Background

Antoinette Blackwell was born on May 20, 1825, in Henrietta, New York, Untied States, the daughter of Joseph and Abby (Morse) Brown, both of New England descent.

Education

Antoinette attended Oberlin College, completing the literary course in 1847 and the theological course in 1850.

Career

At the age of nine Blackwell joined the Congregational Church and soon was speaking publicly in meetings; at sixteen she was teaching school. Refused a ministerial license, because of her sex, she preached wherever churches, of any creed, would receive her until in 1852 she became the regular pastor of the Congregational Church in South Butler, New York. She had already joined the movements for abolition, prohibition, and woman's rights - three reforms which, however illogically, usually drew the same supporters. Her efforts at first were devoted mainly to harmonizing these reforms with the teachings of the Bible, but theological difficulties grew upon her until she resigned her pastorate in 1854 and, eventually, became a Unitarian.

In the summer of 1853 Blackwell came into national prominence when although a regularly authorized delegate to the World's Temperance Convention in New York City she was refused permission to speak; her "unwomanly conduct" in striving quietly for three hours to be heard, amid a tumultous group of angry, shouting men, was severely criticized by many newspapers, although Horace Greeley in the New York Tribune succinctly characterized the convention's achievements toward temperance as consisting in "First Day - Crowding a woman off the platform; Second Day - Gagging her; Third Day - Voting that she shall stay gagged. "

During the early years of the Civil War she was prominent in the movement for the immediate emancipation of the slaves and until the end of her life remained active in the causes of woman suffrage and prohibition. A very effective speaker, she habitually devoted her eloquence to the presentation and support of particular resolutions rather than to mere general inspiration. Although far from unemotional, her appeal was mainly to the reason, and to considerations of practise. The same qualities appeared in her numerous books: Shadows of Our Social System (1855); Studies in General Science (1869); A Market Woman (1870); The Island Neighbors (1871); The Sexes Throughout Nature (1875); The Physical Basis of Immortality (1876); The Philosophy of Individuality (1893); Sea Drift; or Tribute to the Ocean (1902); The Making of the Universe (1914); The Social Side of Mind and Action (1915).

Achievements

• Antoinette Blackwell was one of the first women to receive a college education in the United States. Blackwell distinguished herself from her contemporaries with her use of religious faith in her efforts to expand women's rights. She founded the New Jersey Women's Suffrage Association in 1867, and supported the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), founded in 1869. She also contributed articles to the Woman's Journal. Blackwell was instrumental in establishing the All Souls Unitarian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she served as pastor emeritus. On November 2, 1920, she was ninety-five years old when she was one of the very few women pioneer suffragists who were finally able to vote for the very first time.

Works

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  • Studies in general science

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Sea Drift: Or, Tribute to the Ocean Poems

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Island Neighbors: A Novel of American Life

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Physical Basis of Immortality

    (This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

  • The Making of the Universe: Evolution the Continuous Process Which Derives the Finite from the Infinite (1914)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • The Philosophy of Individuality: Or, the One and the Many (1893)

    (Originally published in 1893. This volume from the Cornel...)

  • The Sexes Throughout Nature: -1875

    (Originally published in 1875. This volume from the Cornel...)

Membership

Blackwell was a founding member of the New Jersey Women's Suffrage Association and a member of the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA).

Connections

Miss Brown was married on January 24, 1856, to Dr. Samuel C. Blackwell, brother of Elizabeth Blackwell and Henry Brown Blackwell. She became the mother of six children.

Father:

Joseph Brown

Mother:

Abby (Morse) Brown

Spouse:

Dr. Samuel C. Blackwell

References

• Friends and Sisters: Letters between Lucy Stone and Antoinette Brown Blackwell, 1846-93 (Women in American History)
• Antoinette Brown Blackwell: A Biography