Author: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Today marks the 139 years since the death of Quaker minister and activist Lucretia Mott on 11 November 1880. Born in 1793, Mott was a founder of the women’s rights movement and a leading advocate for abolition, peace, and other causes.

Continue reading “Mourning Lucretia Mott”

Belva Ann Lockwood (1830-1917) was a lawyer, presidential candidate, and women’s rights activist during a time when women possessed limited rights. Continue reading “Vote, Belva! Vote Belva!”

When I was hired to digitize collections for PACSCL’s In Her Own Right project, I was most excited to work with the Lucretia Mott papers. Mott (1793-1880) was a Quaker minister, abolitionist, social reformer, and one of the igniters of the women’s rights movement, and I was eager to learn more about her. One thing I did not expect was for Lucretia Mott to make me hungry. Though she was a tiny woman, she certainly enjoyed a good meal, and she often included the details of the fare she served or was served in her correspondence. She also touted her cooking skills, which her granddaughter Anna Davis Hallowell confirmed were excellent in the biography she wrote of her grandparents.
Continue reading “Lucretia Mott: 19th Century Foodie”

Popular narratives of the Civil War often suggest that white Northerners saved otherwise helpless African Americans from slavery. However, such portrayals are far from accurate; African Americans played a major role in the war effort and in advocating for emancipation. In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth, today we discuss “contrabands,” African American refugees who contributed to both developments.

Continue reading “Contraband: Centering Black Agency in the Civil War”

At first glance, this letter from Abby Hopper Gibbons might look like just another cranky old lady complaining about that newfangled elevated train, but she’s not just any cranky old lady, as this guest post explains. Continue reading “Abby Hopper Gibbons and the “Hellevated” Trains”