Mary Weston Chapman

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Mary Weston was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts on 24th July, 1806. Both became campaigners against slavery and in 1832 Maria joined with twelve other women to form the Boston Anti-Slavery Society.

Chapman worked closely with William Lloyd Garrison and helped him edit The Liberator. In 1836 she compiled Songs of the Free and Hymns of Christian Freedom. Three year later she published Right and Wrong in Massachusetts, a pamphlet that discussed the divisions in the Anti-Slavery Society that was being created over the issue of woman's rights.

In 1839 Chapman and two other women, Lucretia Mott and Lydia Maria Child were elected to the executive committee of the Anti-Slavery Society. This upset some members of the society were extremely upset by this decision. Lewis Tappan, the brother of Arthur Tappan, the president of the society, argued that: "To put a woman on the committee with men is contrary to the usages of civilized society."

Whereas one leaders, such as William Lloyd Garrison, Theodore Weld, Wendell Phillips and Frederick Douglass were as committed to women's rights as they were to the abolition of slavery. Others disagreed with this view and in 1840 a group including Arthur Tappan, James Birney and Gerrit Smith left the Anti-Slavery Society and formed a rival organization, the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.

Chapman was editor of the anti-slavery journal, Non-Resistant (1839-1842). Other books written by Chapman included Memorials of Harriet Martineau (1877). Her grandson, John Jay Chapman, was also a campaigner for social reform and an outstanding literary critic.

Maria Weston Chapman died on 12th July, 1885.

Family tree of Maria WESTON CHAPMAN

Weston was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, the eldest of eight children, including five sisters, to Warren Weston and Anne Bates. Though the Westons were not wealthy, they were well connected and through her uncle’s patronage Weston was educated in England and lived there for a time. She returned to Boston in 1828 to serve as principal of a newly founded and socially progressive girls’ high school.

Two years later she left the field of education to marry Henry Grafton Chapman, a second generation abolitionist and wealthy Boston merchant. Over the course of their twelve-year marriage, which ended in Henry’s death from tuberculosis in 1842, Chapman had four children, one of whom died in early childhood. Henry's parents were also enthusiastic abolitionists. By all accounts the Chapman marriage was a good one, free from ideological and financial strain.

Geographical origins

The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived.

Anti-Slavery Fair.

It is proposed by the women of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society to hold a FAIR in aid of the treasury, some time in the month of October next, in the city of Boston. One specific object they have in view, is, to sustain the Rev. John A. Collins as General Agent of the Massachusetts Society. Doubtless, however, a much larger amount will be raised than is required for this purpose, and the remainder will be devoted towards the other operations of the Society. The undersigned offer the results of several years experience in this mode of raising funds, to such individuals and Societies throughout the State as may have the disposition to co-operate with them, in taking advantage of the city market for the benefit of the slave. We affectionately invite all such, to co-operate with us personally, by taking tables at our Fair, in behalf of their respective towns, the proceeds to be THEIRS, for the Mass. Society — credit being thus given where credit is due. It will be our joy to offer a heartfelt hospitality to those who feel inclined to pass the week of the Fair in Boston.

Letters and parcels from individuals who cannot attend personally, may be directed to Maria W. Chapman, 25 Cornhill, Boston

Maria W. Chapman
Mary A. W. Johnson
Thankful Southwick
Louisa Loring
Eliza Merriam
Ann T. G. Phillips
Mary Young
Caroline Weston
Mary G. Chapman
Eliza Lee Follen
Henrietta Sargent
Susan Paul
Eliza Philbrick
Anne Weston
Helen E. Garrison [wife of William Lloyd Garrison]

Source:
Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Divisions (39).

Person:Etta Weston (1)

Alvin Weston Jr. Male. Age: 43. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Farmer.
Mary A Weston. Female. Age: 34. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Keeping house.
George F Weston. Male. Age: 15. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Works on farm.
Luther C Weston. Male. Age: 14. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Works on farm.
Coney Weston. Male. Age: 12. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: At home.
Emma B Weston. Female. Age: 10. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: At home.
Nellie M Weston. Female. Age: 7. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: At home.
Hester F Weston. Female. Age: 4. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: At home.
Harry A Weston. Male. Age: 1. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: At home.
Cassandria Cleaves. Female. Age: 22. Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Domestic Servant.

