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The Raritan Bay Union was a
The New Jersey Historical Society jas papers of the Raritan Bay Union and Eagleswood Military Academy Papers, 1809-1923.
The Raritan Bay Union was a utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
n community in Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, th ...
, active from 1853 until 1860.
History
Raritan Bay Union the community was started by Marcus Spring and his wife Rebecca Buffum Spring (1811–1911). Theodore Dwight Weld was in charge of the connected boarding school, active from 1854 until . Maud Honeyman Green writes, "The Union established a progressive boarding school that was a pioneer in co-education. Girl students were encouraged to speak in public, engage in sports, and act in plays, activities that were frowned upon in other schools. AbolitionistsAngelina Grimké
Angelina Emily Grimké Weld (February 20, 1805 – October 26, 1879) was an American abolitionist, political activist, women's rights advocate, and supporter of the women's suffrage movement. She and her sister Sarah Moore Grimké were co ...
and Sarah Moore Grimké were teachers in the school, which was run by Angelina’s husband, Theodore D. Weld. Several other noted reformers came to teach and lecture at the school. The Welds’ school operated until about 1861."
Others who lived at Raritan Bay Union included Charles Kingsley, Caroline Kirkland, and James G. Birney. The early women's rights activist Clarina I. H. Nichols left her two youngest children at Raritan Bay Union when she set out with the New England Emigrant Aid Company
The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of ...
for Kansas Territory in 1855.
See also
* North American PhalanxArchival material
The New Jersey Historical Society jas papers of the Raritan Bay Union and Eagleswood Military Academy Papers, 1809-1923.
Further reading
*''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''; August 22, 1874; Obituary; Marcus Spring
*Richard C. S. Trahair; ''Utopias and Utopians: An Historical Dictionary''
*Maud Honeyman Green, "Raritan Bay Union, Eagleswood, New Jersey", ''Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society'', Vol. 68, No. 1 (January 1950)
References
{{Perth Amboy, New Jersey Utopian communities in the United States Perth Amboy, New Jersey Populated places established in 1853 1853 establishments in New Jersey