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Officers:
Allen, Abram, Putnam County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Allen, Albert G, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Treasurer, 1835-36.
Anderson, Jno., Crawford, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Baer, Abraham, Stark County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39.
Bailey, Gamaliel, 1807-1859, Cincinnati, Ohio, Maryland, abolitionist leader, journalist, newspaper publisher and editor. Publisher and editor of National Era (founded 1847), of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Co-founded Cincinnati Anti-Slavery Society in 1835. Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Recording Secretary, 1836-37; Corresponding Secretary, 1837-38; Vice President, 1838-39; Executive Committee, 1840. Assistant and Co-Editor, The Abolitionist newspaper. Liberty Party. Published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1851-1852.
(Blue, 2005, pp. 21, 25-26, 28, 30, 34, 52, 55, 67, 148-149, 166, 192, 202, 223, 248; Dumond, 1961, pp. 163, 223, 264, 301; Filler, 1960, pp. 78, 150, 194-195, 245, 252; Harrold, 1995; Mitchell, 2007, pp. 4, 5, 14, 23, 24, 26, 27, 44, 46, 54, 61, 63, 69, 88-89, 91, 103, 106; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 50, 185; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 136; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 1, pp. 496-497; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 1, p. 881; Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Biography from Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
BAILEY, Gamaliel, journalist, b. in Mount Holly, N. J., 3 Dec., 1807; d. at sea, 5 June, 1859. He studied medicine in Philadelphia, and after obtaining his degree in 1828 sailed as a ship's doctor to China. He began his editorial career in the office of the “Methodist Protestant” in Baltimore, but in 1831 he removed to Cincinnati, where he served as hospital physician during the cholera epidemic. His sympathies being excited on the occasion of the expulsion of a number of students on account of anti-slavery views from Lane seminary, he became an active agitator against slavery, and in 1836 he associated himself with James G. Birney in the conduct of the “Cincinnati Philanthropist,” the earliest anti-slavery newspaper in the west, of which in 1837 he became sole editor. Twice in that year, and again in 1841, the printing-office was sacked by a mob. He issued the paper regularly until after the presidential election of 1844, when he was selected to direct the publication of a new abolitionist organ at Washington. The first number of the “National Era,” published under the auspices of the American and foreign anti-slavery society, appeared 1 Jan., 1847. In 1848 an angry mob laid siege to the office for three days, and finally separated under the influence of an eloquent harangue by the editor. The “Era,” in which “Uncle Tom's Cabin” originally appeared, ably presented the opinions of the anti-slavery party. Dr. Bailey died while on a voyage to Europe for his health. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 136.
Bancroft, William W., Granville, Ohio, abolitionist, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-40.
Beaman, Gamaliel, Pike County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Beaty, J. P., Fairfield, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Beebe, Ward W., Fairfield, Knox County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39. (Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835)
Beecher, George, Clinton County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-38.
Bell, Robert, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Bidwell, Riverius, Trumbull County, Ohio, abolitionist, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Bigham, Ebenezer, Holmes, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Birney, James G., 1792-1857, Cincinnati, Ohio, abolitionist leader, statesman, orator, writer, lawyer, jurist, newspaper publisher. Manager, 1836-37; Vice-President, 1837-38, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. On two occasions, mobs in Cincinnati attacked and wrecked his newspaper office. Beginning in 1832, Birney was an agent for the American Colonization Society, representing the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. In 1833, he transferred to agent in Kentucky. Wrote pro-colonization articles for Alabama Democrat. Editor of the Philanthropist, founded 1836. Founder and president of the Liberty Party in 1848. Third party presidential candidate, 1840, 1844. Founder University of Alabama. Native American rights advocate. Member of the American Colonization Society. American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-1836, Vice President, 1835-1836, 1836-1838, Executive Committee, 1838-1840, Corresponding Secretary, 1838-1840. American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, Secretary, 1840-1841, Executive Committee, 1840-1842. His writings include: “Ten Letters on Slavery and Colonization,” (1832-1833), “Addresses and Speeches,” (1835), “Vindication of the Abolitionists,” (1835), “The Philanthropist,” a weekly newspaper (1836-1837), “Address of Slaveholders,” (1836), “Argument on Fugitive Slave Case,” (1837), “Political Obligations of Abolitionists,” (1839), “American Churches the Bulwarks of American Slavery,” (1840), and “Speeches in England,” (1840).
