Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson Gaskell (September 29, 1810-November 12, 1865), a lifelong Unitarian and the wife of an eminent Unitarian minister, was the author of a half-dozen novels, numerous short stories, and a biography of Charlotte Brontë. In her fiction she examined some of the the social issues of her time, particularly those associated with industrialization in mid-19th century England, the rise of the middle class, and the status of women.
Caroline Augusta White Soule (September 3, 1824-December 6, 1903), a novelist, poet, religious writer, editor, and minister, was one of the founders and the first president of the earliest national organization of American church women, the Woman’s Centenary Aid Association.
Emily Taft Douglas (April 19, 1899-January 28, 1994) was a congresswoman, civil rights activist, early feminist, actress, author, and Unitarian lay leader. Throughout her life she promoted international cooperation for the preservation of peace and for democratic cultural exchange.
Harriot Stanton Blatch (January 20, 1856-November 20, 1940) was a leader in the woman suffrage movement, a writer and an advocate for labor reform. She is credited with modernizing a suffrage movement that, by the opening of the 20th century, was listless and flagging.
Augusta Jane Chapin (July 16, 1836-June 30, 1905), Universalist minister and educator, was one of the earliest women to be ordained in ministry. She was the first woman to sit on the Council of the General Convention of Universalists.
May Sarton (May 3, 1912-July 16, 1995) left an impressive legacy of over fifty books, including novels, poetry, memoirs and journals. Her appeal lay in her ability to “sacramentalize the ordinary” by probing everyday subjects such as flowers, gardens, animals, changing sunlight and personal relationships in order to find deeper, universal truths.…
Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819-October 17, 1910), little known today except as author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” was famous in her lifetime as poet, essayist, lecturer, reformer and biographer. She worked to end slavery, helped to initiate the women’s movement in many states, and organized for international peace—all at a time, she noted, “when to do so was a thankless office, involving public ridicule and private avoidance.”…
Florence Buck (July 19, 1860-October 12, 1925) was a Unitarian minister at a time when women ministers were uncommon and a leader in the development of Unitarian religious education. She served as Associate Secretary of the Department of Religious Education of the American Unitarian Association and was editor and author of significant religious study materials.
Caroline Howard Gilman (October 1, 1794-September 15, 1888), one of the most popular women writers of the first half of the nineteenth century, was born in Boston on October 1, 1794. Her parents, Samuel Howard and Anna Lillie, were prosperous and well-connected.
Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832-March 6, 1888), best known as the author of Little Women, was an advocate of abolition, women’s rights, and temperance. Her stories, novels, and poems helped to support the Alcott family, and most have now been republished, widening her reputation beyond that of children’s author and bringing fresh critical notice to her work.…
Celia Burleigh (September 18, 1826-July 25, 1875) was ordained at Brooklyn, Connecticut, on October 5, 1871, the first woman to enter Unitarian ministry. Had this event not occurred, she would be remembered chiefly as a writer, editor, public speaker, and activist in a number of reform movements, preeminently women’s rights.
Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810-July 19, 1850) “possessed more influence on the thought of American women than any woman previous to her time.” So wrote Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in their 1881 History of Woman Suffrage. Author, editor, and teacher, Fuller contributed significantly to the American Renaissance in literature and to mid-nineteenth century reform movements.…