Martha Coffin Wright

Martha Coffin Wright (December 25, 1806 – 1875) was an American feminist, abolitionist, and signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments who was a close friend and supporter of Harriet Tubman. Early life Martha Coffin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Christmas Day 1806, the youngest child of Anna Folger and Thomas Coffin, a merchant and former Nantucket ship captain. Martha was the youngest of eight children. Some of her well-known siblings were Sarah, Lucretia, Eliza, Mary, and Thomas. All of her siblings were born in Nantucket. When she was two years old, the family moved to Philadelphia, where Martha was educated at Quaker schools. Her father died in 1815, at the age of 48, of typhus. Martha was influenced by her elder sisters and her mother. Martha's eldest sister Anna was a huge influence on her; she was the one who sent Martha to the Westtown School in 1821. This was the same school that three of her siblings attended 10 years earlier. After spending 15 years in Philadelphia Martha moved to Aurora, New York, in the Finger Lakes country, in November 1827. Career Seneca Falls Convention Martha's older sister Lucretia Coffin Mott was a prominent Quaker preacher. In July 1848, she visited Martha's home in Auburn, New York. During that visit, Martha and Lucretia met with Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Jane Hunt's house and decided to hold a convention in nearby Seneca Falls, New York, to discuss the need for greater rights for women.