Maria Abbey
Nurse during the American Civil War
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Maria N. Abbey (née Young; December 17, 1816[1] – April 13, 1903)[2] was an American nurse during the American Civil War.
December 17, 1816
Maria Abbey | |
|---|---|
Maria W. Abbey, from an 1897 publication. | |
| Born | Maria N. Young December 17, 1816 |
| Died | April 13, 1903 (aged 86) |
Biography
The daughter of Aaron Young,[2] Maria N. Abbey was born and educated in Geneva, New York. She and her husband moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1845.[3]
In Mary G. Holland's collection of letters from Civil War nurses, titled, Our Army Nurses: Stories from Women in the Civil War, Abbey recounts her experience as a wartime nurse.[4] She was called to the service after hearing Reverend H. W. Beecher speak at Plymouth Church of the duty of women to help during the war.[4] She heard this sermon in April 1861, the Sunday after the battle at Fort Sumter, and enlisted with six other women by the first day of May.[4][5] These women were some of the first to respond to the call for nurses.[5]
Her service began at Union Hospital at Georgetown. Immediately, Abbey noticed the lack of structure and organization of the hospital, largely due to the immense need for help.[4] Ultimately, the hospital environment proved to be too much physical and emotional stress for Abbey, who left September 3, 1861.[4][5]
This did not stop Abbey from aiding the war effort. Abbey opened her own home to be used as a private hospital for two years, maintained by herself. The house continued to operate as a hospital even after Abbey moved.[4] She reportedly never expected payment for her services.[4]
In her later years, Abbey was chaplain for the Ladies' Relief Corps, an auxiliary to the McPherson-Doane Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.[1]
Activities in Abbey's personal life included singing in church choirs.[1]
Abbey died in Brooklyn on April 13, 1903, and was buried in Buffalo, New York.[2]