Ann Cooper Whitall
Encyclopedia
Ann Cooper Whitall was a prominent Quaker
woman in early America.
Ann Cooper was born in Woodbury, New Jersey
. She married James Whitall. During the American War for Independence, Whitall stayed in her house, even though British
warship
s were firing cannon in that direction during the Battle of Red Bank
. A cannonball did crash into the very room where Whitall sat working at a spinning wheel. She moved the spinning wheel down to the basement and kept working.
The battle was a victory for the colonists, and afterwards Whitall opened her house to wounded soldiers--American and Hessian. She gave them herbal medicines and bandaged their wounds. She is called the Heroine of Red Bank for her actions at that time.
Whitall kept a diary starting in about 1760 that contains important historical insight into the lives of people in the Red Bank area. She died in 1797. Her remains are interred along with her husband's at the Friends Burial Ground in Woodbury, New Jersey. The mansion they lived in is at the Red Bank Battlefield in National Park, New Jersey.
Ann Cooper Whitall's brother, John Cooper
served in the Continental Congress
in 1776. Her grandson, John Mickle Whitall, was a prominent sea captain and Quaker business
man who manufactured glass
bottles in Millville, NJ. Her great-granddaughter, Hannah Whitall Smith
, was a prominent speaker and writer. One great-great-granddaughter, M. Carey Thomas
, was a president of Bryn Mawr College. Another great-great-granddaughter was Alys Pearsall Smith
, the first wife of Bertrand Russell
.
The battle mentioned here took place at Red Bank on the Delaware River in west New Jersey, below Trenton, in the county of Gloucester, in what is now the town of National Park. The Whitall House stands there today, preserved. Tours are available seasonally. An interesting sidenote; the fort located here is named Fort Mercer, named after Hugh Mercer
, a colonial General who died of wounds sustained at the Battle of Princeton
.
Southern New Jersey folk hero Jonas Cattell ran the entire distance from Hadenfield to Woodbury to warn Colonel (later, General) Nathanael Greene
, who commanded the small colonial contingent at nearby Red Bank, that the Hessians, commanded by Count von Donop
, were marching towards Red Bank.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
woman in early America.
Ann Cooper was born in Woodbury, New Jersey
Woodbury, New Jersey
Woodbury is a city in Gloucester County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, 10,307 residents were counted. Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County....
. She married James Whitall. During the American War for Independence, Whitall stayed in her house, even though British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s were firing cannon in that direction during the Battle of Red Bank
Battle of Red Bank
The Battle of Red Bank was a battle of the American Revolutionary War in which a Hessian force was sent to take Fort Mercer on the left bank of the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia, but was decisively defeated by a far inferior force of Colonial defenders...
. A cannonball did crash into the very room where Whitall sat working at a spinning wheel. She moved the spinning wheel down to the basement and kept working.
The battle was a victory for the colonists, and afterwards Whitall opened her house to wounded soldiers--American and Hessian. She gave them herbal medicines and bandaged their wounds. She is called the Heroine of Red Bank for her actions at that time.
Whitall kept a diary starting in about 1760 that contains important historical insight into the lives of people in the Red Bank area. She died in 1797. Her remains are interred along with her husband's at the Friends Burial Ground in Woodbury, New Jersey. The mansion they lived in is at the Red Bank Battlefield in National Park, New Jersey.
Ann Cooper Whitall's brother, John Cooper
John Cooper
John Cooper may refer to:* John A. D. Cooper , American physician & educator* John B.R. Cooper , California pioneer* John Cooper, current director of the Sundance Film Festival...
served in the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
in 1776. Her grandson, John Mickle Whitall, was a prominent sea captain and Quaker business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
man who manufactured glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
bottles in Millville, NJ. Her great-granddaughter, Hannah Whitall Smith
Hannah Whitall Smith
Hannah Tatum Whitall Smith was a lay speaker and author in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, was a prominent speaker and writer. One great-great-granddaughter, M. Carey Thomas
M. Carey Thomas
Martha Carey Thomas was an American educator, suffragist, and second President of Bryn Mawr College.-Early life:...
, was a president of Bryn Mawr College. Another great-great-granddaughter was Alys Pearsall Smith
Alys Pearsall Smith
Alyssa Whitall Pearsall Smith was the first wife of Bertrand Russell.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith and Hannah Whitall Smith, prominent figures in the Holiness movement in America and the Higher Life movement in Great Britain...
, the first wife of Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
.
The battle mentioned here took place at Red Bank on the Delaware River in west New Jersey, below Trenton, in the county of Gloucester, in what is now the town of National Park. The Whitall House stands there today, preserved. Tours are available seasonally. An interesting sidenote; the fort located here is named Fort Mercer, named after Hugh Mercer
Hugh Mercer
Hugh Mercer was a soldier and physician. He initially served with British forces during the Seven Years War but later became a brigadier general in the Continental Army and a close friend to George Washington...
, a colonial General who died of wounds sustained at the Battle of Princeton
Battle of Princeton
The Battle of Princeton was a battle in which General George Washington's revolutionary forces defeated British forces near Princeton, New Jersey....
.
Southern New Jersey folk hero Jonas Cattell ran the entire distance from Hadenfield to Woodbury to warn Colonel (later, General) Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...
, who commanded the small colonial contingent at nearby Red Bank, that the Hessians, commanded by Count von Donop
Carl von Donop
Count Carl Emilius von Donop was a Hessian colonel who fought in the American Revolutionary War.-Origins and ambitions:...
, were marching towards Red Bank.
External links
- http://www.getnj.com/historicroadsides/gloucester.shtml
- http://www.co.gloucester.nj.us/sites.htm
- http://www.courierpostonline.com/womenshistory/