Darragh, Lydia

Darragh, Lydia (b. Barrington) (1729–89) nurse, midwife; born in Ireland. She married William Darragh (1753) and they emigrated to Philadelphia where she became known as a skillful nurse and midwife. During the American Revolution, she became a "Fighting Quaker," who rejected her sect's extreme pacifism. In 1777, she left Philadelphia and warned the American army leaders of a coming surprise attack by the British. She was suspended from the Quakers' Meeting in Philadelphia in 1783 but was reconciled to them by the time of her death.