Rebecca Buffum Spring (June 8, 18111911) was a Quaker abolitionist, educational reformer, feminist, and women's suffrage activist. She was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, fourth daughter of

Arnold Buffum Arnold Buffum (December 13, 1782March 13, 1859) was an American Quaker abolitionist who was a member of the New England Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society. Circa 1840, he was active in promoting the Liberty Party (United Stat ...

(1782-1859), who with

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

founded the

New England Anti-Slavery Society The New England Anti-Slavery Society (1831–1837) was formed by William Lloyd Garrison, editor of '' The Liberator,'' in 1831. ''The Liberator'' was its official publication. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, members of the New England Anti-slave ...

, of which he was the first president. Elizabeth ended her education at the age of 16 and became a teacher in an infant school at the request of her father.

Elizabeth Buffum Chace Elizabeth Buffum Chace (December 9, 1806 – December 12, 1899) was an American activist in the anti-slavery, women's rights, and prison reform movements of the mid-to-late 19th century. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of F ...

was her sister. She was co-founder in 1836 of the Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society. She married Marcus Spring (1810-1874), a philanthropic New York businessman, in approximately 1840. She and her husband were long-time friends of

Fredrika Bremer Fredrika Bremer (17 August 1801 – 31 December 1865) was a Finland, Finnish-born Sweden and Norway, Swedish Swedish literature, writer and feminism in Sweden, reformer. Her ''Sketches of Everyday Life'' were wildly popular in Britain and ...

Lydia Maria Child Lydia Maria Child ( Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native Americans in the United States, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalis ...

Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...

, and

Elizabeth Palmer Peabody Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (May 16, 1804January 3, 1894) was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic d ...

. She has been criticized, but also defended, for seeing

motherhood A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case ...

as a fundamental role of women, and linking abolitionism with the maternal.

wrote

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

while he was in jail in Virginia in 1859, asking if she could visit and nurse him; he declined. Rebecca did not ask; she traveled to

Charles Town, Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 6,534 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of Pres ...

, to meet with Brown and offer what consolation she could, and after delay, was allowed to meet with him twice. In her published description of her visits, she implied that there was something holy, even Biblical, in his person, and that he deserved her

veneration Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

. f During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Spring and her husband supported a Virginia-based school for slave children. They also financed a

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to Hunger, hungry and homeless people, usually for no price, cost, or sometimes at a below-market price (such as coin Donation, donations). Frequently located in Low i ...

to aid the increasing number of fugitives and refugees traveling north in the wake of the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

of 1863. She and her husband were instrumental in the founding of two

intentional communities An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, which may be politica ...

based on the teachings of

Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (; ; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker, and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of his views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have be ...

: the

North American Phalanx The North American Phalanx was a secular utopian socialist commune located in Colts Neck Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. The community was the longest-lived of about 30 Fourierist Associations in the United States which emerged during a ...

(1843), in

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York metro ...

, and then, unhappy with the direction it was taking, the

Raritan Bay Union The Raritan Bay Union was a utopian community in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, active from 1853 until 1860. History Raritan Bay Union was started by Marcus Spring and his wife Rebecca Buffum Spring (1811–1911). Theodore Dwight Weld was in charge ...

(1853) in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in northeastern Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area, New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city' ...

. the latter of which was located on his estate in

Eagleswood, New Jersey Eagleswood Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 1,722, the highest recorded in any United St ...

. The Union sponsored a

coed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

and "racially" integrated boarding school.

Theodore 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 kno ...

was its director, and the

Grimké sisters The Grimké sisters, Sarah Moore Grimké (1792–1873) and Angelina Emily GrimkéUnited States National Park Service. "Grimke Sisters." U.S. Department of the Interior, October 8, 2014. Accessed: October 14, 2014. (1805–1879), were American wr ...

were teachers. In the late 1850s Spring founded the

Eagleswood Military Academy The Eagleswood Military Academy was a private military academy in Perth Amboy, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, which served antebellum educational needs. The Eagleswood Military Academy was started by Rebecca Spring (1812–1911) ...

. She had two of John Brown's executed raiders, who lacked family to bury them. buried there. In the late 1890s, impoverished, she moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

to live with her daughter Jeanie Peet, where she became involved with many of the local artists and writers.

Writings by Rebecca Buffum Spring

* A different version was published in th
''New York Tribune'', December 2, 1859, p. 6

Writings about Rebecca Buffum Spring (most recent first)

* * * * * * *

Archival material

The Rebecca Spring papers were purchased by the

Stanford University Library The Stanford University Libraries (SUL), formerly known as "Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources" ("SULAIR"), is the library system of Stanford University in California. It encompasses more than 24 libraries in all. S ...

. There is a published guide. Minser discusses the collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spring, Rebecca Buffum 1811 births 1911 deaths American feminists American abolitionists American women centenarians 19th-century Quakers American Quakers Quaker feminists People from Providence, Rhode Island People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey Motherhood Founders of utopian communities John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry American women founders American founders