New England Freedmen's Aid Society aka New England Branch of the American Freedmen's Union Commission
Description
In November 1861, Union forces occupied the sea islands of South Carolina in the vicinity of Port Royal, freeing thousands of slaves on the rice and cotton plantations there. In what became known as the Port Royal Experiment, northern abolitionists and others interested in reconstructing southern society rapidly organized in order to send material relief and set up schools for the betterment of the formerly enslaved. One of the organizations formed for this purpose was the Boston Educational Relief Society, established in February 1862. They soon changed their name to the New England Freedmen’s Aid Society (hereafter referred to as NEFAS). Both the leadership and general membership of the NEFAS included many old-line abolitionists. The membership was predominantly female, with many of these women active in both the abolition and women’s rights movements, which they viewed as intertwined. Around four-fifths of the teachers employed by the society were female.
