Charlotte B. Ray

Charlotte B. Ray (née Charlotte Augusta Burroughs; c. 1813 – 25 October 1891) was an American prominent pastor, suffragist, and abolitionist. Charlotte was the second wife of Charles Bennett Ray a revered African-American journalist. They were an active part of the Underground Railroad in Manhattan.^[1]

Charlotte B. Ray
Born	Charlotte Augusta Burroughs c. 1813 Chatham County, Georgia, U.S.
Died	25 October 1891 New York City, U.S.
Other names	Charlotte Augusta Burroughs Ray, Charlotte Augusta Burroughs, Charlotte Augusta Burrows, Charlotte Burroughs Ray, Charlotte Burrows Ray
Occupations	Suffragist abolitionist
Spouse	Charles Bennett Ray ​ ​ (m. 1840; died 1886)​
Children	7, including Charlotte and Cordelia

Biography

Charlotte Augusta Burroughs was born around 1813, in Chatham County, Georgia, to African American parents Augustus Burroughs and Pacella. Many details of Charlotte's childhood are unknown.^[2][3]

Charlotte was a pastor for the New York's Bethesda Congregational Church.^[4] Her Christian faith fueled her activism to legalize women's right to vote, and protect African-American women who were predisposed to illness and disabilities resulting from slavery. Charlotte was also an active member in the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) and the American Anti-Slavery Society.^[2]

Ray died on October 25, 1891.

Marriage and children

Charlotte relocated to New York City, where in 1840 she married Charles Bennett Ray.^[5][6][7] Together they had seven children.^[2] Four survived to adulthood:

• Clarence F. Ray (1848–?).
• Florence Theresa Ray (February 6, 1847 – June 15, 1920); no issue.
• Charlotte E. Ray (January 13, 1850 – January 4, 1911); no issue.^[8][9]
• Henrietta Cordelia Ray (August 30, 1852 – January 5, 1916); no issue.^[10]

All four of her children received a college education. Her daughter Charlotte F. was the first African-American woman to receive a law degree. Her eldest daughter Florence also became an attorney. Her youngest child Henrietta Cordelia became a famous poet.^[11]

See also

• List of African-American abolitionists

References

1. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015-03-26). The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations. Routledge. p. 675. ISBN 978-1-317-45416-8.
2. Williams-Jones, Daniel (2018). "Biographical Sketch of Charlotte B. Ray". Alexander Street. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
3. "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W69-VV6  : 2 June 2020), Charlotte A.b. Ray, 25 Oct 1891; citing Death, Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,322,828.
4. Aldermen, New York (N Y. ) Board of (1905). Ordinances Resolutions, Etc. Passed by the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York and Approved by the Mayor. The Board.
5. Penn, Irvine Garland (1891). The Afro-American Press and Its Editors. Willey & Company. ISBN 9780598582683.
6. "Charles B. Ray (1807-1886) •". 2008-06-30. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
7. Swift, David E. (1999-03-01). Black Prophets of Justice: Activist Clergy Before the Civil War. LSU Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-8071-2499-4.
8. Gates, Henry Louis (2011). Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-307-59342-9.
9. Lamphier, Peg A.; Welch, Rosanne (2017-01-23). Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. pp. 346–347. ISBN 978-1-61069-603-6.
10. Mance, Ajuan Maria (2016-03-15). Before Harlem: An Anthology of African American Literature from the Long Nineteenth Century. Univ. of Tennessee Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-1-62190-202-7.
11. "Charlotte Ray". History of American Women. 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2022-03-10.