“Roz” – Harriet’s Great-Great-Granddaughter
Dr. Tess Chakkalakal (Stowe Center Trustee) and Roz (Former Stowe Center Trustee) in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s home at Bowdoin College.
“Harriet’s legacy has always been a meaningful part of my life.”
Every Saturday morning, Roz meets with a group of neighbors in Damariscotta, ME to discuss the issues of today. In doing so, she honors the legacy of her great-great-grandmother, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Roz and her brother, Dr. Freeman “Towne” Allen, are the only living direct descendants of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
“Harriet’s legacy has always been a meaningful part of my life,” Roz shared. “My father, Dr. Henry Freeman Allen, always spoke adoringly of her throughout my life. To me, it was like she was alive.”
Like Stowe, Roz is committed to social justice, having been involved in working to resettle immigrants and refugees in the Boston area for 60 years. “Harriet had the courage to express herself,” says Roz, “She is an example for young people to know that they too can make a difference in the world.” Because of Roz’s support of our education programs, every fifth grader in Hartford Public Schools has toured the Stowe House and experienced a Stowe on the Go workshop, exploring Harriet’s impact and the power of words to make change.
Thanks to Roz’s generosity, a life-size bronze statue of Stowe will be erected on the Stowe Center grounds this spring. This is only the second life-sized sculpture of Stowe in the United States, the first by award-winning artist Brenda Councill at the Mandarin Museum & Historical Society in Florida where Stowe wintered after the Civil War. The sculpture in Mandarin, which Roz helped develop, was the inspiration for bringing a version of it to Harriet’s Hartford home.
Brenda Councill currently specializes in sculpture and large-scale murals, particularly bronze sculptures, monuments, and public art all over the globe. Stowe will be depicted by Councill once again, bringing Harriet to life in Harriet’s Backyard, a place where our community gathers.
Roz knows that bringing people together is essential to preserving our democracy: “America, since its founding 250 years ago, is an experiment, and is still the greatest experiment in the world. We have come a long way but still have a long way to go until we fulfill the promise of freedom and justice for all.”
“Harriet picked up her pen and changed the world,” says Roz. “We all can make a difference in our own way.” And Friends of Stowe, you do make a difference. Like Roz, your support is inspiring positive change. Thank you!
