Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society

The Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society was a women-led abolitionist organization formed in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1835. It emerged from a dispute within the Fall River Anti-Slavery Sewing Society over whether three free Black women should be admitted as full members. Existing white members who opposed their admission argued that interracial membership violated prevailing expectations of custom and social decorum. Elizabeth Buffum Chace, together with her sisters and other members who supported the petition, rejected that position and permitted the Black women to join. Members who objected departed, and the reorganized association changed its name, replacing “Sewing” with “Female.” The dispute shaped the society’s identity. Although its central purpose remained the abolition of slavery, Chace and her associates also opposed broader racist practices and challenged the social conventions that restricted Black women’s participation in reform organizations. The new society operated alongside the Fall River Anti-Slavery Society, a related male-associated organization. The two bodies maintained distinct identities and differed over the place of women in antislavery activism, but they also cooperated on public discussions and conventions. By 1838, the female society reportedly had 106 members, only six fewer than the male society’s 112. That year the groups held their annual convention together at the Fall River Baptist Meeting House. The organization combined reform advocacy with forms of work regarded as socially acceptable for women at the time. Its members met to sew and embroider while reading and discussing antislavery texts. They produced handmade items bearing abolitionist mottos and sold them at a recurring Anti-Slavery Fair. Sales took place in Fall River and, according to the historical account, in Boston as well. The fair provided both a fundraising mechanism and a public setting for communicating antislavery ideas. Members also solicited donations from women around Fall River and used the proceeds to circulate more antislavery literature. The society’s activism extended beyond fundraising. Evidence associated with the organization indicates that its members prepared a petition to Congress and addressed other women in Fall River as wives, mothers, and daughters, urging them to learn about the conditions of enslaved people in the South, particularly enslaved women. This language used conventional ideas about women’s moral and familial responsibilities while directing those ideas toward political education and opposition to slavery. The Fall River society participated in wider networks of women’s abolitionism. In May 1838, Sarah G. Buffman represented the organization at the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women in Pennsylvania. She served as one of the convention’s four secretaries and signed its three statements. Another Fall River delegate, Laura Lovell, reported on speeches and other proceedings, including testimony by a free African American man and the reading of poetry. The society also maintained correspondence and organizational links with women’s antislavery groups elsewhere in New England, including the New Bedford Female Anti-Slavery Society and the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. The available reference material does not establish the society’s later organizational history, a formal dissolution date, or a continuing modern successor. It is best understood as a historical civic and reform association rather than a commercial brand. Its importance lies in the intersection of abolitionism, women’s collective action, interracial membership, antislavery publishing, and the development of women’s public activism in the antebellum United States.

The Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society was established in 1835 after an internal conflict within the Fall River Anti-Slavery Sewing Society. Three free Black women had attended meetings and sought full membership. Some white members opposed the request on grounds of social convention, while Elizabeth Buffum Chace and her sisters supported the women’s admission. The disagreement divided the earlier association. Supporters of interracial membership reorganized the group and adopted the name Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society, signaling a broader identity than the former sewing-centered title. The reconstituted society addressed slavery while also confronting racial exclusion in reform work. Its members considered opposition to racist practices part of their antislavery commitment, rather than limiting their activity to criticism of slavery in the South. The group operated in parallel with the Fall River Anti-Slavery Society. Although the organizations differed over women’s participation and related questions of reform leadership, they sometimes worked together. In 1838 they combined for an annual convention at the Fall River Baptist Meeting House. At that point the female society had 106 members, compared with 112 in the male society. Much of the organization’s activity took place through collective domestic labor transformed into public reform. Women sewed and embroidered while reading and discussing abolitionist literature. They produced articles marked with antislavery slogans and sold them through a recurring Anti-Slavery Fair. The fair operated in Fall River and also reached Boston, allowing the society to raise funds and make its cause visible. Members additionally visited women in Fall River to solicit donations, directing the money toward the promotion and distribution of antislavery texts. The society also pursued political and educational methods. Historical evidence describes a petition to Congress and appeals directed at Fall River women in their roles as wives, mothers, and daughters. These appeals urged local women to investigate reports about slavery and the particular suffering of enslaved women. Such activity placed women’s moral authority and community networks within a broader campaign for political change. The organization belonged to a wider movement of female antislavery societies. At the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women held in Pennsylvania in May 1838, Sarah G. Buffman attended as a delegate from Fall River. She was selected as one of four secretaries and signed the convention’s three statements. Laura Lovell, another Fall River delegate, reported on convention speakers and events, including testimony by a free Black man and the presentation of poetry. Correspondence also connected the Fall River group with the New Bedford Female Anti-Slavery Society and the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, among other New England reform organizations. The supplied historical material does not document the society’s full later history, its dissolution, or any institutional successor. Consequently, its present status cannot be confirmed. Its documented significance is as an antebellum women’s abolitionist association whose activities joined interracial membership debates, antislavery commerce and literature, petitioning, public conventions, and regional female reform networks.

