Ann Ayscough Sands

Ann Ayscough Sands (January 5, 1761 – July 17, 1851) was an American educator. She was the founder of the first public school ever established in Brooklyn, New York.^[1] St. Ann's Church, the first Episcopal church in that city, was named in her honor.^[2]

Biography

Ann Ayscough was born in New York City, January 5, 1761. Her father, Dr. Richard Ayscough, was a surgeon in the British army, and her mother was a Langdon, while a still more remote ancestor was a Cuyler, one of the original Dutch settlers from Holland. She was married to Joshua Sands, March 9, 1780. In 1813, she was the principal founder and the first directress of the Loisian Seminary and therefore, indirectly, was the founder of the first public school ever established in Brooklyn. She was also the president of the Brooklyn Dorcas Society. She died of a pulmonary affection on July 17, 1851, at the age of 90. She had twelve children, six of whom preceded her in death.^[1]

References

1. Stiles 1869, p. 109.
2. Benardo & Weiss 2006, p. 51.

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: H. R. Stiles' A History of the City of Brooklyn: Including the Old Town and Village of Brooklyn, the Town of Bushwick, and the Village and City of Williamsburgh (1869)

Bibliography

• Benardo, Leonard; Weiss, Jennifer (1 July 2006). Brooklyn by Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their Names. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-9946-8.
• Stiles, Henry Reed (1869). A History of the City of Brooklyn: Including the Old Town and Village of Brooklyn, the Town of Bushwick, and the Village and City of Williamsburgh (Public domain ed.). Published by subscription. p. 109.