Lucretia Mott
On this day in 1793, abolitionist and women’s rights activist Lucretia Mott was born. A pioneering social reformer, Mott was a central figure of the abolitionist and suffragist movements until her death in 1880.
Mott was born Lucretia Coffin on January 3, 1793 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Her fourth great grandfather, Peter Folger, was one of the first settlers of Nantucket and the maternal grandfather of Benjamin Franklin. This makes Mott and Franklin first cousins four times removed.
The second of five children born to Anna Folger and Thomas Coffin, Mott grew up in a family of Quakers. In 1811, she married James Mott, a teacher and abolitionist, and by 1821, she became a minister. A gifted orator, Mott often spoke out against slavery and advocated the boycott of products produced by slave labor. She became actively involved in a number of anti-slavery organizations and was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.
In addition to being a fierce abolitionist, Mott was also a pioneer of women’s rights. In 1848, Mott and fellow abolitionist Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention of its kind to be held in the United States.
Mott continued her work as a social reformer until her death on November 11, 1880. She was 87 years old.
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Image: Library of Congress
Source: Geni.com
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