Martha Violet Ball (May 17, 1811 – December 22, 1894) was a 19th-century American educator, philanthropist, activist, writer, and editor. Ball and her sister, Lucy, undertook the work of opening a school for young

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

girls in the West End of Boston. In the same year, 1833, she assisted in the organization of the

Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (1833–1840) was an abolitionist, interracial organization in Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. "During its brief history ... it orchestrated three national women's conventions, organized a mult ...

, of which she and Lucy held leadership roles. Her work among unfortunate women and girls led to the formation of the New England Female Moral Reform Society, with which she was from its beginning connected as Secretary and Manager. For twenty-five years, she was joint-editor of its organ, the ''Home Guardian'', and was also affiliated in its department, "The Children's Fireside". She was a constituent member of the Ladies' Baptist Bethel Society, first as its Secretary and for thirty years its President. Ball was the first President of the

Woman's Union Missionary Society of America for Heathen Lands Woman's Union Missionary Society of America for Heathen Lands (also known as, Woman's Union Missionary Society of New York) was an American Christian mission organization. Established in 1861, its headquarters were at 41 Bible House, Astor Place, Ne ...

, and a charter member of the

New England Woman's Press Association The New England Woman's Press Association (NEWPA) was founded by six Boston newspaper women in 1885 and incorporated in 1890. By the turn of the century it had over 150 members. NEWPA sought not only to bring female colleagues together and further ...

. She was the author of several small, popular books.

Early life and education

Martha Violet Ball was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, May 17, 1811. Her parents were Joseph T. Ball (born,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

) and Mary Montgomery Drew Ball. There were at least five siblings, Mary (1800–1829), Joseph (1805–1861), Lucy (1807–1891), Hannah (1813–1888), and Thomas (1819–1819). She was educated in the public schools and by private tutors.

Career

Ball was a school teacher for thirty years and a Sunday school teacher for forty years. From 1833 to 1839, Ball and her sister operated a school for young African American girls in West End, Boston. In 1838, under the auspices of the New England Female Moral Reform Society, she started providing services for fallen, intemperate women and unfortunate young girls. In this regard, Ball served on ''The Home Guardian'', a monthly periodical published by the society, for twenty-seven years, ten years, beginning in 1837, as assistant and seventeen years as editor. She resigned in 1890, on account of the illness of her sister, Lucy. Ball was one of the women who in 1833 assisted in forming the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society in the parlor of Mrs. J. N. Barbour. She served as recording secretary in 1837–38. She continued to labor for the overthrow of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

until it was abolished. In 1836, assisted by a few friends, she opened an evening school for young

girls in the west part of Boston. In 1840, after the dissolution of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, Ball and her sister, Lucy, helped found the Massachusetts Female Emancipation Society. In 1838, Ball was sent as a delegate to an anti-slavery convention of women held in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Pennsylvania Hall, where the convention met, was attacked by a mob of several thousands, the women were driven out and pelted with stones, mud and missiles of various kinds, and Ball was struck in her chest by a piece of brick. The hall was shortly after burned to the ground by the mob. Ball aided in forming the Ladies' Baptist Bethel Society and was secretary for a time. She was then elected president, and retained that office for thirty years. The society became a large and influential body, laboring under the auspices of the Boston Baptist Bethel Society. In 1860, Ball, with a few other women, organized the

. A charter member of the

, she was the author of several small, popular books.

Personal life

In religion, Ball was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

. She was a member of the Rowe Street Baptist Church in Boston, where she was prominent in social and religious work, and was long interested in Home and Foreign Missions. She died in Boston on December 22, 1894.

References

Citations

Attribution

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Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Martha Violet 1811 births 1894 deaths Philanthropists from Massachusetts Activists from Massachusetts Writers from Boston American editors 19th-century American women writers Baptists from Massachusetts Founders of schools in the United States Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century Schoolteachers from Massachusetts 19th-century American educators 19th-century American women educators 19th-century Baptists 19th-century American philanthropists