History of Maria Weston Chapman
Maria Weston was the eldest of six daughters and two sons born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to Warren and Nancy Bates Weston, descendants of the Pilgrims. She married Henry Grafton Chapman, a Boston merchant. Both became campaigners against slavery and in 1832 Maria joined with twelve other women to form the Boston Anti-Slavery Society.
Not only was Chapman dedicated throughout her life to the anti-slavery movement, she also advocated woman's rights. Her work included helping William Lloyd Garrison edit The Liberator. Her other writings included Right and Wrong in Massachusetts, a pamphlet that discussed the divisions in the Anti-Slavery Society that was being created over the issue of woman's rights.
Chapman was editor of the anti-slavery journal, Non-Resistant (1839-1842). Other books written by Chapman included Memorials of Harriet Martineau (1877). Her grandson, John Jay Chapman, was also a campaigner for social reform and an outstanding literary critic. Maria Weston Chapman died on 12th July, 1885.
For more information:
Article on the Unitarian Universalist Association Web Site about Weston Chapman and her sisters.
http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/mariawestonchapman.html