Born On: August 13, 1818
Born In: West Brookfield, Massachusetts
Died On: October 19, 1893
Career: Reformer, Lecturer, Editor, Women's Rights Advocate, Abolitionist
Nationality: American
A crusader of equality and liberation, Lucy Stone made great contributions to the world, the contributions that need not be spelled, rather have to be seen and felt. A prominent American suffragist, Lucy Stone was the first woman in Massachusetts to receive a college degree. Right from her childhood, the distinction made due on the basis of gender and race distressed Lucy. The little girl decided to do something that would bring a change in the position of a man and a woman in the society. Apart from this, Lucy was one of the foremost fighters for the liberation of blacks. She was also the first recorded American woman to keep her own last name, even after marriage.
Childhood & Early Life
Born on August 13, 1818, in West Brookfield, Massachusetts, Lucy Stone was the eighth child of her parents. Right from her childhood, she was a bright and talented girl. Although she was a better learner than her brother, Lucy did not receive a chance to attend school. In her growing up years, she watched her father rule over the house, whilst her mother did not have any say. She also saw her mother beg to her father for money, which left her disturbed. When the Holy Bible was quoted to her, stating the difference in position of a man and a woman, she challenged that when she grew up she would learn Greek and Hebrew so that she could correct the mistranslation. Though she joined the Congregationalist church, a dispute among the members resulted in her joining the Unitarian Universalist church later in life.
Education & Career
Since Lucy’s father did not support her education, she did it all on her own. She started teaching so that she could fund her education. By the time she turned 25, Lucy had saved enough money to fund her first year at Oberlin College, in Ohio. She completed her graduation in the year 1847. Right after her education, Lucy gave her first public address, in her brother’s Congregational Church, in Gardner, Massachusetts. This gave Lucy the start she wanted - she became the leader of the women's suffrage movement and abolition.
The next plunge was when Lucy was appointed as a lecturer and organizer by the Garrisonian Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. She worked for women rights and also for abolition for slavery of blacks. In the First World War, Lucy, along with other women who had similar interests, formed the Woman’s' National Loyal League. The organization fought for the liberation and enfranchisement of African Americans. Once this was done, Lucy formed the American Equal Rights Association or AERA, whose main motive was to secure equal voting right for everyone, despite the difference in gender and race.
A dispute in AERA caused it to split into two parts - while the first, named ‘National Woman Suffrage Association’, was managed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the second was headed by Lucy Stone, along with her husband and Julia Ward Howe, as ‘American Woman Suffrage Association’. The two associations merged after almost two decades, to form ‘National American Woman Suffrage Association’. It was in 1870 that Lucy founded the Woman's Journal, a publication of the ‘National American Woman Suffrage Association’, in which she retained the position of an editor till she died.
Death
Lucy Stone died due to stomach tumor. Though she got to know about her ailment much before, she dealt it with calmness. Even then, she did not stop her work for women’s right. It was on October 18, 1893 that Lucy left for the heavenly abode. Lucy Stone was cremated in the Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
Honors
The campaign for equality and liberation, which Lucy had started, did not go unnoticed. Till date, she is remembered and honored for the contribution she made to secure liberation and freedom. Her statue features in the Boston Women's Memorial on Commonwealth Ave, Boston. The U.S. Postal Service honored Lucy Stone, with a 50-cent postage stamp, released in 1968. An administration and classroom building on Livingston Campus, at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has been named after Lucy Stone. A park named after her, ‘Lucy Stone Park’ is located in Warren, Massachusetts, along Quaboag River.
