Abby Day Slocomb (October 5, 1836 – December 6, 1917) was an American inventor, philanthropist and historic preservationist. Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, she descended from a Connecticut Revolutionary soldier and was a Quaker. After marrying Cuthbert H. Slocomb in 1860, she served as a nurse during the American Civil War. Her husband was a Confederate officer and the cannon used by his unit was named "Lady Slocomb" in her honor. He died in 1873, leaving his share of the lucrative hardware firm, Slocomb, Baldwin & Company, to his wife and sister, Ida A. Richardson. In addition to her earnings from the business, Slocomb filed several patents. She donated windows to the historic Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans and helped the Ladies Aid Society raise money to save the church.
Slocomb moved to Groton, Connecticut, in 1888. She founded that city's chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in 1892, and three years later founded the chapter in New Orleans. She was the inaugural regent of the Groton chapter and first state director for the Children of the American Revolution (CAR). She also located the lot on which the Memorial Continental Hall, headquarters of the DAR, was built. Realizing that Connecticut did not have an official flag, she pressed the legislature to adopt one and submitted designs for consideration. After a protracted disagreement over which emblem should be chosen, her design was accepted as the Connecticut State flag in 1897.
Interested in historical preservation, she wrote letters to President Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary of War Elihu Root convincing them to turn over Fort Griswold to the care of the state of Connecticut in 1902. A society was formed to preserve the site and the DAR developed a museum at the fort, making its headquarters in the former caretaker's cottage. When her daughter became ill in 1906, Slocomb moved to Italy where she remained for the rest of her life. The designs she submitted for the Connecticut state flag are located in the Fort Griswold Museum. The cannon which was named after her is on display in front of the Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans. The DAR built its headquarters and national meeting place on the lot she found on 17th Street, between Streets C and D in Washington, D.C. The building was completed in 1910 and served as the organization's convention center until 1929. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
Early life
Abigail "Abby" Hannah Day was born on October 5, 1836, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Sarah Eliza (née Armitage) and James Ingersoll Day. The family were Quakers and descendants of Elisha Hinman, a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. Hinman was commissioned as commander of the ship Alfred and later the ship Cabot and successfully captured several British ships during the conflict, before being taken prisoner. Her father, originally from New London, Connecticut, turned down a military career in favor of business. At seventeen, he moved to New Orleans and worked at the hardware wholesale firm of Palmer & Whiting. When the original partners retired, Day and Robert Slark took over the concern. He later served as president of the Sun Mutual Insurance Company. Her mother was the sister-in-law of his business partner. The couple had six children after Abby – Helen Amelia, Sallie E., Jane W., James Armitage, Marie Louise, and Robert Slark Day. The family lived in New Orleans until Day retired and then moved to Stonington, Connecticut.
On October 18, 1860, in Stonington, Abby married Cuthbert H. Slocomb, the senior partner in the New Orleans hardware firm of Slocomb, Baldwin & Company. The store had been founded by his father, Samuel B. Slocomb, who died in 1833, leaving an estate of over a million dollars to his wife, Cora Ann (née Cox), and three children, Ida, Augusta, and Cuthbert. Cuthbert also was the fire chief of the local volunteer fire department and in 1861 enlisted in the elite, 2nd Company of the Washington Artillery of the Confederate States Army for service during the American Civil War. The couple's only child, Cora Ann was born on January 7, 1862. In the spring of that year, Cuthbert was assigned to the command of the 5th battalion's Company B, and was injured in the Battle of Shiloh. At the battle, the cannon "Lady Slocomb", named in honor of Cuthbert's wife, fired its first shot. He was later wounded a second time at the Battle of Jonesborough, but after recovering from his wounds returned to command until the surrender of his regiment on May 8, 1865. After his service, he returned to his hardware business.