Woolsey, Abby Howland (1828–1893)

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Woolsey, Abby Howland (1828–1893)

American relief worker. Born July 16, 1828, in Alexandria, VA; died April 7, 1893, in New York, NY; dau. of Charles William Woolsey (sugar refiner) and Jane Eliza (Newton) Woolsey; sister of relief workers, Jane Stuart Woolsey (1830–1891) and Georgeanna Muirson Woolsey (1833–1906); cousin of Sarah Chauncey Woolsey (1835–1905, writer).

Was influential in creation of Bellevue Hospital Training School for Nurses (1873); wrote many reports for State Charities Aid Association, including A Century of Nursing (1876) and Lunacy Legislation in England (1884); worked as acting clerk and served as temporary executive officer for sister Jane during absences at Presbyterian Hospital in NY (1872–76).

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