Category: Civil War Women

Civil War Women
Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Feminists

Susan B. Anthony

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One of the First American Feminists and Women’s Rights Activist Susan B. Anthony played a pivotal role in the 19th century women’s rights and women’s suffrage movements in the United States. Working closely with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony was a primary organizer, lecturer and writer for the movements, especially the first phases of the long struggle for women’s right to vote. She traveled the United States, averaging 75 to 100 speeches per year. Image: Susan B. Anthony on the Occasion of her 80th Birthday, 1900 By Sarah J. Eddy Childhood and Early Years Susan Brownell Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts and raised in a Quaker family with long activist traditions. She was the second oldest…

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Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Women Lawyers

Belva Lockwood

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One of the First Women Lawyers in the United States Belva Lockwood (1830–1917) was the first woman admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court when she pursuaded Congress to open the federal courts to women lawyers in 1879, and the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court. She was also active in working for women’s rights and overcame many social and personal obstacles related to gender restrictions. Lockwood ran for president in 1884 and 1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party and was the first woman to appear on official ballots. Born Belva Ann Bennett on October 24, 1830 in Royalton, New York, she was the daughter of farmers Lewis Johnson Bennett…

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African Americans, Civil War Women, Women in Business

Annie Burton

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Former Slave Who Became a Businesswoman Annie Louise Burton was born a slave in Clayton, Alabama in 1858. She was the daughter of a woman named Nancy, the cook of Mr. and Mrs. William Farrin whose plantation was near Clayton. Annie’s father, a white man born in Liverpool, England, owned a plantation that was a long walk from the Farrin plantation. Annie grew up during the Civil War and remembered fondly her early days on the plantation. Excerpt, Memories of Childhood’s Slavery Days: On the plantation there were ten white children and fourteen colored children. Our days were spent roaming about from plantation to plantation, not knowing or caring what things were going on in the great world outside our…

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Civil War Women

Cynthia Ann Parker

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Indian Captive Taken as a Child in Texas Cynthia Ann Parker (circa 1825-1870) was kidnapped and adopted by the Comanche at the age of nine, and lived with them for 24 years. She married chief Peta Nocona and had three children with him, including Quanah Parker. She was “rescued” at age 34, and spent the remaining years of her life refusing to adjust to life in white society. Image: Cynthia Ann Parker after being returned to the Parker family Childhood Cynthia Ann Parker was born circa 1825 to Lucy (Duty) and Silas Parker in Crawford County, Illinois. When she was nine years old, her paternal grandfather John Parker was recruited to settle his family in north-central Texas; he was to…

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Civil War Women, Women Doctors

Emily Blackwell

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Doctor and Educator in the Civil War Era Emily Blackwell (1826–1910), physician and educator, was the second woman to earn a medical degree at what is now Case Western Reserve University, and the third woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. Dr. Blackwell, with her sister Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell and their colleague Dr. Marie Zakrzewska, established the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, the first hospital for women and children in the United States. Early Years Emily Blackwell was born on October 8, 1826, the sixth of nine surviving children born to Samuel and Hannah Lane Blackwell in the seaport of Bristol, England. There Samuel prospered as the owner of a sugar refinery, which provided a…

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Civil War Women, Famous Firsts, Women Scientists

Maria Mitchell

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One of the First Women Scientists in the United States Maria Mitchell (1818–1889) was an American astronomer who discovered a comet in her telescope in 1847, which became known as the Miss Mitchell’s Comet and brought her international fame. She was the first professor appointed at the new Vassar College and the first acknowledged woman astronomer in the United States. Image: Maria Mitchell with her students Early Years Maria (pronounced ma-RY-ah) Mitchell was born August 1, 1818 on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, daughter of Quakers William and Lydia Coleman Mitchell. She had nine brothers and sisters. Her mother’s side of the family traced its ancestry to Benjamin Franklin. The Quaker religion taught intellectual equality between the sexes, and the…

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Civil War Women, Feminists

Ernestine Rose

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Abolitionist and Women’s Rights Activist Ernestine Rose (1810–1892) was an advocate for the abolition of slavery and an orator whose activism was recognized by contemporaries as one of the major intellectual forces behind the women’s rights movement in nineteenth-century America. Although she met with discouragements, lack of acknowledgement of her achievements and hostility from women, she was described as “one of the best lecturers of her time.” Early Years She was born Ernestine Louise Potowski in Peterhof Trybunalski, Poland, on January 13, 1810. Her father was a wealthy rabbi and her mother the daughter of a wealthy businessman. She was reared in strict accordance with the tenets and rituals of the Jewish religion. At the age of five, Rose began…

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Civil War Women, Famous Wives

Lydian Emerson

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Wife of Poet and Writer Ralph Waldo Emerson Lydian Emerson was a devout Christian, witty conversationalist and a member of the Transcendental Club. A major influence on her husband’s thought, she offered commentary on current events and once wrote of the excesses of American Transcendentalism in a text called The Transcendental Bible. She opposed slavery, supported women’s rights, and considered marriage to an unfit mate to be tantamount to slavery. Image: Lydian Emerson with son Edward, circa 1847 Lydia Jackson was born in 1802 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She met Ralph Waldo Emerson – an essayist, lecturer and poet – when he gave a lecture in her hometown in 1834. On January 24, 1835, Emerson wrote a letter to Lydia proposing…

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Authors, Civil War Women, Famous Firsts

Emily Dickinson

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One of the Top Women Poets in the United States Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) is considered the most original 19th century American poet. She is noted for her unconventional broken rhyming meter and use of dashes and random capitalization as well as her creative use of metaphor and overall innovative style. She was a deeply sensitive woman who explored her own spirituality, in poignant, deeply personal poetry, revealing her keen insight into the human condition. Image: A photo dated 1860 believed to be Emily Dickinson Emily the Daughter Emily Dickinson was born December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was the second child born to Emily Norcross and Edward Dickinson, a Yale graduate, successful lawyer and United States Congressman. While Emily…

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Authors, Civil War Women

Fanny Fern

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Journalist and Novelist in the Civil War Era American writer Fanny Fern (1811-1872), born Sarah Willis, was the first woman newspaper columnist. By 1855, Fern was the highest-paid columnist in the United States, commanding $100 per week for her New York Ledger column. Her best-known work, novel Ruth Hall (1854), was based on her life – the years of happiness she had with her first husband, the poverty she endured after he died, the lack of help from her male relatives, and her struggle to achieve financial independence as a journalist. She was born Sarah Payson Willis on July 9, 1811 in Portland, Maine to Nathaniel Willis and Hannah Parker Willis; she was the fifth of nine children. At an…

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