Josephine Sophia White Griffing
Josephine Sophia White Griffing | |
---|---|
Born | Josephine White December 18, 1814 Hebron, Connecticut, U.S. |
Died | February 18, 1872 Washington, District of Columbia, U.S. | (aged 57)
Burial place | Burrows Hill Cemetery, Hebron, Tolland County, Connecticut, U.S. |
Spouse | Charles Stockman Spooner Griffing[1] |
Children | 5 |
Parents |
|
Relatives | Samuel Lovett Waldo (uncle) |
Josephine Sophia White Griffing (December 18, 1814 – February 18, 1872) was an American reformer who campaigned against
Early life
Josephine White was born in Hebron, Connecticut, on December 18, 1814, into a prominent family. Her father, Joseph White Jr., was a representative in Connecticut's state legislature. While her mother Sophia Waldo was the sister of portrait painter Samuel Lovett Waldo, her mother died a year after her birth in 1815.[3] After her mother's death, her father married Mary Waldo, the sister to Sophia Waldo. Despite the relative fame of her family, little is known of her childhood in Connecticut.[4]
On September 16, 1835, at the age of twenty, Josephine married Charles Stockman Spooner Griffing in Stafford, Connecticut.[5][1] By 1842, the couple moved to Litchfield, Ohio, where they had five daughters. Three of their children survived into adulthood, including Emma, Helen, and Josephine Cora.[4]
Abolitionist work
While living in Litchfield, Ohio the Griffing family became involved with some of the radical organizations that were thriving in Ohio's
The Griffings opened up their home as a stop on the Underground Railroad.[1][4] During the Civil War, Griffing acted as the western agent for the Women's Loyal National League, a feminist organization that worked to outlaw slavery in every state.[7]
Aiding the freedpeople
During the Civil War, Griffing was struck by the plight of the recently freed slaves, especially those who were fleeing to Washington, D.C. Determined to help the freedpeople establish themselves, Griffing and her three daughters moved to Washington, D.C., in 1864, while her husband remained in Ohio. Why her husband remained behind is uncertain.[7]
Griffing became an agent for the National Freedmen's Relief Association of the District of Columbia, where she opened up two
Despite Griffing's prominence in the Freedmen's Bureau, she and the male leaders of the organization often conflicted over how best to aid the freedpeople of Washington. Griffing argued that the freedpeople required direct aid, such as food, clothes, and fuel, and that the Bureau's main goals should be to provide material aid for those living in Washington. This aid, according to Griffing, was necessary for the freedpeople to become financially stable, and once that occurred they could obtain jobs and support themselves. However, men involved in freedpeople's aid organizations disagreed with Griffing's claims. They often supported the ideals of
Even with this setback, Griffing continued to help better the lives of the freedpeople. She worked with her government contacts to help freedpeople find jobs in the north, and sometimes travelled with them to make sure they arrived safely. The Freedmen's Bureau worked with Griffing on this project, providing barracks in Rhode Island, offices in New York City, and fund for rent and other necessary expenses.[6] By 1867, Griffing was working for the Freedmen's Bureau once more, this time as an agent for the Capitol Hill and Navy Yard districts.[6] Throughout her tenure, Griffing fought for increased aid for the freedpeople, as well as continuing her efforts at finding employment for African Americans in the north. She also kept contact with her associates in the federal government and in private aid organizations in order to obtain as much aid as possible for the destitute of Washington, D.C. Griffing worked as an agent for the Freedmen's Bureau until it ran out of funding and was forced to stop providing aid in late 1869.[6] She continued working to aid freedpeople through the National Freedmen's Aid Association of the District of Columbia until her death in 1872.[4]
Work for women’s rights
In addition to her work for the freedpeople of Washington, D.C., Griffing was also a women's rights activist. In the 1850s, Griffing became involved with
While in Washington, D.C., Griffing maintained her dedication to women's rights and the cause of suffrage. In 1866 she helped found the American Equal Rights Association, whose purpose was to promote equality and suffrage for all people no matter their race or sex; she also served as its first vice-president.[4] Griffing became the president of District of Columbia woman suffrage association in 1867, where she helped monitor guide suffrage activities in Washington, D.C.[4] In 1869, along with Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other prominent reformers, Griffing joined the National Woman Suffrage Association and acted as its corresponding secretary.[2][4]
Josephine Griffing died in 1872 in Washington, D.C., with her cause of death listed as "
Remembrance
The first volume of History of Woman Suffrage, published in 1881, states, “THESE VOLUMES ARE AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED TO THE Memory of Mary Wollstonecraft, Frances Wright, Lucretia Mott, Harriet Martineau, Lydia Maria Child, Margaret Fuller, Sarah and Angelina Grimké, Josephine S. Griffing, Martha C. Wright, Harriot K. Hunt, M.D., Mariana W. Johnson, Alice and Phebe Carey, Ann Preston, M.D., Lydia Mott, Eliza W. Farnham, Lydia F. Fowler, M.D., Paulina Wright Davis, Whose Earnest Lives and Fearless Words, in Demanding Political Rights for Women, have been, in the Preparation of these Pages, a Constant Inspiration TO The Editors”.[10]
See also
References
- ^ a b c McCain, Diana Ross (2 September 1987). "Hebron Native Left Her Mark". Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut). No. Eastern Edition. p. B3. Retrieved 2021-05-03 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Distinguished American Women". El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas). 22 November 1975. p. 8B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Obituaries". Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut). September 6, 1815. Retrieved 2021-05-03 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Melder, Keith. "Griffing, Josephine Sophia White (Dec. 18, 1814-Feb. 18, 1872)". Notable American Women: 1607–1950. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ "Charles S S Griffing in the Connecticut, U.S., Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55". Ancestry.com. Genealogical Publishing Co. (published 2002). September 16, 1835.
- ^ JSTOR 40067364.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8122-3744-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8122-3744-3.
- ISBN 978-0-8122-3744-3.
- ^ "History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I". Project Gutenberg.