Read Part One HERE
In this post I will focus on a woman named Sarah Harris Fayerweater. She lived from 1812 - 1878. Sarah was born in Norwich, Connecticut, USA. Her parents were William Monteflora Harris and Sally Prentice Harris. She was of African and French West Indian descent and the second oldest of twelve children. She was raised in the Orthodox Congregational Church of Canterbury.
Sarah's father understood the importance of education for the advancement of his race, and he ensured that all his children received schooling. Initially, that meant that the Harris children would all attend the Sabbath School and the district school in their home town of Norwich.
In January 1832, shortly after Prudence Crandall had opened her Canterbury Female Boarding School, Sarah's parents purchased a farm in Canterbury. In September 1832, Sarah asked: "Miss Crandall, I want to get a little more learning, if possible, enough to teach coloured children, and if you will admit me to your school I shall forever be under the greatest obligation to you." Miss Crandall intitially declined to give an answer, stating she would take time to think about it. But Sarah made repeated requests, and was admitted later in the Fall of 1832.
Read Post One Hundred And Seventeen HERE
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