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 socie ...

n community in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

, 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 Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...

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. Abolitionists

Angelina 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 ...

and

Sarah Moore Grimké Sarah Moore Grimké (November 26, 1792 – December 23, 1873) was an American abolitionist, widely held to be the mother of the women's suffrage movement. Born and reared in South Carolina to a prominent, wealthy planter family, she moved ...

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 Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...

, Caroline Kirkland, and James G. Birney. The early women's rights activist

Clarina I. H. Nichols Clarina Irene Howard Nichols (January 25, 1810 – January 11, 1885) was a journalist, lobbyist and public speaker involved in all three of the major reform movements of the mid-19th century: temperance, abolition, and the women's movement ...

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.

Archival material

The New Jersey Historical Society jas papers of the Raritan Bay Union and Eagleswood Military Academy Papers, 1809-1923.

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

History

See also

Archival material

Further reading

References