Alvin Weston. Male. Age: 52. Married. Self. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States.
Etta Weston. Female. Age: 14. Single. Occupation: Teaching School. Daughter. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States
Charles S Weston. Male. Age: 9. Son. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States
Mary A Weston. Female. Age: 44. Married. Occupation: Keeping House. Wife. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States
Harry Weston. Male. Age: 11. Son. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States
Frank W Weston. Male. Age: 2. Son. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States
Emma B Weston. Female. Age: 20. Single. Occupation: School Teacher. Daughter. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States
Grace D Weston. Female. Age: 5. Daughter. Birthplace: Maine, United States. Father's Birthplace: Maine, United States. Mother's Birthplace: Maine, United States

Amos Chapman. Male. Age: 49. Married 24 years. Head. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Farmer.
Etta Chapman. Female. Age: 44. Married 24 years. Wife. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine
Kenneth Chapman. Male. Age: 5. Son. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine

Amos E Chapman. Male. Age: 60. Married. Head. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Farmer.
Etta F Chapman. Female. Age: 54. Married. Wife. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine
Kenneth C Chapman. Male. Age: 15. Adopted Son. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine

Amos Chapman. Male. Age: 80. Married. Head. Residence in 1935: Same House
Etta F Chapman. Female. Age: 74. Married. Wife. Residence in 1935: Same House
Blynn W Chapman. Male. Age: 6. Grandson. Birthplace: Maine.
Albert B Murray. Male. Age: 60. Single. Hired man. Birthplace: Canada. Residence in 1935: Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine. Occupation: Hired Man, Farm.

Amos Chapman. Male. Age: 41. Married. Head. Years Married: 14. Birth Date: Aug 1859. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Farmer.
Etta F Chapman. Female. Age: 35. Married. Wife. Number of Children: 0. Years Married: 14. Birth Date: Jul 1865. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine
Lephe E Henderson. Female. Age: 15. Niece. Birth Date: Sep 1885. Birthplace: Colorado. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: At school.

Amos E Chapman. Male. Age: 70. 1st married at age 26. Head. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Farmer.
Etta F Chapman. Female. Age: 64. 1st married at age 20. Wife. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine
Dorothy B Greener. Female. Age: 17. Single. Servant. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine.
Edd Knights. Male. Age: 67. Widowed. 1st married at age 20. Servant. Birthplace: Maine. Father's Birthplace: Maine. Mother's Birthplace: Maine. Occupation: Servant, Private Family.

See B. Cayford
RECORD OF A LIVE BIRTH
Name: Kenneth Cayford Chapman
Place of Birth: Athen, Maine
Residence of Mother: Athens, Maine
Sex: M
Date of Birth: Oct. 13, 1904
Father's Name: Amos Chapman
Father's Birthplace: Athens, Maine
Father's Occupation: Farmer
Mother's Maiden Name: Etta F. Weston
Sept. 1905, second tuesday--And.
Mother's Birthplace: Skowhegan, Maine

RECORD OF A BIRTH
Name: Kenneth Cayford
Date of Birth: Oct 13/04
Place of Birth: Athens
Sex: Male
No. of Child: 3rd
Father's Name: B. F. Cayford
Father's Birthplace: Skowhegan
Father's Residence: Athens
Father's Occupation: Blacksmith
Mother's Maiden Name: Ina Scribner
Mother's Birthplace: Athens
Mother's Occupation: Domestic

--> Chapman, Maria Weston, 1806-1885

Maria Weston Chapman was a New England anti-slavery activist, writer, and editor.

From the description of Maria Weston Chapman letters, 1839 and 1884. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 49016462

Abolitionist Maria Weston Chapman was born in Weymouth, Mass., to Warren and Anne (Bates) Weston. In 1830 she married Henry Grafton Chapman, who encouraged her interest in abolition. She helped organize the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society and was active in the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and the New England Non-Resistance Society. Chapman edited the autobiography of her friend Harriet Martineau (published 1877). For additional biographical information, see Notable American Women, 1607-1950 (1971).

From the description of Papers, 1839-1879 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232007209

Maria Weston Chapman, b. July 25, 1806, Weymouth, Mass, d. July 12, 1885, Weymouth along with several sisters, played instrumental role in anti-slavery movement and was a close associate of radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison organizer of annual Anti-Slavery Fairs edited annual anti-slavery publication, The Liberty Bell lived in Europe between 1848 and 1855 where she continued her anti-slavery activities.

Sarah Hussey Earle, b. August 26, 1799, d. March 9, 1858 wife of John Milton Earle. Worcester politician and newspaper editor member of Worcester Anti-Slavery Sewing Circle helped organize anti-slavery fairs.

