Jane Elizabeth Robbins (1860–1946) was an American physician and social worker. She was a pioneer in the

settlement house movement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

, founding the

Rivington Street Settlement Rivington Street Settlement (also known as the New York College Settlement) was an American settlement house which provided educational and social services on the Lower East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. Under the ausp ...

with Jean Gurney Fine in 1889. Robbins advocated for civic reform and on behalf of residents of tenement housing and immigrant families. She graduated from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

and taught obstetrics at the Women's Medical College of the

New York Infirmary NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital is a nonprofit, Acute (medicine), acute care, teaching hospital in New York City and is the only hospital in Lower Manhattan south of Greenwich Village. It is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthca ...

. She headed settlement houses in New York's Lower East Side, Cleveland, and Baltimore. She worked with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

and served as a nurse in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and World War I, later working in Italy and Greece.

Early life and education

Jane Elizabeth Robbins was born on December 28, 1860, in

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. Its population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census. Many records from colonial times spell the name ...

, to Harriet (née Welles) and Richard Austin Robbins. Robbins graduated from

in 1883 before moving to New York City to study medicine.

Career

Robbins was a pioneer in the settlement house movement in the U.S. She advocated for tenements, civic reform, labor issues, education, and public parks. In 1888 and 1889, Robbins lived across the street from the Neighborhood Guild (later the

University Settlement Society of New York The University Settlement Society of New York is an American organization which provides educational and social services to immigrants and low-income families, located at 184 Eldridge Street (corner of Eldridge and Rivington Streets) on the Lowe ...

) with Jean Gurney Fine. They established Girl's Clubs, providing activities for girls. By September 1889, they had established College Settlement (later known as the Rivington Street Settlement) in a brick building at 95

Rivington Street Rivington Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which runs across the Lower East Side neighborhood, between the Bowery and Pitt Street, with a break between Chrystie and Forsyth for Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Vehicular traffi ...

, just north of the Neighborhood Guild. Robbins served as the settlement's physician-in-residence. Fine served as director of College Settlement until 1892, when Robbins succeeded her, staying in the role of director for five years. Robbins started her own medical practice in Little Italy around 1891. By 1893, she was an instructor in obstetrics at the Women's Medical College of the

New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital is a nonprofit, acute care, teaching hospital in New York City and is the only hospital in Lower Manhattan south of Greenwich Village. It is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and one ...

. During the 1894 tailors' strike in New York, Robbins served as a representative of the tailors' interests alongside Josephine Shaw Lowell. She was a nurse during the

in 1898. In 1901 Robbins headed New York's Normal College Alumnae House. She worked with Jacob Riis to secure a law requiring New York schools to have outdoor playgrounds. In 1902, she moved to Ohio to engage in settlement work with the Italian American community. She worked at the Alta House in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. From December 1904 to April 1905 she was the head of the Locust Point Social Settlement House in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland. Robbins was part of an influential group of social progressives who argued that public schools should be involved in welfare work. She "wrote that it was necessary for the school to assume a parental role because under modern conditions it was not possible for the poor to protect the young adequately." In 1911, she worked in Brooklyn at the Little Italy Settlement. In 1914, she worked at the Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement. Robbins wrote articles for newspapers, including '' The Outlook'' and ''Charities'' magazines. She gave many public lectures. In a 1918 talk about sympathy for immigrants, she spoke out on behalf of anarchist

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...

, whom she said she had known since Goldman had come to the United States. After World War I, Robbins worked with the

in Italy and in Greece where she assisted in the organization of temporary hospitals. Following the uprising against Turkey, she returned to Greece in 1927 where she helped refugees until 1929. In the 1930s, she toured the United States as part of the National Federation of Settlements. Robbins died on August 16, 1946, in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Jane Elizabeth 1860 births 1946 deaths American social reformers American social workers Physicians from New York City Smith College alumni People from Wethersfield, Connecticut Physicians from Connecticut 19th-century American women physicians 19th-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians Settlement houses in New York City College Settlements Association

Early life and education

Career

See also

References