Clara Ann Thompson was a poet and daughter of runaway slaves. Along with her sister Priscilla Jane, she rose to significance but fell into obscurity as life happened to her. Her voice reached beyond the Ohio River Valley to influence national movements. She stood strong in the face of oppression, fighting from the churches of Cincinnati.
The Queens
The Pugh Alley Poker: Ann Doherty
This is the story of two women--particularly Ann Doherty--who were called to their own war, one in which both would react in vastly different ways to the patriarchal norms. *Domestic Abuse trigger warning.*
Unsexing Herself for the Union: Susan Jones
Susan Jones wouldn’t always be known by that name. She lived a life serving others, but she did so in both the domestic realm of femininity and in the outside realm of masculinity, crossing genders to do so at the call of war.
The Muse’s Favor: Priscilla Jane Thompson
Inspired by her runaway slave parents, Priscilla Thompson wrote cutting verses on slavery, injustice, and black women's awesomeness.
Hidden Among Abolitionists and Mobs: Matilda Lawrence
The woman known as Matilda may seem unremarkable; however, she was anything but! As a housebound slave, she taught herself how to read, and she would inspire countless more runaway slaves to take legal action.
Above the Smog and Beyond the Known: Louisa Clark Trask Mitchel
Cincinnati would come to play one of the most significant roles in American scientific advancement, astronomy being a large part. Louisa Clark Trask Mitchel would pave the way for the first Observatory in the U.S. and would be the first American woman involved in an astronomical discovery with it.
