Women's Rights: Lucretia Coffin Mott and James Mott - Seneca Falls, NY

Women's Rights

Lucretia Coffin Mott and James Mott

Seneca Falls, NY

James and Lucretia Mott

N 42° 54.637 W 076° 48.010

Short Description: 

Statues of Lucretia Coffin Mott and James Mott are located on the first floor of the Women's Rights National Historic Park at 136 Fall Street, Seneca Falls, NY.

Lucretia Mott

James Mott

Long Description:

Lucretia Coffin was born on January 3, 1793 on Nantucket Island, MA as the second child of a Quaker family. James Mott was born on June 20, 1788 in North Hempstead, NY. They met when James was a teacher at the Nine Partners Boarding School in Millbrook, NY. On April 10, 1811, Lucretia and James Mott were married in Philadelphia. Lucretia is an older sister of Martha Coffin Wright.

In 1833 Lucretia Mott and James Mott, along with Mary Ann M’Clintock and many others formed the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. Lucretia and James represented the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society to the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. There Lucretia met Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Mott and Stanton were excluded from participating due to their gender. This inspired the idea of a woman’s rights convention which was held eight years later in Seneca Falls, NY on July 19-20, 1848. The convention was organized by Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mary Ann M’Clintock, Martha Coffin Wright, and Jane Hunt. James Mott was the chairman of a session of the the convention. Both Lucretia and James signed the convention's Declaration of Sentiments.

Lucretia and James Mott wre very active in both the abolition and women’s rights movements. After the Civil War, in 1866, Lucretia became the first president of the American Equal Rights Association an advocacy group for achieving equality for both African Americans and women.

Life size bronze statues of Lucretia and James Mott were created by Lloyd Lillie. The couple stand at ground level along with other members of the First Wave, a sculptural grouping of nineteen women's rights activists. Lucretia is dressed in period clothing with a long dress and full bonnet covering her hair. She has her arms folded across her waist. James stands to her right. He is wearing a knee length jacket and vest and is standing with his arms by his side.

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