Appoline Agatha Alexander Blair (September 14, 1828 – Sep. 5, 1908) was an American philanthropist, hospital founder, and wife of Senator (and Civil War general)

Francis Preston Blair Jr. Francis Preston Blair Jr. (February 19, 1821 – July 8, 1875) was a United States Senator, a United States Congressman and a Union Major General during the Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a ...

Biography

Appoline Agatha Alexander was born to Andrew Alexander of

Woodford County, Kentucky Woodford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles. The area was home to Pisgah Academy. Woodford County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metrop ...

. She married

(1821–1875) on September 8, 1847, and had eight children. In 1878, after losing two children to illness, Blair gathered a group of 20 prominent women and organized the

St. Louis Children's Hospital St. Louis Children's Hospital is a dedicated pediatric hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and has a primary service region covering six states. As the pediatric teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hos ...

, for which she served as the first president of the Board of Managers. In addition to the St. Louis Children's Hospital, she is sometimes credited with the creation of the St. John's Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri, in 1896. She died on September 5, 1908 at the home of her daughter in St. Louis.

References

External links

Blair family papers
a
Princeton University Library. Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Appoline Alexander 1828 births 1908 deaths 19th-century American philanthropists Blair family