(Birney, 1969; Blue, 2005, pp. 20-21, 25, 30, 32, 48-51, 55, 9-99, 101, 139, 142, 163, 186, 217; Burin, 2005, pp. 84, 112; Drake, 1950, pp. 141, 149, 159; Dumond, 1938; Dumond, 1961, pp. 90, 93, 176, 179, 185, 197, 198, 200-202, 257-262, 286, 297, 300-301, 303; Filler, 1960, pp. 55, 73, 77, 89, 94, 107, 128, 131, 137, 140-141, 148, 152, 156, 176; Fladeland, 1955; Harrold, 1995; Mabee, 1970, pp. 27, 36, 40, 41, 49, 54, 55, 60, 71, 92, 195, 228, 252,293, 301, 323, 328, 350; Mitchell, 2007, pp. 4-5, 7, 8, 13-15, 18, 21-31, 35, 50, 101, 199, 225; Pease, 1965, pp. 43-49; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 43-44, 46, 48, 163, 188-189, 364, 522; Sorin, 1971, pp. 25, 47, 51, 52, 65, 70n, 97, 103n; Staudenraus, P. J. The African Colonization Movement, 1816-1865. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 146-148, 211-212, 229-230; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, pp. 267-269; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 1, Pt. 2, pp. 291-294; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985, pp. 79-80; Birney, William, Jas. G. Birney and His Times, 1890; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 2; The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. II. New York: James T. White, 1892, pp. 312-313)
Biography from Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
BIRNEY, James Gillespie, statesman, b. in Danville, Ky., 4 Feb., 1792; d. in Perth Amboy, N. J., 25 Nov., 1857. His ancestors were Protestants of the province of Ulster, Ireland. His father, migrating to the United States at sixteen years of age, settled in Kentucky, became a wealthy merchant, manufacturer, and farmer, and for many years was president of the Danville bank. His mother died when he was three years old, and his early boyhood was passed under the care of a pious aunt. Giving promise of talent and force of character, he was liberally educated with a view to his becoming a lawyer and statesman. After preparation at good schools and at Transylvania university he was sent to Princeton, where he was graduated with honors in 1810. Having studied law for three years, chiefly under Alexander J. Dallas, of Philadelphia, he returned to his native place in 1814 and began practice. In 1816 he married a daughter of William McDowell, judge of the U. S. circuit court and one of several brothers who, with their relatives, connections, and descendants, were the most influential family in Kentucky. In the same year he was elected to the legislature, in which body he opposed and defeated in its original form a proposition to demand of the states of Ohio and Indiana the enactment of laws for the seizure, imprisonment, and delivery to owners of slaves escaping into their limits. His education in New Jersey and Pennsylvania at the time when the gradual emancipation laws of those states were in operation had led him to favor that solution of the slavery problem. In the year 1818 he removed to Alabama, bought a cotton plantation near Huntsville, and served as a member of the first legislature that assembled under the constitution of 1819. Though he was not a member of the convention that framed the instrument, it was chiefly through his influence that a provision of the Kentucky constitution, empowering the general assembly to emancipate slaves on making compensation to the owners, and to prohibit the bringing of slaves into the state for sale, was copied into it, with amendments designed to secure humane treatment for that unfortunate class. In the legislature he voted against a resolution of honor to Gen. Jackson, assigning his reasons in a forcible speech. This placed him politically in a small minority. In 1823, having found planting unprofitable, partly because of his refusal to permit his overseer to use the lash, he resumed at Huntsville the practice of his profession, was appointed solicitor of the northern circuit, and soon gained a large and lucrative practice. In 1826 he made a public profession of religion, united with the Presbyterian church, and was ever afterward a devout Christian. About the same time he began to contribute to the American colonization society, regarding it as preparing the way for gradual emancipation. In 1827 he procured the enactment by the Alabama legislature of a statute "to prohibit the importation of slaves into this state for sale or hire." In 1828 he was a candidate for presidential elector on the Adams ticket in Alabama, canvassed the state for the Adams party, and was regarded as its most prominent member. He was repeatedly elected mayor of Huntsville, and was recognized as the leader in educational movements and local improvements. In 1830 he was deputed by the trustees of the state university to select and recommend to them five persons as president and professors of that institution, also by the trustees of the Huntsville female seminary to select and employ three teachers. In the performance of these trusts he spent several months in the Atlantic states, extending his tour as far north as Massachusetts. His selections were approved. Returning home by way of Kentucky, he called on Henry Clay, with whom he had been on terms of friendship and political sympathy, and urged that statesman to place himself at the head of the gradual emancipation movement in Kentucky. The result of the interview was the final alienation in public matters and politics of the parties to it, though their friendly personal relations remained unchanged. Mr. Birney did not support Mr. Clay politically after 1830 or vote for him in 1832. For several years he was the confidential adviser and counsel of the Cherokee nation, an experience that led him to sympathize with bodies of men who were wronged under color of law. In 1831 he had become so sensible of the evil influences of slavery that he determined to remove his large family to a free state, and in the winter of that year visited Illinois and selected Jacksonville as the place of his future residence. Returning to Alabama, he was winding up his law business and selling his property with a view to removal, when he received, most unexpectedly, an appointment from the American colonization society as its agent for the southwest. From motives of duty he accepted and devoted himself for one year to the promotion of the objects of that society. Having become convinced that the slave-holders of the gulf states, with few exceptions, were hostile to the idea of emancipation in the future, he lost