Emma Amelia Hall

Emma Amelia Hall (February 28, 1837 – December 27, 1884) was an American prison reformer and administrator.[1][2][3] In July 1881, she became the first superintendent of Michigan's Girls Training School at Adrian, Michigan and eventually was the first woman to head a state institution in Michigan.[4] She was also one of the first women who served as a practical penal administrator[5] and, among several other prison reformers, advocated the “correctional principles of labor, education, and religion”.[6]

Biography

Born on February 28, 1837, in Raisin Township, Lenawee County, Michigan, Emma Amelia Hall was the daughter of school teacher Reuben Lord Hall and his wife Abby Wells Lee.[1] She studied at the Lenawee County public schools and the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, Michigan.[2]

After graduating in 1861, she began a career as a teacher in the Detroit public schools. In February 1867, she joined the Seminary for Young Ladies in Detroit, founded by John M. B. Sill.[2]

Following Hill's involvements in union Sunday school movement, prison reformer Zebulon Brockway persuaded her to become a teacher at the Detroit House of Correction, an experimental reformatory facility established by the city of Detroit in 1861, where Brockway was serving as superintendent.[1][2] In 1868, Brockway added a House of Shelter for women prisoners, a facility that was designed to combine workshop and school for the purpose of educating and rehabilitating women prisoners. In 1871 she became Matron of the House of Shelter and occupied the same position until 1874 when the facility was closed.[2]

She also served as matron of the state school for defective and dependent children at Coldwater, Michigan, and the state school for the deaf and dumb at Flint, Michigan.[2][1]

In 1879, Michigan Legislature authorized a new reform school for girls. Subsequently, considering her experiences in the field, Charles Croswell, Governor of Michigan named Hill to the board of control of the reform school.[2] As conceived by Hill, a facility named Michigan's Girls Training School was established at Adrian, where she served as superintendent between 1881 and 1884.[6][4][2]

After resigning from the Michigan's Girls Training School in April 1884, she offered her services to the Presbyterian Church and expressed her interest to work as a teacher.[2] In October 1884, she became a missionary teacher to the New Mexico Native Americans and stationed at Albuquerque, New Mexico.[2][1]

She died on December 27, 1884, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, of “heart disease”.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hall, Emma Amelia (1837–1884)". encyclopedia.com. encyclopedia.com. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 College, Radcliffe (1971). Notable American Women, 1607– 1950: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 2. London: Harvard University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-674-62734-5. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  3. ↑ Freedman, Estelle B. (1984). Their Sisters' Keepers: Women's Prison Reform in America, 1830–1930. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-472-08052-6. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Harley, Rachel Brett (1992). Michigan Women Firsts and Founders. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Michigan Women's Studies Association. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-961-93901-4. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  5. ↑ Fuller, George Newman (1964). Michigan History, Volume 48. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan History Division of the Department of State. p. 316. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Boehm, Eric H. (1965). America, History and Life, Volume 2. Santa Barbara, California: Clio Press. p. 136. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
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