Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society
Collection History
Please note that as of January 2022, the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society records, 1834-1862, and all future digital collections are now hosted on the library's new digital archive.
The Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society (SFASS) was formed in 1834. The preamble to the SFASS's constitution stated its three principles: that slavery should be immediately abolished; that African Americans, enslaved or free, have a right to a home in the country without fear of intimidation, and that society should be ready to acknowledge people of color as friends and equals. These principles, in addition to the American Anti-Slavery Society's principles, were in direct opposition to the American Colonization Society, which had been founded in 1817 with the objective to transport emancipated slaves and other free Black people to a perceived "homeland" in West Africa.
The majority of SFASS membership was comprised of wives and daughters of the members of the Anti-Slavery Society of Salem and Vicinity (ASSSV), who were drawn largely from Salem's middle and professional classes. Early activities of the society included distributing clothes to free African American residents in the area, supporting the National Anti-Slavery Bazaar at Faneuil Hall, organizing a sewing school for Black girls, and aiding fugitive slaves in Canada. Between 1844 and 1862, the society organized an annual anti-slavery lecture series. Abolitionists such as Lucy Stone, Wendell Phillips, Frederick Douglass, Charles Lenox Remond, and William Lloyd Garrison, who travelled on circuit tours across the country, were requested to speak. With its primary goal, the abolition of slavery, accomplished during the Civil War, the Society voted to dissolve on January 3, 1866.
The digital volumes below include three volumes of society records, consisting largely of meeting minutes, as well as a volume of loose correspondence to and from SFASS. These letters include two from William Lloyd Garrison; one in which he acknowledges receipt of a $100 payment (about $2,500 today) and an acceptance of an invitation to speak.
The original manuscripts in this collection are owned by our project partners, the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum. Further information about the collection can be found in the Phillips Library's finding aid.
Digital Materials
This volume contains the society's earliest meeting minutes.
This record book contains a history of SFASS's foundation and proposed guiding principles, a list of nominees and elected officers, meeting minutes, a list of visiting lecturers and other notable individuals, and a list of members. The volume also includes the society's annual reports from 1840, 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1845.
This volume contains a preamble followed by the SFASS's constitution and meeting minutes.
Various letters of correspondence between the SFASS and their members and donors, including several letters to and from William Lloyd Garrison.
| 1839 January 9 | from L. A. Duncklee | to SFASS | request for membership |
| 1839 January 5 | from SFASS | to William Lloyd Garrison | letter awarding $100 to Lloyd Garrison from SFASS |
| 1839 January 9 | from SFASS | to Harriet Webster | acknowledgement of donation |
| 1839 January 14 | from William Lloyd Garrison | to SFASS | acknowledgement of $100 payment |
| 1839 January 21 | from Coloured Sabbath School | to SFASS | acknowledgement of $13 donation |
| 1839 January 29 | from Danvers Female Anti-Slavery Society | to SFASS | general correspondence |
| 1839 April | from SFASS | to Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women | general correspondence |
| 1839 April 5 | from SFASS | to William Lloyd Garrison | invitation to speak at Salem |
| 1839 April 8 | from William Lloyd Garrison | to SFASS | acceptance of invitation to speak |
| 1839 April 5 | from J. A. Collins | to SFASS | note advising lecture date for William Lloyd Garrison |
| 1839 April 22 | from J. A. Collins | to SFASS | confirmation of lecture date for William Lloyd Garrison |
| 1839 April 26 | from SFASS | to Mr. Johnston | acknowledgement of report on behalf of the New York Committee of Vigilance |
Special Thanks
These digital resources have been made possible in part by the Council on Library and Information Resources, through a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this resource do not necessarily represent those of the Council on Library and Information Resources.