Mary Weston Chapman - History

2. 1860 Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com): not found, but I certainly didn't check every William or Henry CHAPMAN everywhere. In the 1860 census of Yuba Co., CA (p. 506), there is a William H. CHAPMAN (æ 31, b. NY, unmarried, occupation constable), living in the United States Hotel in Marysville. Could our subject have gotten "gold fever"?

3. 1870 Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com, Image #36 of 42): Tipton P.O., Centre [Center] Twp., Cedar Co., IA, Roll 380 (Book 1), p. 154B, PN 36, 252/261, enumerated 27 Jun 1870, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1870 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤

`Chapman Henry`	`39`	`M`	`W`	`Farmer`	`600`	`361`	`N York`
[next page]
`Elizabeth`	`30`	`F`	`W`	`Keeping house`	`Ohio`
`Robert`	`6`	`M`	`W`	`Iowa`
`Laura`	`4`	`F`	`W`	`Iowa`
`Willy`	`2`	`M`	`W`	`Iowa`
`Ebin`	`27`	`M`	`W`	`Ohio`

Eben CHAPMAN is William Henry's brother. Listed four households from Henry's parents, Austin & Mary CHAPMAN.

4. 1880 Census (indexed at FamilySearch.org page image online at Ancestry.com, Image #33 of 34): Center Twp., Cedar Co., IA, Roll T9-0331, p. 119A, PN 33, SD 1, ED 350, enumerated 30 Jun 1880, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1880 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤

1880: for an explanation of the column headings, please see
What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13 21 24 25 26

272 280 Chapman William H W M 50 / Farmer New York Ct NY

_______ Elizabeth W W F 40 Wife / Keeping House England England England

_______ Robert W M 14 Son / At Home / New York NY England

_______ Laura W F 12 Dau / At Home / Iowa NY England

_______ William W M 10 Son / At Home / Iowa NY England

_______ Earnest W M 8 Son / Iowa NY England

_______ Harriet W F 5 Dau Iowa NY England

_______ Fannie W F 4 Dau Iowa NY England

_______ Mary W F 2 Dau Iowa NY England

_______ Frank W M 1 Son Iowa NY England

_______ Curtis W M 5 /₁₂ Dec Son Iowa NY England

If later censuses are to be believed, Mary should be 4 years old, not 2.

5. 1890 Census: the 1890 Census Population Schedules were destroyed.

Mary (Chapman) Henshaw (1751)

Mary was born in 1751. She was the daughter of Walter Chapman Susanna Tratt.

She was christened 21st November 1751 in Wseton-Super-Mare, Somerset, England. [1]

She was described as a woman of great energy, extremely active and fearless. The following anecdotes were related by herself. She was fond of travelling and visiting remote places.

On one occasion she insisted upon being taken in her carriage to a village in Switzerland where very few strangers had ever been seen by the half savage inhabitants. No lady, certainly no English lady, had ever penetrated the lofty recess in which it was situated.

She was received courteously by the landlord of the simple Inn, and was about to take her evening meal when she heard a strange noise as of a crowd in front of the house. Shortly the landlord appeared, pale and agitated, and informed her that the people of the village were desirous of seeing her. She cut him short however, and with great dignity which she could well assume and which was so natural to her, requested that she might be left in peace to enjoy the rest she required after her journey. He retired in confusion but the hubbub increased.

He soon returned, apparently in terror, and entreated her to yield to the entreaties of the people. There were two doors to the room in which she was and he assured her that she need fear no annoyance the people would enter at one door and retire by the other. She was greatly amused, and her curiosity to observe the demeanour of the people overcome the offence which she had first felt.

She sat there, and in came all the inhabitants of the village, young and the old, hale and infirm, and passed through the room in single file, sheepishly casting a wondering glance at her on the way.

In 1815, she was at St. Maurice with Mrs. Smith, one of the Spilsbury family. One day, going to the hotel de Ville to enquire the news, some gentlemen left a group of Officers, who seemed to be discussing some event, of which information had just been received and handed her a slip of paper, on which were printed a few words, announcing the defeat of the Emperor Napolean at the village of Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington. "This is a proud day for you ladies' said they bowing low. Mrs Henshaw was in Paris during the worst period of the great Revolution and met there with an extraordinary adventure. Robespierre Danton and Marat were in their full swing of wholesale murder, filling houses with Royalists and setting them on fire, celebrating republican marriages, and beheading hundreds by the guillotine.

Her sister, Fanny Chuard, was occupying with her, a flat in a large house and was at that time extremely ill and quite unable to leave her room. The house in which they lived was chosen for the terrible purpose of death to some Royalists, who were to be shortly conveyed there.

