Annis Bertha Ford Eastman (1852–1910) was an American Congregational minister, and one of the first women in the United States to be ordained. She ministered at several churches in New York State, including Park Church in Elmira. She was a popular speaker, as well. In 1893, she spoke at the Congress of Women, held at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago. She presented at the

National Council of Women of the United States The National Council of Women of the United States (NCW/US) is the oldest nonsectarian organization of women in America. Officially founded in 1888, the NCW/US is an accredited non-governmental organization (NGO) with the Department of Public In ...

in 1895.

Early life and marriage

Annis Bertha Ford was born on April 24, 1852 in Peoria, Illinois. Her father, George W. Ford, was a gunsmith. Her mother, Catherine, née Stehley, stayed at home to raise her children. Ford attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, and graduated with a certificate in teaching in 1874. She met Samuel Elijah Eastman at Oberlin, where he was studying to be a clergyman, and they married in 1875. They had four children: Morgan Eastman (who died as a young child of scarlet fever), Anstice Ford Eastman,

Crystal Eastman Crystal Catherine Eastman (June 25, 1881 – July 28, 1928) was an American lawyer, antimilitarist, feminist, socialist, and journalist. She is best remembered as a leader in the fight for women's suffrage, as a co-founder and co-editor with ...

, and

Max Eastman Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969) was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radical ...

. In the early years of her marriage, Eastman and her family moved to various locations where her husband was serving as minister. These included:

Swampscott Swampscott () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population was 15,111 as of the 2020 United States Census. A former summer resort on Massachusetts Ba ...

, Massachusetts; Newport, Kentucky; and

Canandaigua Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora) is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county compl ...

, New York. By 1886, his health had deteriorated, and Eastman began teaching school to help make ends meet.

Ordained ministry

In 1887, Eastman began serving as a licensed preacher at the

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

Church in Brookton, New York. She was ordained in 1889, making her one of only a handful of women who had received ordination in the United States at this point in time.

Antoinette Brown Blackwell Antoinette Louisa Brown, later Antoinette Brown Blackwell (May 20, 1825 – November 5, 1921), was the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the United States. She was a well-versed public speaker on the paramount iss ...

Olympia Brown Olympia Brown (January 5, 1835 – October 23, 1926) was an American minister and suffragist. She was the first woman to be ordained as clergy with the consent of her denomination. Brown was also an articulate advocate for women's rights and one ...

, and

Anna Howard Shaw Anna Howard Shaw (February 14, 1847 – July 2, 1919) was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and one of the first ordained female Methodist ministers in the United States. Early life Shaw ...

were her contemporaries, all ordained in the late 1800s. She became the assistant pastor, with her husband, of Park Church in Elmira, New York. The senior minister at Park Church was Rev.

Thomas K. Beecher Thomas Kinnicut Beecher (February 10, 1824 - March 14, 1900) was a Congregationalist preacher and the principal of several schools. As a Congregational minister, his father took the family from Beecher's birthplace of Litchfield, Connecticut, to ...

, the son of

Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Bee ...

, and brother to

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...

and

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

. After Rev. Beecher's death in 1900, Rev. Eastman and her husband became co-pastors of Park Church. Beecher is said to have declared that she was the best female preacher he had heard. While living in Elmira, she befriended

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, and the Eastmans became close friends to Twain and his wife, Livy. Annis Eastman was asked to offer the eulogy at Twain's funeral; she wrote it, but ill health prevented her from delivering it; her husband spoke on her behalf. Eastman was a popular preacher and speaker, and an activist for women's rights and suffrage. She was invited to speak at the Congress of Women, at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Her talk was entitled "The Home and Its Foundations." She gave a sermon at a session of the National Council of Women in the United States, in 1895. Late in her career, she became more liberal in her religious views, and became a Unitarian. She died in 1910. Her children Max and Crystal, were influenced by her ideas and her ministry, and went on to be well known suffragists and social reformers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastman, Anna Bertha Ford 1852 births 1910 deaths People from Peoria, Illinois American Congregationalist ministers Women Christian clergy Oberlin College alumni