faith in the efficacy of colonization in that region. In his conversations about that time with southern politicians and men of influence he learned enough to satisfy him that, although the secret negotiations in 1829 of the Jackson administration for the purchase of Texas had failed, the project of annexing that province to the United States and forming several slave states out of its territory had not been abandoned; that a powerful combination existed at the south for the purpose of sending armed adventurers to Texas; and that southern politicians were united in the design to secure for the south a majority in the U. S. senate. The situation seemed to him to portend the permanence of slavery, with grave danger of civil war and disunion of the states. Resigning his agency and relinquishing his Illinois project, he removed, in November, 1833, to Kentucky for the purpose of separating it from the slave states by effecting the adoption of a system of gradual emancipation. He thought its example might be followed by Virginia and Tennessee, and that thus the slave states would be placed in a hopeless minority, and slavery in process of extinction. But public opinion in his native state had greatly changed since he had left it; the once powerful emancipation element had been weakened by the opposition of political leaders, and especially of Henry Clay. His efforts were sustained by very few. In June, 1834, he set free his own slaves and severed his connection with the colonization society, the practical effect of which, he had found, was to afford a pretext for postponing emancipation indefinitely. From this time he devoted himself with untiring zeal to the advocacy in Kentucky of the abolition of slavery. On 19 March, 1835, he formed the Kentucky anti-slavery society, consisting of forty members, several of whom had freed their slaves. In May, at New York, he made the principal speech at the meeting of the American anti-slavery society, and thenceforward he was identified with the Tappans, Judge William Jay, Theodore D. Weld, Alvan Stewart, Thomas Morris, and other northern abolitionists, who pursued their object by constitutional methods. In June, 1835, he issued a prospectus for the publication, beginning in August, of an anti-slavery weekly paper, at Danville, Ky.; but before the time fixed for issuing the first number the era of mob violence and social persecutions, directed against the opponents of slavery, set in. This was contemporaneous with the renewed organization of revolts in Texas; the beginning of the war for breaking up the refuge for fugitive slaves, waged for years against the Florida Seminoles; and the exclusion, by connivance of the postmaster-general, of anti-slavery papers from the U. S. mails; and it preceded, by a few months only, President Jackson's message, recommending not only the refusal of the use of the mails, but the passage of laws by congress and also by the non-slaveholding states for the suppression of “incendiary” (anti- slavery) publications. Mr. Birney found it impossible to obtain a publisher or printer; and as his own residence in Kentucky had become disagreeable and dangerous, he removed to Cincinnati, where he established his paper. His press was repeatedly destroyed by mobs; but he met all opposition with courage and succeeded finally in maintaining the freedom of the press in Cincinnati, exhibiting great personal courage, firmness, and judgment. On 22 Jan., 1836, a mob assembled at the court-house for the purpose of destroying his property and seizing his person; the city and county authorities had notified him of their inability to protect him; he attended the meeting, obtained leave to speak, and succeeded in defeating its object. As an editor, he was distinguished by a thorough knowledge of his subject, courtesy, candor, and large attainments as a jurist and statesman. The “Philanthropist” gained rapidly an extensive circulation. Having associated with him as editor Dr. Gamaliel Bailey, he devoted most of his own time to public speaking, visiting in this work most of the cities and towns in the free states and addressing committees of legislative bodies. His object was to awaken the people of the north to the danger menacing the freedom of speech and of the press, the trial by jury, the system of free labor, and the national constitution, from the encroachments of the slave-power and the plotted annexation of new slave states in the southwest. In recognition of his prominence as an anti-slavery leader, the executive committee of the American anti-slavery society unanimously elected him, in the summer of 1837, to the office of secretary. Having accepted, he removed to New York city, 20 Sept., 1837. In his new position he was the executive officer of the society, conducted its correspondence, selected and employed lecturers, directed the organization of auxiliaries, and prepared its reports. He attended the principal anti-slavery conventions, and his wise and conservative counsel had a marked influence on their action. He was faithful to the church, while he exposed and rebuked the ecclesiastical bodies that sustained slavery; and true to the constitution, while he denounced the constructions that severed it from the principles contained in its preamble and in the declaration of independence. To secession, whether of the north or south, he was inflexibly opposed. The toleration or establishment of slavery in any district or territory belonging to the United States, and its abolition in the slave states, except under the war power, he held was not within the legal power of congress; slavery was local, and freedom national. To vote he considered the duty of every citizen, and more especially of every member of the American anti-slavery society, the constitution of which recognized the duty of using both moral and political action for the removal of slavery. In the beginning of the agitation the abolitionists voted for such anti-slavery candidates as were nominated by the leading parties; but as the issues grew, under the aggressive action of the slave power, to include the right of petition, the freedom of speech and of the press, the trial by jury, the equality of all men before the law, the right of the free states to legislate for their own territory, and the right of congress to exclude slavery from the territories, the old parties ceased to nominate anti-slavery candidates, and the abolitionists were forced to make independent