AbolitionAfrican AmericansArt & LiteratureWest Boston Portrait of Christiana Carteaux Bannister, seated.

Christiana Carteaux Bannister and Edward Mitchell Bannister

Entrepreneur Christiana Carteaux Bannister and artist Edward Mitchell Bannister married in Boston’s West End in 1857. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, they were active in Boston’s abolitionist and artistic communities. During these years and beyond, their symbiotic financial and creative partnership helped to bolster both of their careers and their community connections.

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AbolitionAfrican AmericansWest BostonWomen Photograph of Harriet Hayden.

Harriet Bell Hayden

Harriet Hayden was born enslaved, fought for her freedom, and aided hundreds of southern escapees by housing, feeding, and protecting them. She did this all while raising a family, running a boarding house, learning to read and write, and becoming an activist and community leader. Without her efforts, the many accomplishments of her husband, Lewis Hayden, would not have been possible.

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