Maria McAuley

Maria McAuley (née Fahy; c. 1841 – September 19, 1919), later Maria Gilbert, was an American missioner who, along with her husband Jerry McAuley, founded the McAuley Water Street Mission (now the New York City Rescue Mission) to shelter the poor of New York City who were primarily immigrants. The couple were Irish Catholics immigrants who became Protestants and missioners after being saved from a lifestyle of drinking and crime by missionaries. McAuley Mission became the first of over 300 rescue missions in the United States; together, these form the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. Her second husband was noted New York City architect Bradford Gilbert.