1825-1911
Sources: Robert Murphy, West Roxbury Historical Society and Boston Sunday Globe (Nov. 7, 1909)
Sarah Rebecca Codman was born in 1825. She attended local schools and then was privately taught, since her parents believed in education for girls. She was 17 when her family went to Brook Farm. Rebecca was part of the Nursery Group and took care of the youngest children. Like many of the younger members, she was fond of performing in plays for the community and singing and dancing. Her future husband, Jonathan Butterfield, was also at Brook Farm where he worked as a printer. They had known each other since childhood but did not marry until after Brook Farm closed. The couple lived in Medford, where Rebecca was active in the Medford Suffragette Society. She remained active and dedicated to the women’s movement until her death. Rebecca and her family were the last to leave Brook Farm in 1848.