Harriet Ryan Albee

Harriet Ryan Albee (1829-1873) was an American social reformer and philanthropist, who devoted herself and a large part of her earnings to the care of chronically ill and invalid women. She was the founder of the Channing Home for Sick and Destitute Women in Boston, Massachusetts. Recognized as one of the best-known charities in the country in its day, it was the first nonsectarian care home for incurables in the U.S., In 2012, the institution that Albee founded became the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Harriet Ryan Albee Professorship at Harvard University is named in her honor.

Early life Harriet (or Harriett) Ryan was born in Boston, March 5, 1829. Harriet's siblings were Richard, Valentine, and Elizabeth. The family was Roman Catholic.

An opportunity soon occurred for carrying her benevolent design into effect. One day, when purchasing some articles in a grocer's shop, she heard a woman lamenting the condition of a sick neighbor, who had no one to care for her. Albee immediately inquired her address, found that her state of health had been correctly described, brought her to her own humble lodging, and nursed her through her illness like a daughter. This was the start of her social work. She soon had two or three such patients under her care, whom she tended in like manner, devoting herself more particularly to cases of consumption.

Personal life

On September 1, 1864, Here, at Jaffrey Cottage, they entertained Alexander Graham Bell, Anna Bowman Dodd, Mary Baker Eddy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James T. Fields, John Fiske, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Celia Thaxter, and John Greenleaf Whittier.

The couple had four children: Harriet, Esther, Robert, and Louisa.

A sketch of her life was written in 1901 by James De Normandie, D.D. Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes succeeded him.