Sarah Blake Sturgis Shaw

Sarah Blake Shaw was an American abolitionist, women's rights supporter, anti-imperialist and philanthropist. She was the daughter of Bostonians Nathaniel Russell Sturgis (1779-1856) and Susannah Thomsen Parkman. She was the younger sister of merchant Russell Sturgis. She married Francis George Shaw on June 9, 1835. Shortly after their marriage, the Shaws became members of the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem—a part of The Church of The New Jerusalem. Church records indicate they keep their membership active at a distance through the 1890s). Some scholars have written it was a "part of the 'evangelical' wing of the Unitarian Church;" however, they are not accurate.