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Purple and white sign.

Remond Family Women's Suffrage Marker Unveiled in Salem

On Thursday, June 23, 2022, Suffrage100MA (now the Massachusetts Women's History Center) and Hamilton Hall unveiled an historic women’s suffrage marker honoring the legacy of extraordinary activists, the Remond Family at Hamilton Hall in Salem. The marker celebrates the Remond Family’s suffrage and abolition work and encourage passers-by to learn more, and is one of five new Massachusetts marker sites on the National Votes for Women Trail. The project is funded through a grant by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation®, sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS)’s National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT), and coordinated by Suffrage100MA. 

Scroll down for event photos and video!

Remond Family Suffrage Marker

Special thanks to our speakers, who included:

Michael Selbst (President of the Board of Directors, Hamilton Hall)

Fredie Kay, Esq. (Founder & President, Suffrage100MA)

Mayor Kim Driscoll (City of Salem)

MA Senator Joan B. Lovely (2nd Essex District)

Representative Paul F. Tucker (7th Essex District)

Caroline Freedman (Office of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren)

Lisa McClure (Office of U.S. Senator Ed Markey)

Adelaide Solomon-Jordan (Cousin of Remond Family)

THE REMOND FAMILY

An impactful free Black family, the Remond Family was committed to the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage movement, and desegregation of schools in Salem. Parents John Remond (1785-1874), a lifelong member of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, and Nancy Lenox Remond (1786-1867) served as caretakers of Hamilton Hall at the turn of the 19th century, where they also ran their catering business. Well-respected throughout Salem for their culinary skills, hospitality, business acumen, and social advocacy, they raised their eight children to fight for their rights and the rights of others. 

Charles Lenox Remond (1810–1873), their eldest child, was among the first Black abolitionist lecturers—and staunchly supportive of women’s right to join the fight. Charles gave anti-slavery speeches throughout the US and abroad, sometimes with his sister Sarah. Sarah Parker Remond (1824-1894) was a stalwart member of the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society, the New England Anti-Slavery Society, and the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. She gave her first abolitionist address at the age of just 16 and spoke nationally and internationally on the topics of racial and gender equity. She was a speaker at the 1858 National Woman’s Rights Convention in New York. Caroline Remond Putnam (1826-1908), another sibling, was repeatedly mentioned in the abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, served in leadership positions for the American and Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Societies, and spoke at the 1869 annual meeting of the New England Woman’s Suffrage Association.

The suffrage marker project is funded through a grant by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation®, sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS)’s National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT), and coordinated in Massachusetts by Suffrage100MA.

Remond Family Suffrage Marker Photos. (Photo Credit: Axie Breen Photography)

Exterior of building.
Woman outside wearing purple sash.
Woman stands at podium speaking.
Audience sits outside.
Woman wearing purple sash speaking at podium.
Man wearing purple sash stands outside speaking at lectern.
Woman wearing purple sash stands outside speaking at lectern.
Woman stands at podium speaking.
Woman wearing purple sash stands outside speaking at lectern.
Woman wearing purple sash stands at podium.
Three people pull cover off white and purple sign.
Two people stand next to covered sign.
Two adults stand in front of purple and white sign.
Nine people stand together wearing purple sashes and smiling.
Group of people stand near purple and white sign.
Nine people stand together wearing purple sashes and smiling.
Purple and white sign.
Four people in purple sashes stand outside.
Large crowd in purple sashes outdoors.
Eight people stand in front of purple and white sign.
Two people stand in front of purple and white sign.
Interior banner of Remond Family.
Interior banner of Remond Family.
Interior banner of Remond Family.
Print program of Remond Family suffrage marker.
Two women wearing purple sashes stand outside smiling.

Video used with permission of Hamilton Hall. Video credit to Brad Williams.

Print program of Remond Family suffrage marker.