Celia M. Burleigh

Celia M. Burleigh (September 18, 1826 – July 25, 1875) (also Celia Burleigh, Celia C. Burleigh, Celia M. Tibbitts, Celia M. Kellum, Celia M. Burr, and Celia C. Burr Burleigh) was an American minister, writer, public speaker, and women's rights activist. She was involved with the woman's club movement and held various positions in women's rights clubs. Biography Burleigh was born at Cazenovia, New York, on September 18, 1826. She was the adopted child of Henry and Sara Tibbitts. She received her initial childhood schooling at a one-room school house a mile from her home. When she was sixteen she became a teacher at Cazenovia Seminary. Burleigh married Corydon Bryant Kellum of Albany, New York in 1844 when she was eighteen and they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. The couple had two children who died young. In 1849 Burleigh became an editor of a journal called The Great West and worked at that for about a year. She divorced Kellum in 1850 and moved to New York City. Burleigh then developed a relationship with Charles Chauncey Burr and married him in 1851. She wrote for newspapers and magazines using the pen name "Celia Burr." She also was a lyricist and published a few songs in collaboration with some musicians. The marriage to Burr ended in 1853. Starting in 1855 she served as a director for a boarding school. Later she became a teacher in Syracuse, New York. There she also wrote articles for the Christian Register and lectured on women's suffrage.