Dorothea Abrahams (1779 – February 6, 1853) was a West Indian philanthropist who left funds in her will to open the Abrahams Home for Indigent Widows of Savannah in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, United States.

Life and career

Abrahams was born on Anastasia, West Indies, in 1779. A visitor to the island from Philadelphia brought Dorothea home with her. At school in Philadelphia, one of her classmates was future First Lady of the United States Dolley Madison.''Research Project on Dorothea Abrahams'', Julia A. Powers,

Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, O ...

(1984) She became friends with a girl, last name Pooler, who was from

. Abrahams accepted Pooler's invitation to come visit her for a while, and it was there that she met and married Captain Abraham De Lyon Abrahams in 1803. They lived on

Broughton Street Broughton Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located between Congress Street to the north and State Street to the south, it runs for about from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the west to East Broad Stre ...

. A Jew, the captain was a member of the

Congregation Mickve Israel Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States, as it was organized in 1735 by mostly Sephardic Jewish immigrants of Spanish-Portuguese extraction from London who arrived in the new colony i ...

in Savannah's

Monterey Square Monterey Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the southernmost row of the city's five rows of squares, on Bull Street and Wayne Street, and was laid out in 1847. It is south of Madison Square, wes ...

. In 1808, the couple moved to Washington, D.C.

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

had just become president, and Dorothea's childhood friendship with Madison's wife seemingly earned Abraham employment under the president. The Abrahamses returned to Savannah in 1826. Four years later, their household consisted of eleven people: Abraham, Dorothea, six male slaves and three female slaves. Captain Abrahams died in 1844, aged 71, of apoplexy. Five years later, Dorothea was living at 179 Broughton Street in Savannah. In 1852, she bought a 12-year-old "

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

girl" from a George Wylly.

Death and legacy

Abrahams died on February 6, 1853, aged 72 or 73, from dropsy. She was interred in Savannah's

Laurel Grove Cemetery Laurel Grove Cemetery is a cemetery located in midtown Savannah, Georgia. It includes the original cemetery for whites (now known as Laurel Grove North) and a companion burial ground (called Laurel Grove South) that was reserved for slaves and fr ...

. Her husband, whom she survived by nine years, was buried in Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery. In her will, she left funds to establish the Abrahams Home for Indigent Widows of Savannah. Lots 31 and 34 on Broughton Street, at its intersection with

East Broad Street East Broad Street is a prominent street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located to the east of Price Street, at the eastern edge of Savannah's downtown, it runs for about from East Bay Street in the north to East Victory Drive (U.S. R ...

, were set aside to build the three-storey home. Its cornerstone was laid on July 3, 1856.

John S. Norris John S. Norris (1804 – July 25, 1876) was an American architect. He was born and raised in New York City, where he began his career as a mason. He advanced to being a builder and eventually listed himself in the telephone directory as an archi ...

was its architect. In the 1980s, the home was occupied by women of advanced age who were in good health and could care for themselves. They paid rent on a sliding scale according to their income. In 2022, the fund started by Abrahams had become a $2 million endowment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, Dorothea 1779 births 1853 deaths People of the British West Indies People from Savannah, Georgia American philanthropists 18th-century American women 19th-century American women Deaths from edema