nominations for state officers and congress, and finally to form a national and constitutional party. Mr. Birney was their first and only choice as candidate for the presidency. During his absence in England, in 1840, and again in 1844, he was unanimously nominated by national conventions of the liberty party. At the former election he received 7,369 votes; and at the latter, 62,263. This number, it was claimed by his friends, would have been much larger if the electioneering agents of the whig party had not circulated, three days before the election and too late for denial and exposure, a forged letter purporting to be from Mr. Birney, announcing his withdrawal from the canvass, and advising anti-slavery men to vote for Mr. Clay. This is known as “the Garland forgery.” Its circulation in Ohio and New York probably gave the former state to Mr. Clay, and greatly diminished Mr. Birney's vote in the latter. In its essential doctrines the platform of the liberty party in 1840 and 1844 was identical with those that were subsequently adopted by the free-soil and republican parties. In the summer of 1845 Mr. Birney was disabled physically by partial paralysis, caused by a fall from a horse, and from that time he withdrew from active participation in politics, though he continued his contributions to the press. In September, 1839, he emancipated twenty-one slaves that belonged to his late father's estate, setting off to his co-heir $20,000, in compensation for her interest in them. In 1839 Mr. Birney lost his wife, and in the autumn of 1841 he married Miss Fitzhugh, sister of Mrs. Gerrit Smith, of New York. In 1842 he took up his residence in Bay City, Mich. In person he was of medium height, robust build, and handsome countenance. His manners were those of a polished man of the world, free from eccentricities, and marked with dignity. He had neither vices nor bad habits. As a presiding officer in a public meeting he was said to have no superior. As a public speaker he was generally calm and judicial in tone; but when under strong excitement he rose to eloquence. His chief writings were as follows: “Ten Letters on Slavery and Colonization,” addressed to R. R. Gurley (the first dated 12 July, 1832, the last 11 Dec., 1833); “Six Essays on Slavery and Colonization,” published in the Huntsville (Ala.) “Advocate” (May, June, and July, 1833); “Letter on Colonization,” resigning vice-presidency of Kentucky colonization society (15 July, 1834); “Letters to the Presbyterian Church” (1834); “Addresses and Speeches” (1835); “Vindication of the Abolitionists” (1835); “The Philanthropist,” a weekly newspaper (1836 and to September, 1837); “Letter to Col. Stone” (May, 1836); “Address to Slaveholders” (October, 1836); “Argument on Fugitive Slave Case” (1837); “Letter to F. H. Elmore,” of South Carolina (1838); “Political Obligations of Abolitionists” (1839); “Report on the Duty of Political Action,” for executive committee of the American anti-slavery society (May, 1839); “American Churches the Bulwarks of American Slavery” (1840); “Speeches in England” (1840); “Letter of Acceptance”; “Articles in Q. A. S. Magazine and Emancipator” (1837-'44); “Examination of the Decision of the U. S. Supreme Court,” in the case of Strader et al., v. Graham (1850). —His son, James, b. in Danville, Ky., 7 June, 1817; was a state senator in Michigan in 1859, and was lieutenant-governor of the state and acting governor in 1861-'3. He was appointed by President Grant, in 1876, minister at the Hague, and held that office until 1882.—Another son, William, lawyer, b. near Huntsville, Ala., 28 May, 1819. While pursuing his studies in Paris, in February, 1848, he took an active part in the revolution, and he was appointed on public competition professor of English literature in the college at Bourges. He entered the U. S. national service as captain in April, 1861, and rose through all the grades to the rank of brevet major-general of volunteers, commanding a division for the last two years of the civil war. He participated in the principal battles in Virginia, and, being sent for a short time to Florida after the battle of Olustee, regained possession of the principal parts of the state and of several of the confederate strongholds. ln 1863-'4, having been detailed by the war department as one of three superintendents of the organization of U. S. colored troops, he enlisted, mustered in, armed, equipped, drilled, and sent to the field seven regiments of those troops. In this work he opened all the slave-prisons in Baltimore, and freed their inmates, including many slaves belonging to men in the confederate armies. The result of his operations was to hasten the abolition of slavery in Maryland. He passed four years in Florida after the war, and in 1874 removed to Washington, D. C., where he practised his profession and became attorney for the District of Columbia.— The third son, Dion, physician, entered the army as lieutenant at the beginning of the civil war, rose to the rank of captain, and died in 1864 of disease contracted in the service.—The fourth son, David Bell, b. in Huntsville, Ala., 29 May, 1825; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 18 Oct., 1864, studied law in Cincinnati, and, after engaging in business in Michigan, began the practice of law in Philadelphia in 1848. He entered the army as lieutenant-colonel at the beginning of the civil war, and was made colonel of the 23d Pennsylvania volunteers, which regiment he raised, principally at his own expense, in the summer of 1861. He was promoted successively to brigadier and major-general of volunteers, and distinguished himself in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, the second battle of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. After the death of Gen. Berry he commanded the division, receiving his commission as major-general, 23 May, 1863. He commanded the 3d corps at Gettysburg, after Gen. Sickles was wounded, and on 23 July, 1864, was given the command of the 10th corps. He died of disease contracted in the service.—A fifth son, Fitzhugh, died, in 1864, of wounds and disease, in the service with the rank of colonel—A grandson, James Gillespie, was lieutenant and captain of cavalry, served as staff officer under Custer and Sheridan, was appointed lieutenant in the regular army at the close of the war; and died soon afterward of disease contracted in the service. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 267-269.
