Guide to the Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell letter, 1869
Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org
Published in 2013
Collection Overview
| Title: | Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell letter |
| Date range: | 1869 |
| Creator: | Blackwell, Antoinette Louisa Brown, 1825-1921 |
| Extent: | 0.01 linear feet (1 folder) |
| Abstract: | This collection consists of one letter from Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell (1825-1921), the first woman ordained as a minister in the United States, to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a Unitarian minister, regarding her publication, Studies in general science. |
| Language of materials: | English |
| Repository: | Redwood Library and Athenaeum |
| Collection number: | RLC.Ms.502 |
Scope & content
This collection consists of one letter written by Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell to Newport, Rhode Island resident Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823-1911), a fellow Unitarian minister, regarding the publication of her first book, Studies in general science on March 25, 1869.Access Points
Subject Names Subject Topics Subject Topics Document TypesArrangement
This collection is arranged in chronological order.
Biographical note
Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell (1825-1921) was a reformer, abolitionist, author, lecturer, and the first woman ordained as a minister in the United States. In 1846, Blackwell enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio, and by 1847, she had received her literary degree – the only degree available to women at the time. She stayed at Oberlin for three more years to study theology, but the college would not confer her degree or allow her to be ordained as a minister. She then began working as an independent lecturer, speaking against slavery and on woman’s rights and temperance throughout New England, Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. She also preached Sunday sermons when invited to do so. In 1852, Blackwell was asked to take up the ministry of the Congregational Church in South Butler, New York. She was ordained as the church’s minister on September 15, 1853, making her the first woman ordained in a regular denomination in the United States. She resigned from this position in July 1854, but continued to be active in reform movements and women’s rights conventions throughout the country. In 1869, Blackwell founded the American Woman Suffrage Association with Lucy Stone and also published her first book, Studies in general science, detailing her philosophy on life and religion. She went on to write six more books and one book of poetry. In 1878, the American Unitarian Association recognized her as a Unitarian minister. She went on to acquire a grant of land for a Unitarian Church, establishing the All Souls Unitarian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1908. Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell died on November 5, 1921.Access & Use
| Access to the collection: | Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Use of the materials: | This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Preferred citation: | Antoinette Louisa Brown Blackwell letter, RLC.Ms.502, Redwood Library and Athenaeum. |
| Contact information: | Redwood Library and Athenaeum 50 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 02840 Tel: (401) 847-0292 Fax: (401) 841-5680 email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org |
Administrative Information
| ABOUT THE COLLECTION | |
| Acquisition: | Gift of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1878 April 29. |
| Processing information: | This collection was previously processed by Leah Podolsky in 2009 and Aimee Saunders in 2010. |
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID | |
| Author: | Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage. |
| Encoding: | Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Delmage 2013 September 04 |
| Descriptive rules: | Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
| Sponsor: | Funding for processing and cataloging this collection was provided by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation. |
Additional Information
| Related material: | Blackwell family papers, 1784-1944, M-35, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute. |
| Separated material: | This letter was originally tipped into the book: Blackwell, Antoinette Louisa Brown. Studies in general science. New York: G. P. Putnam and Son, 1869. |
Inventory
| Box 1, Folder 1 | Letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson |
1869 Mar 25 |