Dorothea Abrahams

Dorothea Abrahams (c. 1779 – February 6, 1853) was a philanthropist from the West Indies who left funds in her will to open the Abrahams Home for Indigent Widows of Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, 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 Dolley Madison, future First Lady of the United States.

She became friends with a girl, last name Pooler, who was from Savannah, Georgia. 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.

In her will, she left funds to establish the Abrahams Home for Indigent Widows of Savannah.

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.