Isabel Grubb (20 September 1881 – 1972) was an Irish historian, who studied the Quakers in Ireland. She became a major authority on the subject.

Life and work

Isabel was born in 1881 to Joseph Ernest Grubb and Hannah Rebecca Jacob, corn merchants and

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

s in

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical B ...

, Ireland. She gained her master's degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1916 with a thesis about Irish Quakerism: ''"Social conditions in Ireland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as illustrated by early Quaker records''. She later studied at

Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre was a Quaker college and conference facility in Selly Oak, Birmingham, England. The only Quaker Study Centre in Europe, it was founded by George Cadbury in 1903 and occupied one of his former properties on Bristo ...

and became a fellow there in 1926. She taught at

Mountmellick Mountmellick or Mountmellic () is a town in the north of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the N80 road (Ireland), N80 road, 6 km north of Portlaoise. The town is within Mountmellick (parish), Mountmellick Roman Catholic p ...

School in around 1911. She also taught in a handful of British schools, including

Sidcot School Sidcot School is a British co-educational private school for boarding and day pupils, associated with the Religious Society of Friends. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school is based in the Mendip Hills near the village of W ...

(1920–1924). Grubb worked within the Society and as curator and clerk in the Historical Library of the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland, resigning only in 1955, as the commute from where she lived in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

had become too much for her. Her work there meant she was also travelling around the world. As a historian and Quaker, Grubb was the main authority on the subject in Ireland.

Bibliography

*''Quakerism and Industry before 1800'' (1930) *''Quakers in Ireland, 1654–1900'' (1927) *''Quaker Homespuns, 1655–1833'' *''J. Ernest Grubb of Carrick-on-Suir'' (1928) *''My Irish Journal, 1669–1670'' by William Penn; edited by Isabel Grubb with an introduction by Henry J. Cadbury

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grubb, Isabel 1881 births 1972 deaths Irish women writers Irish Quakers Irish women historians