Anna Marsh
Anna Hunt Marsh left $10,000 in her will to establish the Vermont Asylum of the Insane in 1834.
Life and career
Marsh was born in Hinsdale, New Hampshire to Jonathan Hunt. She married Perley Marsh in 1793.She is responsible for the creation of the Brattleboro Retreat, originally known as the Vermont Asylum for the Insane. She was the first woman credited with starting a hospital for the mentally ill. She was responsible for selecting the trustees before her death. A bad healing experience leading to the death of a member of her family has been suggested as an impetus to her idea of creating a humane care option. Her vision was a facility patterned on a Quaker concept called moral treatment. Marsh otherwise did not have much to do with Brattleboro.
Upon her death, her will instructed heirs to build a mental hospital in Brattleboro. This was founded in 1834 with her $10,000 bequest.