Abby Hopper Gibbons

Abby Hopper Gibbons was born in Philadelphia, PA, in 1801. Gibbons helped found the Women's Prison Association in New York City in 1845. The Association established the Isaac T. Hopper House. Named for her father, the House helped discharged female prisoners back into society, thus becoming the first "Halfway House" in the world.

Gibbons' efforts, along with those of the American Female Reform Society, secured the appointment of six women matrons in New York City -- two in the City Prison (the Tombs) and four on Blackwell's Island -- the first prison matrons in the country and the precursor of modern policewomen.

During the American Civil War, Gibbons became a nurse who protected escaping slaves. In 1863, her house was destroyed during the New York City draft riots.

Gibbons died in 1893 at the age of 93. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.

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