• 1838

  Membership approaches that of the related male society

  [1]Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The female society was reported to have 106 members, compared with 112 in the Fall River Anti-Slavery Society.

• 1838

  Joint annual convention in Fall River

  [1]Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The female and male antislavery organizations held their annual convention together at the Fall River Baptist Meeting House.

• 1838

  Representation at the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women

  [1]Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Sarah G. Buffman represented the society at the Pennsylvania convention, serving as one of its four secretaries, while Laura Lovell reported on the proceedings.

• 1835

  Formation after an interracial membership dispute

  [1]Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The society formed after supporters of admitting three free Black women separated from the Fall River Anti-Slavery Sewing Society and reorganized under the new name.

A women-led abolitionist association that combined antislavery education, fundraising, petitioning, interracial-organizing principles, and regional reform-network participation.

• Fundraising merchandise

  Sewn and embroidered antislavery goods

  Members made sewn and embroidered articles, including pieces carrying antislavery mottoes. These goods converted work conventionally associated with women’s domestic activity into a vehicle for abolitionist fundraising and public messaging. They were sold through the society’s Anti-Slavery Fair in Fall River and, according to the historical account, in Boston.

• Educational materials

  Antislavery texts

  The society promoted antislavery literature by reading and discussing texts in meetings, soliciting donations, and using fundraising proceeds to encourage wider circulation. The available material does not identify specific titles or publishers.

• Anti-Slavery Fair

  Fall River, Massachusetts · Boston, Massachusetts

  The society held a recurring fair where members sold sewn and embroidered goods marked with antislavery messages. The event supported the organization financially and provided a public channel for abolitionist communication.

  Outcome. The fair generated funds for promoting antislavery texts and helped connect domestic production with public reform activity.

  Source
• Fall River women’s antislavery education and petitioning

  Fall River, Massachusetts

  Members solicited donations from local women, encouraged them to learn about slavery and the experiences of enslaved women, and prepared a petition to Congress.

  Outcome. The campaign extended the society’s work beyond fundraising into political advocacy and community education.

  Source

• 1838

  Collaboration with the Fall River Anti-Slavery SocietyOther

  Background

  The female and male societies operated separately and differed over the role of women in abolitionist work.

  Action taken

  They nevertheless joined for an annual convention at the Fall River Baptist Meeting House.

  Aftermath

  The joint meeting demonstrated practical cooperation despite organizational and ideological differences.

  Source

• 1835

  Reorganization around interracial membershipStrategy

  Background

  A dispute arose when three free Black women sought full membership in the predecessor Fall River Anti-Slavery Sewing Society.

  Action taken

  Elizabeth Buffum Chace, her sisters, and their allies supported the women’s admission, while departing members left the organization. The continuing group adopted the name Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society.

  Aftermath

  The reorganization gave the society a documented commitment to challenging racial exclusion alongside opposing slavery.

  Source

1. 1Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Societyen.wikipedia.org