Henry Browne Blackwell - Family

Family

• Samuel Charles Blackwell, was the husband of Antoinette Brown, the first woman ordained in a recognized church in the United States, and also a prominent speaker in the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements.
• Elizabeth Blackwell, was the first female graduate of a medical school in the United States and the first to practice medicine.
• Emily Blackwell was the third woman to receive a U.S. medical degree.

The Blackwells moved to the United states from England in 1832 after a fire destroyed the family business. Their sugar business suffered in the U.S. until it was destroyed completely in 1837 by financial panic. After their move to New York the family became very involved in the anti-slavery movement. They opened their home as a refuge for the abolitionists. In 1837, the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to start over. Not long after, Henry's father died and the family plunged into a financial crisis. Henry’s mother and sisters opened a day school for girls to support the family financially. Henry and his brother found office jobs until the opening of their own hardware business.