Theodate Pope, Alice Hamilton, and a student believed to be Agnes Hamilton, 1888

Agnes Hamilton (November 21, 1868 - November 11, 1961) was a social worker and cousin, and intimate friend, of

Alice Hamilton Alice Hamilton (February 27, 1869Corn, JHamilton, Alice''American National Biography'' – September 22, 1970) was an American physician, research scientist, and author. She was a leading expert in the field of occupational health and a pioneer ...

Early life

Agnes Hamilton was born on November 21, 1868, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the daughter of Andrew Holman Hamilton (1834-1895) and Phoebe Taber (1841-1932). She had two sisters,

Katherine Hamilton Katherine Hamilton (September 4, 1863 – February 5, 1932) was a women's suffrage activist and a cousin and intimate friend of Alice Hamilton. Biography Katherine Hamilton was born on September 4, 1863, the daughter of Andrew Holman Hamilton (1834 ...

(1862-1932) and

Jessie Hamilton Jessie Marie Hamilton (January 31, 1865 - May 3, 1960) was an artist and cousin, and intimate friend, of Edith Hamilton. Biography Jessie Marie Hamilton was born on January 31, 1865, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the daughter of Andrew Holman Hamilton (1 ...

(1865-1960), both artists like her, and two brothers, Allen Hamilton (1874-1961) and Taber Hamilton (1876-1942). Her cousins are

Edith Hamilton Edith Hamilton (August 12, 1867 – May 31, 1963) was an American educator and internationally known author who was one of the most renowned classicists of her era in the United States. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she also studied in Germany ...

, Margaret Hamilton and

Norah Hamilton Norah Hamilton (December 3, 1873 – February 9, 1945) was an artist and the director of the Children's Art program at Hull House where she lived for more than 20 years. She was a pioneer in art education for underprivileged children. Biography ...

. Since childhood, she had a close bond with her cousins, Alice and Allen Hamilton Williams (1868-1960), the three As, as they called themselves. Like her four cousins, Edith, Alice, Margaret and Norah, Agnes Hamilton attended

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is an elite American private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843, and located in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from 21 states, 31 countries (with dual-citizenship and/or residence), ...

in Farmington, Connecticut. After the death of her father in 1895, together with her sister Jessie, attended the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Cecilia Beaux Eliza Cecilia Beaux (May 1, 1855 – September 17, 1942) was an American society portraitist, whose subjects included First Lady Edith Roosevelt, Admiral Sir David Beatty and Georges Clemenceau. Trained in Philadelphia, she went on to study in ...

. After school, of the three sisters, only Agnes left home.

Career

She consider various career choices, architecture and art among them, but then became a social worker. Among her achievements: was a liaison between the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Wayne and Nebraska, a Mission School in a poor neighborhood; was a leader in the Women's Club movement; was the leader of the Students' Art League; was the founder and first president of the Local

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

; opened the first library in Fort Wayne; was among the founders of the Bethany Presbyterian Church. She was deeply religious and enthusiastically adhered to an evangelical religious movement founded by

Frank Buchman Franklin Nathaniel Daniel Buchman (June 4, 1878 – August 7, 1961), best known as Frank Buchman, was an American Lutheran who founded the First Century Christian Fellowship in 1921 (known after 1928 as the Oxford Group) that was transformed un ...

, the

Oxford Group The Oxford Group was a Christian organization (first known as ''First Century Christian Fellowship'') founded by the American Lutheran minister Frank Buchman in 1921. Buchman believed that fear and selfishness were the root of all problems. Fur ...

, that promoted personal reformation and public confessions. Her first experience of settlement life was in 1897 when she visited her cousin Alice at

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of the city, Hull House (named after the original house's first owner Cha ...

. In 1902 she became a resident of the Lighthouse, a Philadelphia settlement house, where she served as a director and member of the executive committee until the early 1930s.

Personal life

Following their mother's death, Jessie and Agnes moved to their summer home in Connecticut, close to their cousins. She died on November 11, 1961, and is buried at Lindenwood Cemetery, Fort Wayne, with her family.

Legacy

A statue to Edith, Alice and Agnes Hamilton is dedicated in Headwaters Park in downtown Fort Wayne. In 2005 Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne formed the Society of Hamilton Sisters to honor the achievements, service contributions, and outstanding accomplishments of middle and high school girls.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Jessie 1960 deaths 1868 births People from Fort Wayne, Indiana