Ada Ruth Habershon

HABERSHON, Ada Ruth. b. Marylebone, London, 8 January 1861; d. London, 1 February 1918. She came from a religious family: she was the daughter of a physician, Dr Samuel Habershon, and his wife Grace. She was educated at a boarding school at Dover. She was steeped in evangelical culture: she was a friend of Charles Haddon Spurgeon*, and an enthusiastic supporter of the 1884 London Mission of Dwight L. Moody* and Ira D. Sankey*. Her autobiography and memoir, A Gatherer of Fresh Spoil, compiled by her sister, E.M. Habershon, emphasises her debt to Moody and Spurgeon (p. 19). She worked at ‘Gray’s Yard Ragged Church and Schools’ from 1883 until 1899, working with the poor and with tramps. In...