Celia Burleigh: First Female Unitarian Minister and William's Second Wife
William Henry Burleigh's second wife, was also the first woman Unitarian minister to hold a pulpit - in Brooklyn, Connecticut. This was the same congregation led by Samuel J. May during the Canterbury controversies. Quite an achievement for a church that, for a long time, was the sole Unitarian body in the state!
Celia Burleigh was a strong women's rights advocate, who helped organize Sorosis, a club for intellectual feminist women. She spoke for the rights of children, too.
When William died she edited a second edition of his poems, and wrote a short sketch of his life.
Breast cancer cut her life short, but what a life!
Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, Connecticut
First Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, Connecticut. Photo by Joan DiMartino, curator of the Prudence Crandall Museum.
