Elizabeth Leslie Comstock (October 30, 1815- August 3, 1891) was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

minister and social reformer, abolitionist and worker for social welfare who helped the Society of Friends adjust to the urban-industrial age. Comstock was a very active spokesperson who educated people about those stricken by illness in places such as hospitals and prison camps. In the time of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Comstock worked to relieve people who had recently been freed. Comstock was instrumental in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

, leading a very active station in Rollin, Michigan.

Early life

Elizabeth Leslie Rouse was born on October 30, 1815, to William and Mary Rous in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, England. Comstock was the oldest of nine children. Comstock attended Quaker schools in Islington and at Croydon.

Early career

She married Leslie Wright in 1847 and they moved to

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...

in Derbyshire where they ran a shop. Leslie died and she decided to move to Ontario with her sister and her daughter, Caroline. She became a Quaker minister whilst at Belleville.

Activism

In 1854, the Comstock immigrated to Canada, and became a Quaker minister. Four years later, Comstock moved to Michigan, and became active in the abolitionist movement. Comstock became the leader of Quaker communities of southeastern Michigan. Comstock ran the Rollin station of the

. During the Civil War, Comstock ministered in hospitals and prison camps. In advocating for prison reform Comstock gave preaching tours of prisons, and spoke on behalf of humane treatment of inmates and pleaded the cause of prisoners of whose innocence Comstock believed in. In 1864 she went to speak to

President Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

about improving the prisons. After the civil war and the slaves were freed she assisted with their transition to citizenship running the ''Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association''. Her sister,

Lydia Rous Lydia Rous (May 24, 1819 – December 15, 1896) was a British headmistress. She led The Mount School, a girls' boarding school for Quakers in York. Life Rous was born in 1819 in Maidenhead. Her parents Mary (born Kekwick) and William Rous were ...

, who had been working for John Bright came to the US for a second time in 1866. She met Elizxabeth and assisting in hospitals that were treating the wounded from the

. After the war, Comstock continued to advocated for prison reform, temperance, peace, women's rights, home-mission welfare work and how to adapt to

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

. In 1879, Comstock toured the country raising funds, for the "Exodusters," the numerous black emigrants from the South to Kansas. Comstock was then the secretary of the Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association (1879-1881).

Personal life

In 1848, Comstock married Leslie Wright in Bakewell, Derbyshire until his death in 1851. They had one daughter. After Wright's death, Comstock, their daughter and one of Comstock's sisters moved to Rollin Michigan. In 1858 Comstock remarried to John T. Comstock, until his death in 1884.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comstock, Elizabeth Rous 1815 births 1891 deaths American anti-war activists American social reformers American temperance activists People from Maidenhead Underground Railroad people Quaker abolitionists Quaker ministers