Maria W. Stewart, best known as one of the earliest female public speakers, was born Maria Miller in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1803. Her parents’ first names and occupations are not known. Stewart was orphaned by age five and became an indentured servant, serving a clergyman … Read MoreMaria W. Miller Stewart (1803-1879)
A poet and essayist, Frances Ellen Watkins was born free in Baltimore, Maryland on September 24, 1825. Orphaned at the age of three, Watkins went to live with her aunt and uncle, Harriet and William Watkins. Unlike most free blacks, Frances grew up in comfortable … Read MoreFrances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)
Black journalist Philip Alexander Bell was born in 1808 in New York City, New York and cut his political teeth in early abolitionist politics in the Northeast. Bell attended Colored Citizens Conventions as early as 1830 and established his first newspaper, the Weekly Advocate, in … Read MorePhilip Alexander Bell (1808-1889)
Abner Hunt Francis was an abolitionist and activist whose life and work spanned both U.S. coasts and Canada. He was born on a farm near Flemington, New Jersey. His father, Jacob, was a Revolutionary War veteran. His mother, Mary, was enslaved when she married Jacob, … Read MoreAbner Hunt Francis (1812?–1872)
Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, emancipated slave and itinerant evangelist, became arguably the most well-known nineteenth century African American woman. Born around 1797, Isabella (her birth name) was the daughter of James and Betsey, slaves of Colonel Ardinburgh Hurley, Ulster County, New York. … Read MoreSojourner Truth (ca. 1797-1883)
Born in Virginia in 1854, Olivia A. Davidson, the daughter of an ex-slave and freeborn mother, was the seventh of ten children. The family moved from Virginia to southern Ohio in 1857, then moved to the northern part of the state in Albany and Athens … Read MoreOlivia A. Davidson (1854-1889)
Minister Jarena Lee was the first authorized female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. Lee, whose family or maiden name is unknown, was born to a poor but free black family on February 11, 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey. In 1790 at … Read MoreJarena Lee (1783–185?)
Dred Scott, was an enslaved person noted mainly for the unsuccessful lawsuit brought to free him from bondage. The decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857 in the Dred Scott case, said that no blacks slave or free were U.S. citizens and allowed … Read MoreDred Scott (1795-1858)
William C. Nell was an African American civic activist, abolitionist, and historian. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Nell was the son of William Guion Nell, a prominent tailor and black activist. William C. Nell was introduced to racial inequality and black activism from birth. … Read MoreWilliam C. Nell (1816-1874)
Stephen Smith was born into slavery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At 21 he purchased his freedom for $50 and soon afterwards began to ally with the abolitionist cause that he would support through most of his adult life. In 1830 Smith became the chairman of … Read MoreStephen Smith (1795-1873)