Bissell, Lucretius, Ashtabula, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Blackston, William, Athens, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Blackstone, Dr., Athens, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Blanchard, Jonathan, 1811-1892, Cincinnati, Ohio, clergyman, educator, abolitionist, theologian, lecturer. Worked for more than thirty years for the abolition of slavery. Member of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Manager, 1838-39, Executive Committee, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slaery Society. President of Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, 1845-1858. President, Illinois Institute. Vice president, World Anti-Slavery Convention, London, England, 1843. (Bailey, J.W., Knox College, 1860; Blanchard Papers, Wheaton College Library, Wheaton, Illinois; Blanchard Jonathan, and Rice, N.L. [1846], 1870; Dumond, 1961, p. 186; Kilby, 1959; Maas, 2003; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 196-197; Dictionary of American Biography, 1936, Vol. 1, pt. 2, pp. 350-351; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Brisbane, W. H., Hamilton, Ohio, Vice President and Executive Committee, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Brooke, Adam, Marlboro, Ohio, secretary, founder of the utopian community, The Marlboro Association. (Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835)
Brown, James C., Putnam, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Recording Secretary, 1835-36.
Bryant, Joseph, Ohio, abolitionist. Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Buckingham, Goodsell, Morgan, Richland County, Ohio, abolitionist. Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-37, Vice-President, 1837-38, Manager, 1840. (Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Buel, Daniel, Washington County, Ohio, abolitionist. Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Burgess, Dyer, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-37, Vice-President, 1837-39.
Bushnell, H., Executive Committee, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Cadwallader, William, Fayette, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Campbell, Alexander, Ripley, Ohio, Vice-President, 1835-39; Manager, 1836-38, 1779-1857, anti-slavery activist, b. Virginia, moved to Ohio in 1830, representative to the Ohio legislature, member of the U.S. Senate, 1809-1813, first Vice President of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, 1835 (Dumond, 1961, p. 93).
Campbell, Thomas, Campbell County, Ohio, abolitionist. Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1836-38.
Cattle, Jonas, Columbiana, Ohio, Vice President, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Cloppner, J. C., Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Colby, Isaac, abolitionist. Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-36, Manager, 1836-39.
Cook, William, Hamilton County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1837-38.
Coon, Jacob, Belmont County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-38.
Corner, Edwin, Morgan, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Cowles, Henry, Oberlin, Ohio, Manager, 1835-38, 1803-1881, Austinburgh, Ohio, clergyman, educator, anti-slavery activist, reformer. Manager, 1834-1836, and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833. (Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I, p. 757)
Biography from Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
COWLES, Henry, clergyman, b. in Norfolk, Conn., 24 April, 1803; d. 6 Sept., 1881. He was graduated at Yale in 1826, and held Congregational pastorates from 1828 till 1835. He was a professor of theology at Oberlin from 1835 till 1848. He published “Notes” on the Bible (16 vols., New York, 1867-'81); “Hebrew History” (New York, 1873); and other works. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. I. pp. 757.
Crothers, Samuel, Greenfield, Ohio, Vice-President, 1837-39, 1783-1856, Greenfield, Ohio, abolitionist, clergyman, noted theologian. Vice president, 1833-1837, and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833. Organized Paint Valley Abolitionist Society. Worked in Chillicothe Presbytery of Ohio. Wrote articles against slavery in quarterly anti-slavery magazine. (Dumond, 1961, pp. 91-92, 135; Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 21)
Biography from Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
CROTHERS, Samuel, clergyman, b. near Chambersburg, Pa., 22 Oct., 1783; d. in Oswego, Ill., 20 July, 1856. He went to Lexington, Ky., with his father in 1787, entered the academy there in 1798, and, after studying at the New York theological seminary, returned to Kentucky in 1809, and was licensed to preach by the Kentucky presbytery. After a year of missionary work, he was settled, in 1810, over the churches of Chillicothe and Greenfield, Ohio, but in 1813 devoted himself to the latter alone. In company with his former teacher in New York, Dr. Mason, he opposed close communion, and the exclusive use of what has been called inspired psalmody. Trouble growing out of his opinions on these subjects led him, in 1818, to resign his charge and move to Winchester, Ky.; but he returned to Greenfield in 1820, organized a new church, and remained pastor of it till his death. Dr. Crothers was a concise and vigorous writer and an eloquent preacher. See “Life and Writings of Samuel Crothers,” by A. Ritchie (Cincinnati 1857). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 21.
Curtis, H. J., Butler, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Cushing, Milton B., Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-38.
Denny, Samuel, Circleville, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39.
Dewitt, Luke, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Donaldson, Christian, Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-38, Treasurer.
Donaldson, William, abolitionist, Cincinnati, Ohio, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-1840. Treasurer, Executive Committee, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Drury, Asa, abolitionist, Granville, Ohio, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Duncan, Charles, Monroe County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-39.
Dunlavy, Francis, Warren County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39.
Eastman, David, Fayette, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Finley, C. B., Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-37.
Finney, Charles Grandison, Reverend, 1792-1875, Lorain, Ohio, clergyman, advocate of social reforms, author, publisher, president of Oberlin College, Ohio, 1851-1866, abolitionist. Manager, American Anti-Slavery Society, 1840-1841. Vice President, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. American Presbyterian Minister and leader in the “Second Great Awakening” in the United States. Also considered one of the “fathers of modern revivalism,” 1825-1835, in upstate New York and Manhattan.
