Sarah Pim Grubb (11 December 1746 – 1832) was a businesswoman and Quaker benefactor in

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, Ireland. She married a miller and corn dealer named John Grubb in 1778. After her husband's death six years later, she ran his successful milling business, Anner Mills (3 km NE of Clonmel), herself.

Early life and marriage

Sarah Pim was born in 1746 at

Mountrath Mountrath () is a small town in County Laois, Ireland. The town lies on the R445 midway between Dublin and Limerick, exactly 96.5 km (60 mi) from both cities. The town was bypassed by the M7 motorway in 2010, leading to a significant ...

, Queen's County. She was the first child of the wealthy Dublin wool merchant John Pim and his wife, Sarah Clibborn of Moate Castle. Her 15 siblings included

Joshua Pim Dr Joshua Pim FRCSI (20 May 1869 – 15 April 1942) was a medical doctor and Irish amateur tennis player. He won the Wimbledon men's singles title two years in a row, in 1893 and 1894, and was ranked British number one in both those years. He ...

and Joseph Pike Pim, notable merchants of Usher's Island, Dublin. She was related through both her parents to the most prominent Quaker families at that time. The Pim family moved to

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

in 1771 where they mixed with fashionable Quaker society in and around London. In 1778, Sarah Pim married John Grubb, a wealthy flour miller from

in Ireland. Although a very wealthy family, the Grubbs chose to live very plainly and simply, in the Quaker tradition, in their comfortable home at Anner Mills. They provided hospitality to numerous Quaker travelling ministers e.g. Catherine Phillips,

William Savery William Savery (July 14, 1750 - June 19, 1804) was an American Quaker, an active preacher, an abolitionist and a defender of the rights of Native Americans. In 1798, during his traveling ministry to Europe, he preached at a Quaker meeting for ...

, Thomas Reddan and

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

. After John Grubb's death due to overwork in 1784, Sarah Pim Grubb ran the mills herself with the help of her brother Joshua, a Dublin banker. She was independently successful as 'Sarah Grubb, Miller and Corn Dealer'.

Legacy

Grubb was greatly interested in social beneficence, a trait which combined with her business acumen, earned her the title 'the Queen of the South'. She sent aid to those afflicted by the 1798 Rising, helped to found Newtown School in County Waterford, the Garryroan Meeting House in

, helped German refugees in London, and helped support the fight against

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

.Some Account of The Life and Religious Labours of Sarah Grubb (1794) Phillips She died in 1832 leaving a fortune estimated at £100,000, at her home at Anner Mills. She is buried in the Quaker Burial Ground,

References

External links

* Watkins Grubb, G. (1972) ''The Grubbs of Tipperary: Studies in heredity and character'' London: Mercer Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Grubb, Sarah Pim 1746 births 1832 deaths Irish Quakers 18th-century Irish businesswomen 18th-century Irish businesspeople 18th-century Quakers 19th-century Irish businesswomen 19th-century Irish businesspeople 19th-century Quakers 19th-century Irish philanthropists Irish women philanthropists People from Mountrath People from Clonmel 19th-century women philanthropists Businesspeople from County Laois Businesspeople from County Tipperary