, China, Burma, India, Egypt, “The Holy Land,” Germany, Paris, and England.^[2]

Lucy stated:

“There is nothing like travel to teach one to appreciate the right of opinion in others and bring one to realize what a mote he really is in the vast shifting sands of the humanity of our great world.”

Her books: "Jewels From the Orient," and "Round the World Letters" were about her travels.

At the age of 83 and almost blind, Lucy went to California for several months. In 1928, her son bought the house in the country she had always longed for. She spent some happy months there and was brought back to her old home at Gramercy Park for her final days.^[2] Lucy died in New York City on November 19, 1928 at 86 years old, ^[5] and was laid to rest on 21 Nov 1928 in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX3R-V8Q : 21 December 2020), Lucy Seaman in household of John Seaman, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Blogspot
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC2B-GFB : 18 February 2021), Lucy Seaman in entry for John Seaman, 1860.
4. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDLN-1V4 : 8 March 2021), William F. Bainbridge and Lucy E. Seaman, 05 Sep 1866; citing Marriage, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States, Vol 13 p 115, Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm.
5. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WYD-BG4 : 3 June 2020), Lucy Seaman Bainbridge, 1928.
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57385810/lucy-elizabeth-bainbridge:e : accessed 06 June 2021), memorial page for Lucy Elizabeth “Sister Ohio” Seaman Bainbridge (18 Jan 1842–19 Nov 1928), Find A Grave: Memorial #57385810, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, Bronx County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Honoring our Ancestors (contributor 46844300) .