(Dumond, 1961, pp. 154, 158-159, 163; Goodell, 1852, p. 492; Mabee, 1970, pp. 130, 151, 153, 218, 253, 291, 339, 403n25; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 511, 518; Sorin, 1971, pp. 12, 55, 67, 69, 97, 111-112; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 461; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 3, Pt. 2, p. 394; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985, pp. 290-292; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 7, p. 935; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Biography from Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
FINNEY, Charles Grandison, clergyman, b. in Warren, Litchfield co., Conn., 29 Aug., 1792; d. in Oberlin, Ohio, 16 Aug., 1875. He removed with his father to Oneida county, N. Y., in 1794, and when about twenty years old engaged in teaching in New Jersey. He began to study law in Jefferson county, N. Y., in 1818, but, having been converted in 1821, studied theology, was licensed to preach in the Presbyterian church in 1824, and began to labor as an evangelist. He met with great success in Utica, Troy, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. On his second visit to the last city, in 1832, the Chatham street theatre was bought and made into a church for him, and the New York “Evangelist” established as an advocate of the revival. His labors here resulted in the establishment of seven “free Presbyterian” churches, and in 1834 he became pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle, which had been built especially for him. Mr. Finney accepted, in 1835, the professorship of theology at Oberlin, which had just been founded by his friends, and retained it until his death. Here he assisted in establishing the “Oberlin Evangelist,” and afterward the “Oberlin Quarterly.” He also became pastor of the Congregational church in Oberlin in 1837; but continued at intervals to preach in New York and elsewhere. He spent three years in England as a revivalist, in 1849-'51 and 1858-'60, adding to his reputation for eloquence, and in 1851-'66 was president of Oberlin. Prof. Finney relied greatly on doctrinal preaching in his revivals, as opposed to animal excitement, and his sermons were plain, logical, and direct. He was an Abolitionist, an anti-mason, and an advocate of total abstinence. His chief works are “Lectures on Revivals,” which have been translated into several foreign languages (Boston, 1835; 13th ed., 1840; enlarged ed., Oberlin, 1868); “Lectures to Professing Christians” (Oberlin, 1836); “Sermons on Important Subjects” (New York, 1839); and “Lectures on Systematic Theology” (2 vols., Oberlin, 1847; London, 1851). After his death were published his “Memoirs,” written by himself (New York, 1876). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 461.
Flanner, William, Jefferson County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-38.
Foote, J. A., Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1837-39.
Fowler, Thomas, Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Galbraith, Nathan, Columbiana County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39.
Galladay, Peter H., Preble County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Galloway, Samuel, Clark County, Ohio, Manager, 1835-36, 1811-1872, lawyer, U.S. Congressman, Ohio, opponent of slavery. (Dumond, 1961, p. 219; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, p. 582; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 4, Pt. 1, p. 117)
Biography from Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
GALLOWAY, Samuel, lawyer, b. in Gettysburg, Pa., 20 March, 1811; d. in Columbus, Ohio, 5 April, 1872. He was of Scotch-Irish parentage. After removing to Ohio in 1819, he was graduated at Miami in 1833, at the head of his class, and in the following year taught a classical school at Hamilton, Ohio. In 1835 he was elected professor of ancient languages in Miami, but resigned in consequence of ill health in 1836. He resumed teaching in 1838, first at Springfield, Ohio, and later as professor of ancient languages at South Hanover college, Indiana. In 1841 he returned to Ohio, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1842. He practised in Chillicothe, Ohio, until1844, when he was elected to be secretary of state and removed to Columbus. He held this office for eight years, and after declining a re-election resumed his profession. In 1854 he was elected to congress as a Republican and served one term. He was defeated by S. S. Cox in 1856, and again in 1858. Mr. Galloway took an active part in the political conflicts arising out of the Kansas question. He rendered important legal services to the war department during the civil war. He was active in religious matters, and was for thirteen years a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church. Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 582.
Giddings, Joshua R., 1795-1865, Ashtabula County, Ohio, lawyer, statesman, U.S. Congressman, Whig from Ohio, elected in 1838. Manager, 1836-38, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. First abolitionist elected to House of Representatives. Worked to eliminate “gag rule,” which prohibited anti-slavery petitions. Served until 1859. Leader and founder of the Republican Party. Argued that slavery in territories and District of Columbia was unlawful. Active in Underground Railroad. Was censured by the House of Representatives for his opposition to slavery. Opposed Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and against further expansion of slavery into the new territories acquired during the Mexican War of 1846.
