Abigail Rogers Explained

Abigail Rogers (1818–1869) was an American advocate for women's rights and women's education. She founded the Michigan Women's College, and was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2007.

Biography

Rogers spent her whole life advocating for the admittance of women into Michigan universities. In September 1855, she founded the Michigan Women's College in Lansing, Michigan, with Delia Rogers and pioneer James Turner,[1] [2] with the stated goal "to keep before the public mind as constantly as they could, the duty of the State to provide for the education of its daughters as it had already provided for the education of its sons." The college held daily sessions in the Michigan State Capitol until acquiring a location of their own in 1857. Ten years later over 1000 students had been educated. In 1869, Rogers died. Later that same year, in part as a result of her work, Michigan State University began to admit women, and the next year, 1870, the University of Michigan began to admit women. The Michigan Women's College would eventually become the Michigan School for the Blind.[3] [4] [5]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dunbar. Willis F.. May . George S.. 5 September 1995 . Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State . Grand Rapids, MI . Wm. B. Eerdmans . 296. 9780802870551 .
  2. Web site: Love at last for the Abigail? . Cosentino . Lawrence . 22 March 2017 . City Pulse . 8 December 2017 .
  3. Web site: Michigan Female College Lansing, MI. www.lansingmi.gov. en. 2017-11-28.
  4. Web site: Abigail Rogers. Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.
  5. Web site: Michigan Women in History . 15 March 2017 . Capital Area District Libraries . 8 December 2017 .