Fanny Kemble: Anti-Slavery Advocate

Authors

Dezlen Long, La Salle UniversityFollow

Files

Description

Although not related to the Wister Family by blood, Fanny Kemble was the mother-in-law of Owen Jones Wister and grandmother of acclaimed novelist Owen Wister. An actress and writer by profession, Fanny believed that it was her identity as an English citizen that turned her into a fervent abolitionist and viewing the horrors of slavery firsthand. Visiting a Georgia plantation owned by slave-owning husband, Pierce Butler, Fanny was shocked and appalled at the living conditions that the enslaved people endured. Determined to make their lives better, Fanny established a hospital and nursery for enslaved people on the plantation and taught many of the enslaved how to read. She also fought to ensure that married slaves on her husband’s plantation were not separated from each other. Her husband, Pierce, was appalled by her anti-slavery sentiment.

Publication Date

Summer 2024

Language

English

Disciplines

American Material Culture | American Studies | Cultural History | History | United States History | Women's History

Recommended Citation

Long, Dezlen, "Fanny Kemble: Anti-Slavery Advocate" (2024). People and Places. 20.
https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/people_places/20