Abbott, Grace, 1878-1939

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Edith Abbott was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1876. She received her A.B. from the University of Nebraska in 1901 and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1905. From 1906 to 1908, she continued post-graduate studies in economics and political science at the University of London. In 1908, Edith returned to Chicago and became a resident of Hull House until 1920. Between 1908 and 1920, she served as Associate Director of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy at the University of Chicago. Edith was a member of the University of Chicago faculty from 1913 to 1953, Dean from 1924 to 1942 and Dean Emeritus from 1942 to 1957. She was the first female dean of any graduate school in the United States when appointed as the Dean of the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. She pioneered college courses for social workers, which emphasized the importance of formal education in social work and the need to include field experience as part of that training. During her professional career, Edith published more than 100 articles and books on juvenile delinquents, women in industry, problems in the penal system, rights of children, child labor laws, and social workers' education. She spent her last years at the family home in Grand Island, Nebraska. Edith died of pneumonia on July 28, 1957.

Grace Abbott was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1878. She received ha degree from Grand Island College in 1890 and attended the University of Nebraska. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1909. Grace continued to study law while intermittently teaching secondary school. Like her sister Edith, she became a resident of Hull House and became involved with social issues. In 1915, she became the first director of the newly organized Immigrant's Protection League formed to protect immigrants from exploitation and to assist in their adjustment to American life. In 1917, she was appointed to a position in the Child Labor Division of the United States Children's Bureau and served as chief of the bureau from 1921 to 1934. Through the use of motion pictures and radio, she sought to inform mothers about the best methods of child care and to keep the public informed about state responsibility for child welfare. In 1929, in response to the depression, she became an advocate for federal aid and relief. Grace served as the official representative of the United States on the League of Nations' advisory committees on traffic in women and on child welfare. In 1931, Good Housekeeping magazine named her one of the twelve greatest living American women. She was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1976. Grace joined Edith at the University of Chicago and, from 1934 to 1939, served as Professor of Public Welfare and Editor of the Social Service Review. Until her death, Grace chaired international labor conferences and state committees dealing with child labor and remained involved in peace movements and women's rights. She died in Chicago on June 19, 1939 due to conditions relating to tuberculosis.

In the press, Edith and Grace where known as the Abbott Sisters from Nebraska. They had two brothers, Othman A. Abbott, Jr. and Arthur O. Abbott. Their father, Othman A. Abbott, was a Civil War veteran officer who became the state's first Lieutenant Governor as well as a member of the Nebraska State Senate. Their mother, Elizabeth Griffin Abbott, was an early leader of the Nebraska Women's Suffrage Movement and helped to establish the Grand Island Public Library system.

