Sarah is born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1812 to farmer parents.
She is the 2nd eldest of 12 siblings.
At age 20, Sarah decides that she wants to be a teacher.
She requests admission to Canterbury Female Boarding School.
The headmistress, Prudence Crandall, grants her request.
Many parents withdraw their children after Sarah’s admission.
The school closes as a result of the controversy.
The school reopens as a school for African Americans the following year.
Sarah returned.
She suffers harassment.
She is treated like a pariah.
The school is attacked by a mob in 1834.
Prudence Crandall decides
for her student’s safety,
to close the school for good.
Sarah meets a blacksmith named George Fayerweather.
They fall in love.
They marry.
Sarah and George move to Kingston, Rhode Island in 1855.
As the years pass, they have 8 children.
They become activists and abolitionists.
Sarah’s tombstone states.
“Her’s was a living example of obedience to faith,
devotion to her children and a loving,
tender interest in all.”
Click below to hear a recording of Sarah’s biography.
I’ve spent a lot of time researching Sarah over the past year, at the Washington County Historical Society, URI Special Collections, online, and on the backroads of South County. Fortunately, I have loads of new information and images to share.
My Living Monument 