She served in the Civil war as a social worker. Her mother Jane Eliza Newton Woolsey and sisters Georgeanna Muirson Woolsey Bacon, Jane Stuart Woolsey, Eliza Newton Woolsey Howland, and Mary Elizabeth Woolsey Howland served as nurses.
Abby was born 16 Jul 1828 in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Her parents were Charles William Woolsey and Jane Eliza Newton Woolsey. She spent her early years in Boston, Massachusetts. After the death of her father in 1840, the family moved to New York City, New York, where she attended finishing school in New Rochelle, New York.
She was a staunch abolitionist and women's rights advocate.
In 1840 and 1850, Abby was living with her family in New York City. Her mother Jane (transcribed Eliza J) was widowed and the head of household. The 1840 Census shows 1 male under 5, and 11 females: 3 under 5, 3 from 5-9, 1 from 10-14, 2 from 15-19, 1 from 20-29, 1 from 30-39, and the 1850 Census details are in the table below. Both appear to include servants.[1][2]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jane E Woolsey | head | F | 48 | Virginia | |
Abby H Woolsey | F | 22 | Virginia | ||
Jane S Woolsey | F | 20 | New York | ||
Mary E Woolsey | F | 18 | England | ||
Georgianna M Woolsey | F | 16 | New York | ||
Eliza M Woolsey | F | 15 | Massachusetts | ||
Harriet R Woolsey | F | 13 | Massachusetts | ||
Chas W Woolsey | M | 10 | Massachusetts | ||
Mary R Adams | F | 50 | Virginia | ||
Ellen Mooney | F | 23 | Ireland | ||
Martha Moran | F | 22 | Ireland | ||
Mary J Taylor | F | 23 | Ireland |
During the Civil War, Abby attended the initial meeting of the Woman's Central Association of Relief headed by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell in 1861. Knowing that she needed to support the Union cause and that she had the resources to do so, she turned the Woolsey home into a medical merchandise center, making and distributing clothing and bandages, as well as stockpiling and dispensing medical supplies – using her own money if needed.
After the Civil War, her sister Jane became the director of the new Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and appointed Abby as clerk. Together they organized the administration of the new hospital. In 1872, Abby became a founding member of the New York State Charities Aid Association. During the same period, she drafted the organizational plan for the Bellevue Hospital training School for Nurses, the first American nursing school following the principals of Florence Nightingale. She served on several boards of directors for local hospitals, and in 1876 wrote a historical documentation of nursing, called "A Century of Nursing".
In 1880, Abby was head of household and had her sister Jane living with her in Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States. [3]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abby H Woolsey | head | F | 51 | Virginia | keeping house |
Jane S Woolsey | sister | F | 49 | New York | |
Ellen Carrey | servant | F | 43 | Ireland | house servant |
Mary E Carrey | servant | F | 20 | New York | house servant |
Ann T Corey | servant | F | 24 | Canada | house servant |
Letitia Whitlock | servant | F | 33 | New York | house servant |
George F Whitlock | M | 10 | New York | at school |
She passed away on 7 Apr 1893 in Manhattan, New York, New York, and is buried in Woolsey Cemetery in Glen Cove, Nassau, New York. [4][5]
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W > Woolsey > Abby Howland Woolsey
Categories: Alexandria, Virginia | Nurses, United States Civil War | Woolsey Cemetery, Glen Cove, New York | Manhattan, New York