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Lucy Stone Letters

An inventory of her letters at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: CAM
Date: Sep 1987

Biographical History

Lucy Stone (1818-1893) was and American feminist, abolitionist, and suffragist who founded the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

1818 Born in Brookfield, Massachusetts
1847 Graduated from Oberlin College becoming the first woman in Massachusetts to earn a college degree
1848 Hired by the Garrisonian Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society
1850 Organized the first National Woman's Rights Convention
1855 Married Henry Blackwell, but kept her maiden name
1857 Gave birth to her only child, Alice Stone Blackwell
1869 Founded the American Woman Suffrage Association
1870 Started The Woman's Journal
1890 Merged the American Woman Suffrage Association with the National Woman Suffrage Association to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association
1893 Died at her home in Dorchester, Massachusetts

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Lucy Stone Letters consist of fourteen items of outgoing correspondence, reflecting her extensive involvement with the women's rights movement. Included in the collection are speaking invitations, articles submitted to newspapers, and requests for assistance in the feminist cause.

Among the letters concerning speaking arrangements are items to Grace A. Oliver and Franklin Benjamin Sanborn inviting them to guest lecturer at various meetings, and a letter to Emily Blackwell insisting upon Stone's own need to have ample time between speaking engagements to rest and prepare adequately.

Also in the collection are three items that were submitted to newspapers as articles. One item is a postcard sent to the Daily Advertiser of Boston regarding the deadline for women to be assessed and registered as voters for the School Committee. A second item is an article submitted to the Springfield Republican regarding the Farmers' Institute's adoption of the resolution for equal political rights for women. And the third piece is an article from Lucy Stone to an unknown newspaper which has been filed under Miscellaneous. This article is a report on the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association.

Letters to Sarah Moore Grimkè and Thomas Wentworth Higginson suggest Lucy Stone's equal commitment to the abolitionist movement. Also, in a letter about a Miss Francis to Alice Baker, Stone writes:

"...she probably has the papers of L. Maria Child. And these were rich with the manuscripts of all of the rare saints of the old anti slavery time, when gods and goddesses, clothen with common clay, wrote letters and took up the duties of human beings towards the slave."

Lucy Stone also solicits help from various people. In a letter to Samuel Edward Herrick, Stone asked that he raise the issue of the Municipal Suffrage for Women at the next Congregational Ministers' meeting. And in a letter to George W. Pellew, she requests a meeting with reference to securing legislative passage of the bill for Municipal Suffrage for Women.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection contains one series, Correspondence, which is arranged alphabetically by recipient.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Blackwell, Emily, 1826-1910.
Grimkè, Sarah Moore, 1792-1873.
Herrick, Samuel Edward, 1841-1904.
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911.
Oliver, Grace A. (Grace Atkinson), 1844-1899.
Pellew, George W.
Sanborn, F. B. (Franklin Benjamin), 1831-1917.
Stone, Lucy, 1818-1893.

Associated Titles

The Woman's journal.

Subjects

Abolitionists -- United States.
Feminists -- United States.
Social reformers -- United States.
Suffragists -- United States.
Women's rights.

Genres and Forms

Letters (correspondence)

Occupations

Feminists.
Social reformers.
Suffragists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Lucy Stone Letters
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Inventory