Martha Coffin Wright

Martha Coffin Wright (December 25, 1806 – 1875) was an American feminist, abolitionist, and signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments.

Early life

Martha Coffin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Christmas day 1806, the youngest child of Anna Folger and Thomas Coffin, a merchant and former Nantucket ship captain. After the Coffin family moved to Philadelphia, Martha was educated at Quaker schools.

Martha married Peter Pelham of Kentucky in 1824 and moved with him to a frontier fort at Tampa Bay, Florida. They had a daughter. Peter died in 1826, leaving Martha a nineteen-year-old widow with an infant child. She moved to upstate New York to teach painting and writing at a Quaker school for girls. She married a young law student named David Wright and had six more children.

Seneca Falls Convention

Martha's older sister Lucretia Coffin Mott was a prominent Quaker preacher. In July 1848, she visited Martha's home in Auburn, New York. During that visit, Martha and Lucretia met with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and two other women and decided to hold a convention in nearby Seneca Falls, New York, to discuss the need for greater rights for women.

The importance of the Seneca Falls Convention was recognized by Congress in 1980 with the creation of the Women's Rights National Historical Park at the site, administered by the National Park Service. The Park's Visitor Center today features a group of life-size bronze statues to honor the women and men who in 1848 initiated the organized movement for women's rights and woman suffrage. Her statue shows her, as she was then, visibly pregnant. In 2005, the park featured a display about the relationship between Lucretia and Martha. In 2008, the park featured a display focused on Martha.

Women's rights and abolitionism

After the Seneca Falls Convention Martha Wright participated in a number of state conventions and the annual National Women's Rights Conventions in various capacities, often serving as President. She was also active in the abolition movement. The arguments for women's rights had much in common with the arguments for abolition. With her sister Lucretia, Martha attended the founding meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia in 1833.

Underground Railroad

Martha's home in Auburn, New York, was part of the Underground Railroad where she harbored fugitive slaves. She became a close friend and supporter of Harriet Tubman.

Ellen Wright

Martha's daughter Ellen Wright (1840–1931) was an advocate of women's rights, especially woman suffrage. In 1864, she married William Lloyd Garrison, Jr. (1838–1909), a prominent advocate of the single tax, free trade, woman's suffrage, and of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act. William was the son of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Ellen and William's daughter, Eleanor Garrison (1880–1974), worked for the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Recognition

On October 9, 2007 House resolution 588 entitled "Recognizing Martha Coffin Wright on the 200th anniversary of her birth and her induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame" passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

External links

• UMass Biography of Martha Coffin Wright
• Biography of Martha Coffin Wright
• Smith College page on the Wright-Garrison Families including a photo of Martha in middle of page
• Women's Letters, 2005, Dial Press, Pages 165–8, Letter from Martha Coffin Wright to Lucretia Mott
• Video on Martha Wright
• House resolution 588 recognizing her

Bibliography

• Penney, Sherry H. and Livingstone, James D. A Very Dangerous Woman: Martha Wright and Women's Rights. University of Massachusetts Press, 2004. ISBN 1-55849-446-4.