Samuel Charles Blackwell (1823–1901) was an Anglo-American abolitionist.

Biography

Blackwell was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

sugar refiner Samuel Blackwell (c. 1790–August 7, 1838) and Hannah Lane, who moved their family of eight children to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1832. They first lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and later in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Samuel Blackwell senior, an

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

campaigner and Congregationalist who wanted his daughters educated as well as his sons, passed his interest in social reform on to his children. In 1838, the year he died, the family was living in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He was the husband of Antoinette Brown, the first woman ordained in a recognized church in the

, and prominent speaker in the

Abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

and

Women's Rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

Movements. Blackwell was also an abolitionist and was, like his wife, a Unitarian. He married Brown at her home in

Henrietta, New York Henrietta is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States and a suburb of Rochester. The population of Henrietta is 47,096, according to the 2020 United States Census. Henrietta is home to the Rochester Institute of Technology and to one of t ...

in 1856. At that time, Blackwell was in the hardware business and also invested in real estate. The couple next lived in

and then for many years in

. Blackwell helped care for their children (seven, of whom two died young), each of them given the "double" name Brown Blackwell. His brother, Henry B. Blackwell, was the husband of

Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a colle ...

, a friend of Antoinette Brown at

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 ...

. Stone was also an important abolitionist and worker for women's suffrage. He was the brother of

Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell (3 February 182131 May 1910) was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Ki ...

, the first women to receive an MD in United States and the first to practice medicine, and

Emily Blackwell Emily Blackwell (October 8, 1826 – September 7, 1910) was the second woman to earn a medical degree at what is now Case Western Reserve University, after Nancy Talbot Clark. In 1993, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. ...

, the third female graduate of a U.S. medical school. He was also the brother of two writers: the biographer

Sarah Ellen Blackwell Sarah Ellen Blackwell (1828–1901) was an American author, biographer, and artist. Early years and education Sarah Ellen Blackwell was the youngest daughter of Hannah (Lane) Blackwell and Samuel Blackwell, a sugar refiner and lay preacher. She wa ...

and

Anna Blackwell Anna Blackwell (pseudonym, Fidelitas; 21 June 1816 – 4 January 1900) was a British writer, journalist, and translator who focused on spiritual and social issues. She had a long and successful career as Parisian correspondent of leading colonial ...

, who translated George Sand and Alan Kardec.Family letter, 1847.

References

*''Encyclopedia of New Jersey'' ed. Marc Mappen, Maxine N Lurie
JoAnn Macdonald, ''Antoinette Brown Blackwell''
*''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (article on Elizabeth Blackwell) Blackwell, Samuel C. Blackwell, Samuel C. Blackwell, Samuel C. Blackwell family American abolitionists {{US-activist-stub