Trailblazing Women from Auburn, New York

Auburn, New York, has been the hometown of several remarkable American women who shaped history:

Harriet Tubman (c. 1822–1913)

Perhaps the most famous, Tubman was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a Union spy during the Civil War, and a lifelong advocate for abolition and women's suffrage.

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910)

The first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, breaking barriers in the medical profession.

Alice Cary (1820–1871) and Phoebe Cary (1824–1871)

Sister poets who published multiple acclaimed volumes of poetry in the 19th century.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823–1893)

An abolitionist, suffragist, journalist, and educator who founded the first integrated, coeducational school in Ontario, Canada.

Frances E. Willard (1839–1898)

A prominent leader of the women's suffrage movement and president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).

These women exemplify Auburn's legacy of fostering leaders in social justice, literature, and medicine.