Esther Lewis (abolitionist)
Esther Fussell Lewis (née Fussell; March 18, 1782 – February 8, 1848) was an American Quaker abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor and station master, farmer, school founder, teacher, and nurse.[1]
Lewis managed her family farm near Kimberton, Chester County, Pennsylvania.[2]
She was a conductor[when?] of the north-south line of the Underground Railroad through Pennsylvania.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Esther Fussell was born on March 18, 1782, in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, to Quaker minister Reverend Bartholomew Fussell and Rebekah or Rebecca Bond.[3] She had seven siblings: Bartholomew, Solomon, Rebecca, Joseph, Jacob, Sarah, and William.[2]
Lewis wanted to be a doctor, but found difficulty attaining a professional education due to being a woman.[1]
Lewis would record observations of solar and lunar eclipses and the appearance of comets and meteors, and kept a weather and plant-blooming diary.[4]
Personal life and family[edit]
On September 10, 1818, Esther Fussell married John Lewis.[1] They had four children: Elizabeth R. (1824–1863), Graceanna Lewis (1821-1912), Mariann (1819–1866), and Rebecca (1820–1893).[1]
Participation in the Underground Railroad[edit]
Lewis taught her children to be abolitionists, as their home was a “station” on the Underground Railroad.[5]
Their home functioned as “a rehabilitation center for fugitives,” and they burned the clothes worn by people who were enslaved on southern plantations.[1] Lewis’s children continued this work after her death.[1][clarification needed]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2008). The Underground Railroad : an encyclopedia of people, places, and operations. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 323–324. ISBN 978-0-7656-8093-8.
- ^ a b "Collection: Lewis-Fussell Family Papers | Archives & Manuscripts". archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu.
- ^ "Esther Fussell". www.myheritage.com.
- ^ Stroud, Patricia Tyson (February 2013). ""At What do you Think the Ladies will Stop?" Women at the Academy". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 162 (1): 195–206. doi:10.1635/053.162.0116. ISSN 0097-3157. S2CID 191701294.
- ^ Lukens, Rob. "HISTORY'S PEOPLE: GRACEANNA LEWIS - ABOLITIONIST TO NATURAL SCIENTIST". www.chestercohistorical.org. Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
External links[edit]
- Finding Aid for the Lewis-Fussell Family Papers held at Swathmore College Friends Historical Library.
- Memoir of Esther Fussell Lewis, likely written by her daughter, Graceanna Lewis. (A00185757) From the Lewis-Fussell Family Papers SFHL-RG5-087
- Graceanna Lewis letter to Esther Fussell Lewis. (A00179477) From the Lewis-Fussell Family Papers SFHL-RG5-087
- Esther Fussell Lewis writings and letters from the Lewis-Fussell Family papers