(Blue, 2005, pp. 69, 84, 86, 100, 163, 165, 188, 199, 201, 202, 216, 218-220, 221, 224, 245; Dumond, 1961, pp. 243-245, 302, 339, 368; Filler, 1960, pp. 103, 145, 186, 224, 247, 258, 264, 268; Locke, 1901, pp. 64, 175; Mabee, 1970, pp. 56, 63, 261, 305, 306; Miller, 1996; Mitchell, 2007, pp. 6, 23-26, 32-33, 45, 48-49, 54-55, 60, 61, 63, 65, 69-72, 131, 136, 162-163, 166-167; Pease, 1965, pp. 411-417; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 45, 47-49, 56, 173, 305, 316-318; Stewart, 1970; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 641-642; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 4, Pt. 1, p. 260; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 8, p. 946; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Biography from Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
GIDDINGS, Joshua Reed, statesman, b. in Athens, Bradford co., Pa., 6 Oct., 1795; d. in Montreal, Canada, 27 May, 1864. His parents removed to Canandaigua, N. Y., and in 1806 to Ashtabula county, Ohio, where the boy worked on his father's farm, and by devoting his evenings to hard study made up somewhat for his limited educational advantages. In 1812 he enlisted in a regiment commanded by Col. Richard Hayes, being the youngest member, and was in an expedition sent to the peninsula north of Sandusky bay. There, 29 Sept., 1812, twenty-two men, of whom he was one, had a skirmish with Indians, in which six of the soldiers were killed and six wounded. Mr. Giddings afterward erected a monument there to the memory of his fallen comrades. After the war he became a teacher, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1820. He was elected to the Ohio legislature in 1826, served one term, and declined a re-election. In 1838 'he was elected, as a Whig, to congress, where he had hardly taken his seat before he became prominent as an advocate of the right of petition, and the abolition of slavery and the domestic slave-trade. He had been known as an active abolitionist before his election. His first attempt to discuss the subject on the floor of congress, 11 Feb., 1839, was thwarted by the gag rule; but two years later, 9 Feb., 1841, he delivered a notable speech on the war with the Indians in which he maintained that the contest was waged solely in the interest of slavery, the object being to enslave the Maroons of that state, who were affiliated with the Seminoles, and break up the asylums for fugitives. This subject he set forth more elaborately years afterward in his “Exiles of Florida” (Columbus, Ohio, 1858; new ed., New York, 1863). In the autumn of 1841 the “Creole” sailed from Virginia for Louisiana with a cargo of slaves, who got possession of the vessel, ran into the British port of Nassau, N. P., and, in accordance with British law, were set free. In the excitement that followed, Daniel Webster, secretary of state, wrote to Edward Everett, U.S. minister at London saying that the government would demand indemnification for the owners of the slaves. Thereupon Mr. Giddings, 21 March, 1842, offered in the house of representatives a series of resolutions in which it was declared that, as slavery was an abridgment of a natural right, it had no force beyond the territorial jurisdiction that created it; that when an American vessel was not in the waters of any state it was under the jurisdiction of the United States alone, which had no authority to hold slaves; that the mutineers of the “Creole” had only their natural right to liberty, and any attempt to re-enslave them would be unconstitutional and dishonorable. So much excitement created by these resolutions that Mr. Giddings, on the advice of his friends, withdrew them, but said he would present them again at some future time. The house then, on motion of John Minor Botts, of Virginia, passed a resolution of (125 to 69), and by means of the previous question denied Mr. Giddings an opportunity to speak in his own defence. He at once resigned seat and appealed to his constituents, who re-elected him by a large majority. In the discussion of the “Amistad” case (see CINQUE), Mr. Giddings took the same ground as in the similar case of the “Creole,” and in a speech a few years later boldly maintained that to treat a human being as property was a crime. In 1843 he united with John Quincy Adams and seventeen other members of congress in issuing an address to the people of the country, declaring that the annexation of Texas “would be identical with dissolution”; and in the same year he published, under the pen-name of “Pacificus,” a notable series of political essays. A year later he and Mr. Adams presented a report discussing a memorial from the Massachusetts legislature, in which they declared that the liberties of the American people were founded on the truths of Christianity. On the Oregon question, he held that the claim of the United States to the whole territory was just, and should be enforced, but predicted that the Polk administration would not keep the promise on which it had been elected—expressed in the motto “Fifty-four forty, or fight”—and his prediction was fulfilled. In 1847 he refused to vote for Robert C. Winthrop, the candidate of his party for speaker of the house, on the ground that his position on the slavery question was not satisfactory; and the next year, for the same reason, he declined to support the candidacy of Gen. Taylor for the presidency, and acted with the Free-soil party. In 1849, with eight other congressmen, he refused to support any candidate for the speakership who would not pledge himself so to appoint the standing committees that petitions on the subject of slavery could obtain a fair consideration; and the consequence was the defeat of Mr. Winthrop and the election of Howell Cobb, the Democratic candidate. Mr. Giddings opposed the compromise measures of 1850, which included the fugitive-slave law, and the repeal of the Missouri compromise, taking a prominent part in the debates. In 1850, being charged with wrongfully taking important papers from the post-office, he demanded an investigation, and was exonerated by a committee that was composed chiefly of his political opponents. It was shown that the charge was the work of a conspiracy. In 1856, and again in 1858, he suddenly became unconscious, and fell while addressing the house. His congressional career of twenty years continuous service ended on 4 March, 1859, when he declined another nomination. In 1861 President Lincoln appointed him U. S. consul-general in Canada, which office he held until the time of his death. One who knew him personally writes: “He was about six feet one-inch in height, broad-shouldered, of very stalwart build, and was considered the most muscular man on the floor of the house. Whenever he spoke he was listened to with great attention by the whole house, the members frequently gathering around him. He had several affrays on the floor, but invariably came out ahead. On one occasion he was challenged by a southern member, and promptly accepted, selecting as the weapons two raw-hides. The combatants were to have their left hands tied together by the thumbs, and at a signal castigate each other till one cried enough. A look at Mr. Giddings's stalwart frame influenced the southerner to back out.” Mr. Giddings published a volume of his speeches (Boston, 1853), and wrote “The Rebellion: its Authors and Causes,” a history of the anti-slavery struggle in congress, which was issued posthumously (New York, 1864). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. II, pp. 641-642.
