Hello all, my name is Elizabeth Buffum Chace. While I may not be within the pages of your textbooks, my contributions to our nations growth is no small feat. I was born to a quaker family on December 9th, 1806 in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Many of my abolitionist beliefs come from the first president of the New England Anti-Slavery Society, or as I knew him as my father, Arnold Buffum. From being a pillar to organizations such as the Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society and the Rhode Island Women's Suffrage Association, to writing my book,
AntiSlavery Reminiscences.
My whole life has been built with the ideals of anti-slavery. However it was not till my wedding to my dear Samuel Chace, was this structure radicalized my life. Making the switch from being an anti-slavery to a devoted abolitionist was swift and strong. Much like slave women, I have lost five of my ten children, not even the oldest of the five had met their older siblings. These losses gave my heart and mind the sympathy for these mothers in shackles, for we had all lost children, only they were not given time to grieve. While my personal connection to these women was fully backed by my husband, the people of Rhode Island had other ideals.
For the community in which I was raised shunned my husband and I for our shared views on slavery as a whole. While many would have agreed that slavery is not just or moral, our differences lived within what to do after slavery was made unconstitutional. Majority of the Quaker community believed enslaved people should be sent to African colonies, whereas my personal beliefs fought these ideals. Although most of the opposition I faced came from outside sources, my own brother in-law once looked at me and said "I shouldn't want to see a black man sitting on the sofa beside my daughter". I all but toppled out of my chair at his unhinged comment.
My fight was not just against slavery, but against the racism that spread throughout this nation. Which is why with the help of my sisters, we founded the Fall River Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1835. This could be seen as my first steps within my start of abolition, however that respect is dedicated to one of my esteemed colleague within this fight,
William Lloyd Garrison. Within the next four years, my family moved to the Blackstone River Valley, and took over the Valley Falls Mill. Where I would start my acts as a conductor of the Underground Railroad. My mission was to make my home a safe place in which every human being who walked through my door felt welcomed. Notable members I have had the
honor of meeting include Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, Abbey Kelley, Wendell Phillips, and Fredrick Douglas.
After the Civil War, I joined the
Rhode Island Women's Suffrage Association in 1868. During my time as president within the association, I made it so our African American counterparts were able to join and work along side us. Our nation had strong years where my new friends were allowed to live in symbiosis, the Jim Crow Laws destroyed this. All this meant was the fight was not over just yet. If my friends could not sit with me, I will go sit with them. Regardless if it meant breaking social cues, I would go join my friends at their rail cars, restaurants, and any other place in which they were treated differently. Once slavery was abolished, I turned my focus to the fight
my focus to the fight against racial discrimination in schools, women's rights, prison reform, and the overall education for the minorities that live within our boarders.
After my death, the
Elizabeth Buffum Chace House was opened within Warwick, Rhode Island. This house was created to shelter and aid the victims of domestic violence. This includes helping to mask the identity of the women and children who are hiding from their domestic partners.
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