Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Born in 1815, and seen as the "driving force" behind the Women's Rights Convention in 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an important leader of the women's rights movement in the United States. She drafted and read the Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention. Of the five women who organized the Convention, she was the only non-Quaker. Following the event at Seneca Falls, Stanton continued her work for the remainder of her life. She met Susan B. Anthony in 1851 and the two became fast friends and worked closely together. Stanton co-authored the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States in 1876.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott was born in 1793 and from a young age was inspired to end the inequalities of both women and African Americans. Living in Philadelphia, she, along with Mary Ann M'Clintock, was a founder of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, in 1833. Mott is considered, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as leading the organization of women for the Women's Rights Convention in 1848 and drafting the Declaration of Sentiments. Mott had become acquainted with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in London in 1840 at the World Anti-Slavery Convention. She made equal rights her life's work, and in 1866 became the first president of the American Equal Rights Association.
Photo Credit: Cayuga Museum and Historian’s Office
Lesser known than her sister, Lucretia Mott, Martha Wright lived just ten miles outside of Seneca Falls in Auburn, NY. She attended the meetings in Seneca Falls with her sister and continued to participate in numerous Women’s Conventions throughout the late 1800’s. Also an ardent abolitionist, Wright’s home was a used as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Photo Credit: Pierce College, website of Professor Kathy Holland
Also a Quaker, Mary Ann M'Clintock moved to Waterloo, NY, from Philadelphia, PA, in 1836. M'Clintock had met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Philadelphia, as they were both members of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society. In July of 1848, the M'Clintock house was the site for a second meeting of women (7/16/1848) held prior to the convention. It was at this meeting that the Declaration of Sentiments was drafted.
Photo Credit: National Parks Service, biographies
Jane Hunt's house was where Lucretia Mott came when she arrived in town on July 9, 1848. It was in Jane's house that the women decided to plan a meeting and drafted the notice to call women to the "convention." The Hunt House is located just outside of Waterloo, NY. A Quaker, Jane was born in 1812 in Philadelphia. She married Richard Hunt, the wealthiest man in Seneca County.
