Anne Knight (1781 - 1862)
Anne was born in Chelmsford into a pacifist Quaker family who took active roles in the anti-slavery and temperance campaigns. By 1830 Anne had assumed a key role in the Quaker attempt to end slavery, organizing public meetings, distributing literature and compiling petitions. She formed the Chelmsford Female Anti-Slavery Society, worked with Thomas Clarkson, and in 1834 embarked on a tour of France giving lectures on the immorality of slavery. She argued for immediate abolition without compensation. Her contribution to the anti-slavery campaign was recognized when a village for freed Jamaican slaves was named Knightsville. Equal rights for women became the focal point of the latter years of her life and in 1847 she published what is believed to be the first-ever leaflet on women