Eliza Seaman Leggett (May 9, 1815 – February 8, 1900) was an American suffragist and abolitionist.

Biography

Leggett was born on May 9, 1815 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, at 90 (later 21) Beekman Street to parents Valentine Seaman and Anna Ferris. Her father died in 1817, and she (the youngest of ten children) was the last child still living in the family home. Following his death, she spent her summers with William Hicks, a wealthy merchant. She met Augustus Wright Leggett, and would marry him in 1836. They spent a short time in

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from ...

, before moving to

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on ...

, and in 1852, they moved to Michigan, spending time in

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and Clintonville, before settling in Detroit. Their home served as a stop on 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. ...

, and was also visited by many

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, including

Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and a ...

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

and Sojourner Truth. She was also involved in the suffrage movement. Leggett advocated for public water fountains in Detroit, becoming one of the major reasons that the city eventually created public drinking fountains, and was largely responsible for first public restrooms in stores in the city. She also heavily promoted

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

. Leggett was the driving force behind the establishment of

Belle Isle Park Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle (), is a island park in Detroit, Michigan, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada border ...

as a park. She was a founder of the Detroit Woman's Club. She knew and corresponded with many authors, including

William Ellery Channing William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theologians. Chann ...

, Washington Irving, Theodore Parker,

, Charles A. Dana (philanthropist), Charles A. Dana, William Cullen Bryant, Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Lucretia Mott. Leggett also worked with Helen Eliza Benson Lloyd Garrison, Lyman Beecher, Laura Smith Haviland, and Elizabeth Comstock. Leggett died on February 8, 1900 in Drayton Plains, Michigan. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2003. She also has a Waterford Elementary school named after her, in her honor. However this school has since then closed. But is home to a branch of the Waterford senior center.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leggett, Eliza Seaman 1815 births 1900 deaths American suffragists American abolitionists Activists from New York City Activists from Detroit Women civil rights activists