On September 15, 1853, Antoinette Brown was ordained as minister of the Congregational church in South Butler, Wayne County, New York. Her ordination is widely recognized as the first of a woman in a major or recognized Protestant denomination in the United States—a landmark in American religious and women’s history.
Brown had pursued theological training at Oberlin College despite institutional restrictions on women’s religious education and ministry. Although Oberlin allowed her to study theology, it did not grant her a theology degree or authorize her to preach. She nevertheless continued to preach publicly and, after being called by the South Butler congregation, became its pastor and was formally ordained.
Her ministry joined religious conviction to the reform currents of her era. Brown was an abolitionist and an early advocate for women’s rights, and she maintained a close lifelong friendship with fellow Oberlin alumna Lucy Stone, who later married Brown’s brother-in-law, Henry Blackwell.
Brown’s ordination did not end opposition to women in the pulpit, and her South Butler pastorate was brief. Yet the event created an enduring precedent: a woman had assumed the responsibilities of ordained ministry within a recognized Protestant church. In doing so, Antoinette Brown—later Antoinette Brown Blackwell—helped widen the possibilities for women pursuing religious leadership in the United States.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
