Antoinette Brown Blackwell

 The little, one-time farming community of Henrietta, N.Y., is today overshadowed by nearby Rochester. But on May 20, 1825, a girl was born in Henrietta who would make a big mark in American history.


Antoinette Blackwell was blessed with forward-thinking parents, who recognized her high intelligence early in her life, and encouraged her abilities. She was preaching in her local Congregational church while still a teenager. 

Read that last sentence slowly and thoughtfully. 


The world outside Henrietta and Rochester was not quite so tolerant. Brown would spend the rest of her life battling the obstacles of her day set up against women in church leadership -- and against women in general. Nonetheless, in 1852 she became the first woman ordained as a minister in America. 

"Our sister in Christ, Antoinette L. Brown, is one of the Ministers of the New Covenant, authorized, qualified, and called by God to preach the gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ," declared the Rev. Luther Lee, at her ordination. 

Her time at her first pulpit was short and The Boston Investigator fairly cackled with glee when she stepped away, facing insecurity about her faith in Congregationalism and a lack of resources for her work:

"A failure in her first pastorate."

(We might note that the said newspaper went out of business in 1904, within her lifetime, while Blackwell's childhood home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.)

She might have left the pulpit, but Brown was no failure. She stayed active in good causes for the rest of her life: visiting slums and raising money for their occupants; speaking out against slavery; bearing seven children; and working hard for women's rights -- even planting trees to celebrate her 89th birthday. In 1902, she published "Sea Drift", a book of poetry. 

***

I couldn't find anything in connection to a dish that might have appeared on her table. But in the Rochester area, I am told, the locals enjoy a "hot" -- what the rest of the country refers as a hotdog or frankfurter. And in particular, they like their "white hots" -- a rather pale dog, due to veal in its ingredient list. 

A great write-up about her:

https://historyswomen.com/1st-women/antoinette-brown-blackwell/





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