Harriet Forten Purvis

Harriet Forten Purvis (1810June 11, 1875) was an African-American abolitionist and first generation suffragist. With her mother and sisters, she formed the first biracial women's abolitionist group, the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. She hosted anti-slavery events at her home and with her husband Robert Purvis ran an Underground Railroad station. Robert and Harriet also founded the Gilbert Lyceum. She fought against segregation and for the right for blacks to vote after the Civil War. Personal life Early life Harriet Davy Forten, born in Philadelphia in 1810, was one of eight children of James Forten and Charlotte Vandine Forten, who lived at 92 Lombard Street. James Forten was a wealthy inventor, businessman and abolitionist who was born free. Forten, born in 1766, was a powder boy and was taken prisoner from the Royal Lewis during the Revolutionary War. Her father was given a start in business by Robert Bridges, a white sailmaker. Harriet was named for one of Bridge's daughters. The Fortens, the most well-known black family in the city, were noted for their gentility and hospitality. William Lloyd Garrison wrote of the family "who have few superiors in refinement, in moral worth, in all that makes the human character worthy of admiration and praise." Her father is one of the 100 Greatest African Americans, as determined by Professor Molefi Kete Asante in 2002.