Mrs. Henshaw had notice to leave and in vain sought for some one bold enough to represent to the commissioners the impossibility of removing her sister. At last she determined to go herself. She was introduced into the presence of the Triumvirate. "Have you any cause of complaint against me?" said she. "None cityennne Henshaw", was the reply. She then explained her difficulty, and told them that if they persisted in their intention, her sister's life would be sacrificed. "Queipetitr Mallieur!" (What a trifling misfortune!) said a clerk, and her request for the safety for the house was refused.

She turned away sick at heart, and was going out into the street when a horseman dashed up, leapt from his horse and passed her hurriedly. In a few minutes, while still on her way home, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turning around, saw the horseman, who handed her a paper on which was written an assurance of safety for the house in which she lived. It was not to be touched. She then looked at the man, and recognized in him a baker to whom some time before, she had lent some money to save him from ruin. He had succeeded in business in a town some way from Paris, and when the revolution broke out, became the leader of it there. He had heard, a few hours before, of her danger and instantly set out to ride the thirty miles to save her and had arrived in the very nick of time. Mrs Henshaw was again in Paris when Napolean was reigning there as Emperor.

One day while she was shopping, her royalists tendencies prevented her from allowing the man who was serving her to run to the window to watch the Emperor pass. "No!" she said, "attend to your duties."

After Louis XVIII returned to power Mrs. Henshaw and her sister were one day among the crowd who were waiting to see the King pass. By Mrs. Henshaw's side stood a lady in deep mourning, evidently in a great state of trepidation. Mrs. Henshaw asked her what was the matter? And she said she was anxious to present a petition to the King, but was almost afraid to do so. When the King came by not one of his subjects greeted him, but was received in total silence. Mrs. Henshaw and her sister exclaimed in English "God save the King". King Louis XVIII turned and with a deep bow said in English "I thank you madam" Mrs. Henshaw snatched the petition from her neighbours hand and presented it to the King before he passed on.

Carrie Chapman Catt

Activist Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was instrumental to the cause that brought equal voting rights to U.S. citizens. A teacher and then superintendent of schools in Iowa, Catt became involved in the women’s suffrage movement in the 1880s. She served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) from 1900 to 1904 and again from 1915 to 1920, spearheading the movement with her ability to organize campaigns, mobilize volunteers and deliver effective speeches. Shortly before the suffragists celebrated victory with passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Catt founded the League of Women Voters.

The triumph of woman’s suffrage in the United States in 1920 was very much the work of Carrie Catt. A brilliant strategist, she was twice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (nawsa), first from 1900 to 1904 and then in the dramatic final years of the struggle, from 1915 to 1920.

Catt, born Carrie Lane in Ripon, Wisconsin, spent most of her youth in Iowa, where she went to college. She became a teacher and then superintendent of schools in Mason City in 1883. This was an unusual achievement for a woman of that day, but no great surprise to those who knew her. Bright, resilient, and self-confident, she never acceded to conventions that made no sense to her.

In 1885 Catt married newspaper editor Leo Chapman, but he died in California soon after, leaving her far from home with no resources. Eventually she landed on her feet but only after some harrowing experiences in the male working world. In 1890 she married George Catt, a wealthy engineer. Their marriage allowed her to spend a good part of each year on the road campaigning for woman’s suffrage, a cause she had become involved in in Iowa in the late 1880s.

Catt rose rapidly in suffrage ranks. Over time she became a close colleague of Susan B. Anthony, who selected Catt to succeed her as head of the nawsa. Catt led the movement over the next twenty years, struggling against great odds and many frustrating setbacks. In Catt’s approach to politics, organization was the watchword and she was superb at it. From her first endeavors in Iowa in the 1880s to her last in Tennessee in 1920, Catt supervised dozens of campaigns, mobilized numerous volunteers (1 million by the end), and made hundreds of speeches. She made skilled use of communication and publicity, fashioning disciplined campaigns and building a highly effective machine.

Catt believed it was woman’s natural right to participate in politics on an equal basis with men. If women could vote, she argued, they would become a force for world peace and would help improve the conditions of life for themselves and their children. Above all, she was concerned with women’s dignity. Angry that women had no control over their lives, she felt that political participation would give them a voice in decisions affecting them, enhancing their dignity as human beings.

One of Catt’s overriding goals was that of world peace, a cause she pursued throughout her life. Another was that the political process should be rational and issue-oriented, dominated by citizens, not politicians. To that end, she founded the League of Women Voters in 1920. It remains something of a monument to her ideals, devoting itself to issues and placing what it considers the public interest over partisan politics. Catt was proud of her role in this organization until the end of her life.

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