From the guide to the Edith and Grace Abbott, Papers, 1905-1976

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Family Planning Oral History Project. Records, 1909-1984 (inclusive), 1973-1977 (bulk). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Spanish Child Welfare Association of America records, 1937-1939 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Sabath, Adolph Joachim, 1866-1952. Papers, 1903-1952. The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
referencedIn Abbott, Edith, 1876-1957. Edith and Grace Abbott papers, 1870-1967 (inclusive). University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Tilton, Elizabeth, 1869-1950. Papers, 1914-1949 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Wald, Lillian D., 1867-1940. Lillian D. Wald Papers, 1889-1957. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Witte, Edwin E. (Edwin Emil), 1887-1960. Edwin E. Witte papers, 1903-1970. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Carrie Chapman Catt Papers, 1848-1950, (bulk 1890-1920) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Freund, Ernst. Papers, 1882-1934 Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library,
referencedIn Putnam, Elizabeth Lowell, 1862-1935. Papers, 1887-1935 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Talbot, Marion. Papers, 1854-1948 Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library,
referencedIn Freund, Ernst, 1864-1932. Papers, 1882-1934 (inclusive). University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Bondfield, Margaret, 1873-1953. Margaret Grace Bondfield papers, 1854-1951, 1898-1951 (bulk). Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Perkins, Frances, 1880-1965. Papers, ca.1895-1965. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Cather, Willa, 1873-1947. Letter : New York, to Grace Abbott, [Washignton, D.C.], 1923 Jan. 24. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Putnam, William Lowell, Mrs., 1892-1935. Papers, 1887-1935 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Merriam, Charles E. Papers, 1893-1957 Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library,
referencedIn Bradbury, Dorothy Edith. The children's advocate, [ca. 1947]. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Bondfield, Margaret Grace, 1873-1953. Papers, 1854-1951, 1898-1951 (bulk). Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Papers of Martha May Eliot, 1898-1975 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Bradbury, Dorothy Edith. Papers, [ca. 1947]. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Interviews, 1973-1977 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers of Carrie Chapman Catt, 1848-1950 (inclusive), [microform] Yale University Library
referencedIn Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. Papers, 1861-1971 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Beard, Mary Ritter, 1876-1958. Papers, 1935-1958 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Raushenbush, Elizabeth Brandeis. Paul A. Raushenbush and Elizabeth Brandeis Raushenbush papers, 1918-1980. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Dewson, Molly, 1874-1962. Papers, 1893-1962 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Lenroot, Katharine F. (Katharine Fredrica), 1891-1982. Katharine F. Lenroot papers, 1909-1974. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn National Consumers' League Records, 1882-1986, (bulk 1920-1950) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Talbot, Marion, 1858-1948. Papers, 1854-1948 (inclusive). University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Edith and Grace Abbott papers 1897-1954. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
referencedIn Katharine F. Lenroot Papers, 1909-1974. Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Bosworth, Louise Marion, 1881-1982. Papers, 1890-1946 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers of Frieda S. Miller, 1909-1973 (inclusive), 1929-1967 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Bradbury, Dorothy Edith. The children's advocate, [ca. 1947]. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Moving Images Collection, 1920-1969 Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
referencedIn Mabel Vernon Papers, 1933-1947 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
referencedIn Papers of Clara Mortensen Beyer Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Littledale, Clara Savage, 1891-1956. Papers, 1903-1982 (inclusive), 1903-1956 (bulk). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Blaine, Anita McCormick. Correspondence and papers, 1828-1958. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Merriam, Charles Edward, 1874-1953. Papers, 1893-1957 (inclusive). University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Dorothy Reed Mendenhall Papers MS 101., 1811 - 1988, 1890-1957 Sophia Smith Collection
referencedIn Papers of Dorothy Kirchwey Brown, 1917-1957 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. Papers, 1861-1971 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Dewson, Molly, 1874-1962. Papers, 1898-1961, 1921-1961 (bulk) Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Photographs Relating to Personnel in the Children's Bureau, 1920 - 1970 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Papers, 1918-1960 (inclusive) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Edith and Grace Abbott, Papers, 1905-1976 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
referencedIn Edith and Grace Abbott collection, 1909-1951. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
creatorOf Abbott, Grace, 1878-1939. Correspondence to Eleanor Stimson Brooks, [between 1920 and 1939]. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Papers, 1890-1946 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed, 1874-1964. Papers, 1811-1988 (bulk 1890-1957). Smith College, Neilson Library
referencedIn Woman's rights collection, 1853-1958 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers of Edna Lamprey Stantial, 1836-1985 (inclusive), 1900-1955 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Cather, Willa, 1873-1947. Letter : New York, to Grace Abbott, [Washignton, D.C.], 1923 Jan. 24. Texas Christian University
creatorOf Spanish Child Welfare Association of America. Spanish Child Welfare Association of America records, 1937-1939. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Dewson, Molly, 1874-1962. Papers, 1893-1962 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Lillian D. Wald Papers, 1889-1957 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Papers, 1848-1950 (inclusive) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Balch, Emily Greene, 1867-1961. Emily Greene Balch papers, 1842-1979 1875-1961 (bulk) Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, SCPC
referencedIn Bradbury, Dorothy Edith. Papers, ca. 1947 Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library,
referencedIn Blaine, John J. (John James), 1873-1934. John J. Blaine papers, 1894-1938. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Papers of Frieda S. Miller, 1909-1973 (inclusive), 1929-1967 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Tilton, Elizabeth, 1869-1950. Papers, 1914-1949 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Abbott, Edith, 1876-1957. person
associatedWith Addams, Jane, 1860-1935 person
associatedWith Anderson, Mary, 1872-1964. person
associatedWith Balch, Emily Greene, 1867-1961. person
associatedWith Beyer, Clara M. (Clara Mortenson) person
associatedWith Blaine, Anita McCormick. person
associatedWith Blaine, John J. (John James), 1873-1934. person
associatedWith Bondfield, Margaret Grace, 1873-1953. person
associatedWith Bosworth, Louise Marion, 1881-1982. person
associatedWith Bradbury, Dorothy Edith. person
associatedWith Breckinridge, Sophonisba Preston, 1866-1948 person
associatedWith Brown, Dorothy Kirchwey. person
associatedWith Cather, Willa, 1873-1947. person
correspondedWith Catt, Carrie Chapman, 1859-1947. person
associatedWith Dewson, Molly, 1874-1962. person
associatedWith Eliot, Martha M. (Martha May), b. 1891. person
associatedWith Elizabeth (Hewes) Tilton, 1869-1950 person
associatedWith ELIZABETH (LOWELL) PUTNAM, 1862-1935 person
associatedWith Family Planning Oral History Project family
associatedWith Family Planning Oral History Project. corporateBody
associatedWith Freund, Ernst, 1864-1932. person
associatedWith FRIEDA SEGELKE MILLER, 1889-1973 person
associatedWith Lenroot, Katharine F. (Katharine Fredrica), 1891-1982. person
associatedWith Littledale, Clara Savage, 1891-1956. person
associatedWith LOUISE MARION BOSWORTH, 1881-1982 person
associatedWith MARTHA MAY ELIOT, 1891-1978 person
associatedWith MARY (MOLLY) WILLIAMS DEWSON, 1874-1962 person
associatedWith Mary (Ritter) Beard, 1876-1958 person
correspondedWith Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed, 1874-1964 person
associatedWith Merriam, Charles Edward, 1874-1953. person
associatedWith Miller, Frieda S. person
associatedWith MIRIAM VAN WATERS, 1887-1974 person
associatedWith National Consumers' League. corporateBody
associatedWith Perkins, Frances, 1880-1965. person
associatedWith Putnam, William Lowell, Mrs., 1892-1935. person
associatedWith Raushenbush, Elizabeth Brandeis. person
correspondedWith Sabath, Adolph Joachim, 1866-1952. person
associatedWith Spanish Child Welfare Association of America. corporateBody
associatedWith Stantial, Edna Lamprey. person
associatedWith Talbot, Marion, 1858-1948. person
associatedWith Tamiment Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Tilton, Elizabeth, 1869-1950. person
associatedWith University of Nebraska corporateBody
associatedWith Van Waters, Miriam. person
associatedWith Vernon, Mabel. person
associatedWith Wald, Lillian D., 1867-1940. person
associatedWith Witte, Edwin E. (Edwin Emil), 1887-1960. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Hull-House (Chicago, Ill.)
Grand Island NE US
Chicago IL US
Subject
Child labor
Immigrations
Social reformers
Social service
Social work education
Women social reformers
Occupation
Social workers
Activity

Person

Birth 1878-11-17

Death 1939-06-19

Americans

Information

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Ark ID: w6kp8grp

SNAC ID: 22858636