Guide to the Angelique Le Petit Martin Papers

Biography of Angelique Le Petit Martin

Angelique Le Petit Martin (1793-1865) was born in France and married Gilles Marie Martin (1794-1865) in 1821 at the church of St. Mary Major in Exeter, County Devon, England. Angelique gave birth to four children while still living in England: Angelique Marie (1822-1902), also known as Lilly Martin Spencer, one of the most important female artists of the nineteenth century; Henri Giles (1825-1864); Charles Francois (1823-1851); and Fredric Pierre (Aug-Dec 1828). The family traveled to New York City in 1830, and a year later their youngest child, Marie Henriette (1831-1920) was born.

In 1833 they purchased land in Union (now Muskingum) Township, Washington County, Ohio, approximately 4.5 miles north of the town of Marietta. The home would be called Tupperford Farm.

Angelique Martin became an ardent fighter for the rights of women and slaves. She wrote to publications such as The Lily, a women's rights paper established by Amelia Bloomer, and she conversed with feminist thinkers such as Albert Brisbane, Lucretia Mott, and Amelia Bloomer. Angelique eventually moved north with her family to a communal living area known as the Trumbull Phalanx. Located in Braceville Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, it was one of the Fourieristic communal settings in North America. In 1851, she authored a book entitled Essays on Woman's True Destiny, Responsibilities andRights, as the Mother of the Human Race, Contrasted With Her Subordinate Subserviency to Adult Man,Assigned to Her By His Grossly Selfish Social Regulations; Their Baneful and Unjust Effects on Woman,Her Offspring, and Even Grown-Up Man; the Primitive Cause of All This, and Its Remedy, published in Warren, Ohio; J. Dumars, printer.

Angelique Martin lived out the remainder of her life in the Trumbull Phalanx, and died in the year 1865. She and several family members are buried at the Harrington Cemetery in Portage County.

Scope and Content

There are 26 items that cover the time period from 1833 until 1859. During these years, the Martin's home in Union Township, Washington County, Ohio, is constructed, their daughter Lilly moves to Cincinnati to study art, and the family moves to the Trumbull Phalanx in Trumbull County, Ohio, where they will finish out the remainder of their lives.

The majority of the letters deal with political issues of the time period, including feminism, equal rights, and the abolition of slavery. There are also several letters that focus on the idea of communal living in Utopian societies, a principle based on the idea that Albert Brisbane and others designed and carried out at Brook Farm.

Letters from Paul Brown bring to light the injustice of the time. One letter eloquently describes Longbeach, New Jersey, and swimming activities. Another letter, from a neighbor, shows the discontentment and unease associated with the feminist idea. A business contract details the accounts of the home they lived in while in Washington County, Ohio.

The collection demonstrates the passion of the equal rights movement and women's suffrage from a firsthand point of view, but from the perspective of someone who is not a member of the inner circle.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions

There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection. Copyright restrictions may apply to materials. Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the repository and from the copyright holder.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

Angelique Le Petit Martin Letters, Marietta College Library

Acquisition Information

Other Finding Aid

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