Louisa Hawkins Canby

Civil War Nurse and Wife of General E.R.S. Canby Louisa Hawkins Canby, wife of Union General Edward Richard Sprigg (E.R.S.) Canby, was named the Angel of Santa Fe for her compassion toward the cold and wounded Confederate soldiers who occupied Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1862. She not only nursed the Rebel troops, but also showed them the location of the blankets and food her husband had ordered to be hidden before he and the Union troops left the city. Image: Louisa Hawkins Canby Early Years Louisa Hawkins, was born December 25, 1818 at Paris, Kentucky to John and Elizabeth (Waller) Hawkins. Relatives and close friends always called her Lou. Raised in Crawfordsville, Indiana, at age 19 Lou met the…

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Helen Benson Garrison

Abolitionist and Wife of William Lloyd Garrison While her husband got all the glory, Helen Benson Garrison was an abolitionist in her own right. She raised funds for the American Anti-Slavery Society in many ways, particularly as a manager of the annual Boston Anti-Slavery Bazaar. Helen Benson was born on February 23, 1811 in Providence, Rhode Island to George and Sarah Thurber Benson. At the June session of the General Assembly, in 1790, an “Act to incorporate certain Persons by the Name of the Providence Society for promoting the Abolition of Slavery, for the Relief of Persons unlawfully held in Bondage, and for improving the Condition of the African Race” was passed. Helen’s father, George Benson, became an active member…

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Angelina Grimke

Abolitionist and Women’s Rights Activist The first woman to address a state legislature (Massachusetts in 1836), Angelina Grimke fearlessly traveled across New York and New England, speaking out against slavery at a time when women were scarcely seen and never heard in the public arena. In order to lecture about this sensitive issue she had to first fight for her right, as a woman, to participate in the abolionist movement. Born and raised in South Carolina, Grimke grew to detest the institution of slavery at an early age. Unable to influence her family to free their slaves, Angelina joined her older sister Sarah in Philadelphia, where they became Quakers, and soon thereafter began to fight for emancipation.

Sally Tompkins

Civil War Nurse and Hospital Administrator Captain Sally Tompkins was a Civil War nurse, humanitarian and philanthropist who founded a Confederate hospital in Richmond, Virginia. During the war she cared for 1,333 Confederate soldiers in her hospital with only 73 deaths – the lowest mortality rate of any military hospital – establishing the remarkable record of returning 94% of them to service. Image: Sally Tompkins Stained Glass Window St. James Episcopal Church Richmond, Virginia Depicts Tompkins with her medical bag around her waist and a Bible in her hand with the Angel of Mercy to guide her. Above the center panel is a picture of the Robertson Hospital, and below are scenes depicting Captain Tompkins caring for wounded soldiers. Early…

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Amy Kirby Post

Abolitionist and Feminist in New York In her own day, Amy Post was well known as a radical Quaker abolitionist and feminist. In the late 1960s, feminists began searching for heroines, women whose lives could provide guidance and inspiration to a new generation of female activists. Many women who were first rediscovered as models of strength, self-reliance and ingenuity were residents of western New York, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Blackwell. Yet what made this region of New York, and Rochester in particular, a seedbed of female achievement was not only the few nationally renowned women who made a home there but also the dozens of women who day by day struggled to lead exemplary lives…

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Confederate Women Spies

Women Spies for the South Although the exact number is unknown, it is speculated that several hundred women served as spies and smugglers for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Whatever their duties, these new jobs redefined their traditional roles as housewives and mothers and made them an important part of the war effort. Confederate military leaders actively recruited women for undercover operations, mainly because of their familiarity with local customs and geography. Many women spies in the South remained at home, supplying critical information about the daily activities of nearby soldiers and military leaders. Southern belles invited enemy officers to their parties, hoping to pick up some new tidbit of information. As the Civil War unfolded, there was…

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Catherine Beecher

A Pioneer in Women’s Education American author and educator, Catherine Beecher believed that a woman’s role as educator and moral guide for her family was the basis of a well-ordered society. While she might have balked at being called a feminist (she did not support suffrage), her new theories about a woman’s place contributed to a growing feminist attitude that a woman did not have to be weak and passive, but could be a strong and important member of her community. Early Years Catherine Beecher (also spelled Catharine) was born September 6, 1800 in East Hampton, New York to the prominent Beecher family, who greatly influenced American culture and politics during the late nineteenth century. Catherine was the eldest of…

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Ann Rutledge

Abraham Lincoln’s First Love Ann Rutledge was Abraham Lincoln’s first love. The two met while he was boarding at her family’s inn in New Salem, Illinois, and he fell for her charms. Ann’s death at the age of 22 left Lincoln severely depressed, the first of many such incidents in his often difficult life. Image: Lincoln and Ann Rutledge by Fletcher Ransom Early Years On January 7, 1813, Ann Mayes Rutledge was born near Henderson, Kentucky, the third of ten children born to Mary and James Rutledge. In 1829, her father co-founded the town of New Salem, Illinois, and constructed a dam, sawmill and gristmill. As business expanded, James Rutledge decided to lay out a town and sell lots of…

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Clara Foltz

California’s First Woman Lawyer Clara Shortridge Foltz deserves to be called California’s First Woman. She became the state’s first woman lawyer, but only after fighting to change the law that denied women the right to become lawyers. That was only the beginning of her many firsts. She was the first woman to serve as clerk of the judiciary committee of the state assembly, the first woman deputy district attorney in the United States, and the first to run for governor. Early Years Clara Shortridge was born July 16, 1849 in Lafayette, Indiana, the only daughter of Elias and Talitha Harwood Shortridge. Trained as a lawyer, Elias Shortridge turned instead to preaching and in 1860 became pastor for a church in…

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Frances Sargent Osgood

Frances Sargent Osgood was one of the most popular women writers and poets of the mid-nineteenth century. Though some critics berated her writing as overly sentimental, Osgood achieved a wide readership and her fame was based on her success as an author, not merely for her connection to Edgar Allan Poe. Image: Frances Sargent Osgood and Edgar Allan Poe (painting of Poe by Fanny’s husband) Early Life Frances Sargent Locke was born on June 18, 1811 in Boston, Massachusetts to Joseph Locke, a wealthy merchant, and his second wife Mary. Fanny, as she was known, spent her early years in Hingham, Massachusetts, and probably received her formal education at home by private tutors, but she also attended the Boston Lyceum…

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