1 2 Laura Haviland was born in 1808 to Quaker parents. In 1815, her family moved to Cambria, New York, where she was raised. She married Charles Haviland, a devout Quaker, in 1825 and moved with him to Michigan in 1829. She quickly became involved with the abolitionist movement and helped Elizabeth Chandler found the Logan Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1832. This was the first anti-slavery organization in Michigan (Haviland 32). The organization consisted of Quakers, Presbyterians and other religious members. The Havilands later opened the Raisin Institute, a manual labor school for poor children. The Institute welcomed students of any race, sex, or creed, and was the first school in the state of Michigan to allow African American students (Haviland 35). In addition to working as a teacher at the Institute, Haviland was influential in Michigan s Underground Railroad. In 1846, she made her first trip south to rescue the children of Willie and Elsie Hamilton from slavery. She was threatened with death and a $3,000 reward issued by the Hamiltons master (Haviland 84). Haviland continued to work with famous abolitionist Levi Coffin and helped transport fugitive slaves from Cincinnati to Canada (Haviland 111). 1 A portrait of Laura Haviland. 2 The Raisin Institute, Michigan s first racially integrated school. 3 3 Laura Haviland is pictured with iron handcuffs from a plantation. 1
Credits: Haviland, Laura S. A Woman s Life-Work: Labors and Experiences of Laura S. Haviland. Chicago: C. V. Waite & Company, 1887. Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations: 4-H3.0.7 -- Use case studies or stories to describe the ideas and actions of individuals involved in the Underground Railroad in Michigan and in the Great Lakes Region. Questions: 1. What roles did Haviland play in the anti-slavery movement? 2. How did Haviland s religion affect her activism? 3. What do you notice from the images of Laura Haviland on the following pages? 4. What was unique about the Raisin Institute? Links to Internet Websites http://michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-54463_19313_20652_19271_19357-163242--,00.html http://havilands.org/havilandscom/biographies/laurasmithhaviland/index.html 2
Image from Knapp, John. Illustrated History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Michigan. Adrian, MI: The Times Printing Company, 1903. p. 70. Laura Haviland was raised within the Quaker church, which held anti-slavery sentiments. However, the Quaker church did not support Haviland s strong abolitionist feelings and her duty to work towards abolishing slavery. The Havilands withdrew from the Quaker church and joined an anti-slavery Wesleyan Methodist church in Michigan. Laura Haviland returned to the Quaker church before her death. In her memoir, she writes: Our family, with others, united with Elizabeth Margaret Chandler, who organized in our neighborhood the first anti-slavery society in our State. This was unsatisfactory to the ruling portion of our Society, as it had cleared its skirts many years ago by emancipating all slaves within its pale. Elizabeth M. Chandler was of the Hicksite division of Friends, and as Presbyterians and other religious denominations came into our anti-slavery society, meetings were frequently opened with prayer, and that was thought to be "letting down the principles of ancient Friends." And the subject of slavery was considered too exciting for Friends to engage in, by many Friends of that day. I began to query whether it would not be a relief to me, and so to my friends, to become disconnected with that body, as I saw clearly my path of duty would not be in accordance with the generality of our Society (Haviland 32-33). 3
The Raisin Institute, 1864. Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Blanche B. Coggan Papers The Raisin Institute, established in Adrian, Michigan, in 1837, was a co-educational manual labor school and Michigan s first racially integrated school. The school closed in 1849 and reopened in 1856. An Underground Railroad activist, Haviland invited formerly enslaved people to come to the Institute to speak on their experiences. The school ultimately closed in 1864 after a number of faculty and students enlisted in the Civil War. It was later used as an orphanage for African American children. 4
Photo Courtesy of Lenawee County Historical Museum Laura Haviland is pictured with the instruments of slavery she collected from a plantation in the south. They include iron handcuffs, a knee stiffener, and an iron collar worn around the neck of slaves. She transported these items north to display them as proof of the cruelty of slavery during her lectures. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) restricts photocopying or reproduction of copyright mat erial for anything other than fair use. Fair Use includes private study, scholarship, research and non-profit educational purposes. If you wish to use an image from this website for a purpose other than fair use it is your responsibility to obtain permissio n from the copyright ho lder. While many images on this website are in the public domain, some are not. Please consult the credit lines provided for each image. 5