Hannah Tobey Farmer

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Hannah Tobey Farmer
19th-century B&W portrait photo of a standing woman wearing a dark long dress with a white collar.
ca. 1880
Born
Hannah Tobey Shapleigh

March 20, 1823
Berwick, Maine, U.S.
DiedJune 27, 1891
Eliot, Maine, U.S.
Other names
  • (Mrs.) M. G. Farmer
  • Mabelle
Occupations
  • Philanthropist
  • social reformer
  • writer
Known forRosemary Cottage
Spouse
​
(m. 1844)​
Children2, including Sarah Jane Farmer
Signature

Hannah Tobey Farmer (née, Shapleigh; pen names, (Mrs.) M. G. Farmer or Mabelle; 1823-1891) was a 19th-century American philanthropist, writer,[1][2] and social reformer affiliated with the abolition and women's rights movements.[3]

Early life[edit]

Hannah Tobey Shapleigh was born in Berwick, Maine, March 20, 1823.[1] Her parents were Richard and Olive (Tobey) Shapleigh.[4] Hannah's siblings included sisters, Mary and Elizabeth.[5]

Career[edit]

She married Moses Gerrish Farmer, December 25, 1844, whom she materially assisted in the development of many important discoveries and inventions.[4] Only a few days after her marriage, Mrs. Farmer identified herself with the Antislavery Society. Her home at Dover, New Hampshire, soon became a way station of the Underground Railroad.[5]

Upon the breaking out of the civil war, and during its continuance, she originated and conducted a series of entertainments for the benefit of the soldiers, by which large sums of money and quantities of supplies were realized and afterwards distributed, more particularly by the treasurer of the Christian Commission.[1] Farmer identified herself with every movement for the amelioration of the condition of the Union Army soldiers. By means of the May Day Fair which she inaugurated and superintended from her sick bed in Eden Home, Salem, Massachusetts, she was able to place US$1,200 at the disposal of the committee for the relief of the soldiers. Other fairs followed. She continued in her work to the close of the war, writing many letters to the sick in hospitals. It was her custom from the first, when she learned that regiments from Maine were to pass through Salem, to send the children with flowers and kindly messages to distribute to them as the train waited at the crossing.[5]

Rosemary Cottage (1889)
The rich legacy - memories of Hannah Tobey Farmer, wife of Moses Gerrish Farmer (1892)

In 1888, she erected in Eliot, Maine, to the memory of an infant son, Edwin Clarence Farmer (1860-1860), a large building. Rosemary Cottage afforded summer respite to mothers and children. This institution was transferred by her to the care of the City Missionary Society of Boston.[1] In 1891, the records of Rosemary Cottage indicated that more than 1,000 guests -mothers, little children, shop girls and tired women- had received two weeks of rest and shelter at Rosemary Cottage.[5]

Farmer contributed prose and poetry to the general press, writing largely for the advancement of various philanthropic movements.[4][1]

Personal life[edit]

The couple two children, Edwin Clarence Farmer and Sarah Jane Farmer.

Hannah Tobey Farmer died in Eliot, Maine, June 27, 1891.[4][1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. White. 1892. p. 362. Retrieved 28 April 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ McKanan, Dan (2017). "Hannah Tobey Farmer, "Hymn", 1870. By Patrice K. Curtis.". A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism, Volume One: From the Beginning to 1899. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. ISBN 978-1-55896-789-2. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  3. ^ Burr, Steven (1 April 2009). Lost York County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-62584-287-9. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Brown, John Howard (1900). Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States. James H. Lamb Company. p. 42. Retrieved 28 April 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ a b c d Beedy, Helen Coffin (1895). Mothers of Maine. Thurston Print. pp. 380–91. Retrieved 28 April 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Further reading[edit]

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