Antoinette Blackwell

Antoinette Blackwell (1825-1921) was inspired by evangelical revivals to enrol at the Presbyterian Oberlin College and study theology, but as a woman she was refused a degree and ordination. After lecturing on women's rights and occasionally preaching at progressive churches, she was appointed in 1853 pastor by the First Congregational Church in South Butler, New York, thus becoming the first woman minister in an established Protestant denomination. However due to theological disagreements she resigned after less than a year and later joined the Unitarian church.
One of Antoinette Blackwell’s sister in laws was Elizabeth Blackwell, the first British woman doctor and the first woman to gain a medical degree anywhere.