Inheriting Freedom: An Intergenerational Tour

Inheriting Freedom is currently available as a school group tour or a privately booked tour of 10+ guests. Email our Senior Education Coordinator, Anita Durkin at ADurkin@StoweCenter.org or call 860-522-9258 ext. 315 for more information.

Inheriting Freedom

An intergenerational tour about 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass. We explore themes of family, freedom, education, and the power of love and hope to build a more just world.

Suggested age: 6+ YO

The goal of our intergenerational tour is to encourage conversations about justice between visitors of all ages. We provide an interactive tour experience, that weaves together the lives and legacies of activist such as Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Josiah Henson. We welcome questions and curiosity from adults and children alike. The tour put Harriet Beecher Stowe in conversation with the larger history of anti-slavery and abolitionist activists in the United States during the 19^th century. This is a story about the importance of love, family, and education to make us free.

Throughout American history, the efforts of abolitionist activists and freedom seekers were often motivated by the yearning to be united and safe with the people they loved most. Frederick Douglass was aided in his courageous escape from slavery by his wife-to-be, Anna Murray. Anna and Frederick continued their work in advocating for the freedom, education, and reunification of Black families. Douglass was inspired by his own story of the loss of his mother and siblings and fought to ensure that his children and other Black children across the nation, throughout many generations, would be safe from bondage.

As we discuss these topics and more, we hope visitors are inspired to think about how we can continue to build a world where families of all kinds are safe, respected, and free to be together. This is a tour about what it means to Inherit Freedom.

School Group Interest Form

School Group Interest Form 2024

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

School name:

Please suggest three dates and times when your group would like to visit. (Note: the Stowe Center is closed on Sunday and Tuesday.)

Contact Teacher Name:

Contact Teacher Email:(Required)

Contact Teacher Phone Number:(Required)

Number of students expected to attend:(Required)

Please enter a number from 8 to 40.

Please identify the grade level(s) of attending students:(Required)

Likely number of chaperones (including other teachers):

The Stowe Center requires one adult per every 10 students.

Are there special student, teacher, or chaperone accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Do you plan to have lunch on site?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

Are you interested in scheduling a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Adult Group Interest Form

Group Tour Interest Form 2022

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

Group Name:

Name of Primary Contact:(Required)

Contact Email:(Required)

Contact Phone Number:(Required)

What date would you like to visit? (The Stowe Center typically books group tours for Thursday through Sunday visits.)

Expected number of visitors:(Required)

Please enter a number from 20 to 42.

Please indicate the number of adults, seniors, and children expected in your group:

Are there special accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Are you interested in a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Isabella Beecher Hooker

Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907)
An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.

Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.

In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.

In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.