Born to Quaker parents in Canada on December 20, 1808, Haviland moved with her family to New York when she was seven. In 1829, she came to Michigan where she worked with her family and others to help African Americans escape slavery, seek freedom and prosper. Haviland joined Elizabeth Chandler in founding the first antislavery society in Michigan in 1832. The Haviland family left the Society of Friends and joined the Wesleyan Methodist Connection because they believed Quaker opposition to slavery was not strong enough. Haviland wanted to act on her beliefs. She helped her brother open a school, the Raisin Institute that accepted both African American and European American students. She traveled into southern states to help people escape. She lived with Levi and Catherine Coffin in Ohio for several years, helping raise money and clothing for the people going north. During the fall of 1852, in a settlement eight miles from Windsor, Ontario, Haviland opened a school for parents and children who had escaped slavery.

Go to excerpts from a book by Haviland:

• Anti-Slavery Experiences
• Second Effort to Retake the Hamilton Family

• A Life of Action

Updated 08/26/2010