Gillett, H. S., Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Gilliland, James, b. 1761, South Carolina, Red Oak, Ohio, Presbyterian clergyman, anti-slavery activist. Vice President and Manager of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. Vice-President, 1835-39, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Censured and silenced for speaking for slave emancipation in 1796. Moved to Brown County, Ohio, in 1805. Pastor, Red Oak Church, with mixed race congregation. Known as “Father Gilliland.” (Dumond, 1961, pp. 91, 134-135; Locke, 1901, p. 90).
Gilman, Daniel, Preble, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Gilmore, Harvey, Athens, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Goss, Benjamin, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1838-39.
Guthrie, Austin A., Muskingum, Ohio, abolitionist, Putnam, Ohio, American Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1840-41.
Guthrie, Shelden, Putnam, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Guthrie, Stephen, Morgan County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Hambleton, James, Columbiana County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Hanna, Robert, abolitionist, Cadiz, Ohio, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1840-42, 1843-46.
Hawley, Orestes K., abolitionist, Austinburgh, Ohio. Manager, 1833-1837, and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833. (Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833).
Hayes, C. H., Carrol, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Hibbon, Thomas, Clinton County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-38.
Holyoke, William, Hamilton County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-37.
Hopkins, Timothy M, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Hopkins, Augustus, Stark County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Recording Secretary, 1837-39, Recording Secretary, Executive Committee, 1840. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Hudson, Timothy, Oberlin, Ohio, American Abolition Society, Vice-President, 1856-58.
Hudson, William N., Geauga County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1836-39.
Hunt, John, Athens, Delaware County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39, Vice President, 1840. (Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Isham, Warren, Portage County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
James, Thomas, Carrol, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Johnson, John B., Logan County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Johnson, Mathew, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Jollife, J., Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1837-39.
Jones, Theodore, Geauga, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Judson, Everton, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Keep, John, Oberlin, Ohio, educator, college trustee. Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1837-38. Opposed slavery, women’s and African American rights advocate. Trustee of Oberlin College from 1834-1870. Attended World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840.
Keys, William, Highland County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39.
Kilbourn, Asahel, Portage County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-39.
King, Leicester, 1789-1856, Warren, Ohio, abolitionist leader, political leader, businessman, jurist, leader of the anti-slavery Liberty Party. Manager, 1837-1839, and Vice President, 1839-1840, American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS). Ohio State Senator, 1835-1839. Member, Whig Party. U.S. Vice Presidential candidate, Liberty Party, in 1848. (Dumond, 1961, p. 302; Mitchell, 2007, p. 24; Rodriguez, 2007, p. 50).
Kingsbury, Harmon, Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-39.
Kirkpatrick, Peter, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-39.
Lewis, John S., Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Lewis, William, abolitionist leader, lawyer, founding member, counselor, Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1787. (Basker, 2005, pp. 92, 102).
Long, David, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-38.
Long, Richard, Ross County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-36, Manager, 1838-39.
Ludlow, James C., Executive Committee, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Ludlow, James D., Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Mahan, John B., Brown County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Maylin, Thomas, Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-38, Executive Committee, 1840.
McAboy, P. L., Gallia County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
McCullough, Samuel, Shelby County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
McFarland, Armor, Coshocton County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
McIntire, John, Crawford, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
McKee, C. B., Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Melendy, John, Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-38.
Miller, Daniel, Erie, Seneca County, Ohio, Vice-President, 1835-39, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Society of Friends, Quaker, abolitionist, member of the Association of Friends for Advocating the Cause of the Slave (Drake, 1950, p. 154; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840).
Moffitt, Lemuel, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Monteith, John, Elyria, Ohio, abolitionist. Manager and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833. (Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833).
Moore, Thomas, Carroll, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Nye, Horace, Muskingham County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-1840. (Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835; Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Palne, James H., Lake, Ohio, Vice President, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Parrish, F. D., Erie, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Porter, James, Holmes, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Price, R. B., Executive Committee, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Price, Reese E., Hamilton County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39.
Rankin, Alexander, Claremont County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36, 1836-38.
Rigden, L., Butler, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835)
Riggs, Joseph, Lawrence County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Robinson, Marius R., 1806-1876, Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, abolitionist. Alumnus of Lane University. Editor of The Ohio Anti-Slavery Bugle, 1849-18??. The newspaper was the official organ of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Worked with Augustus Wattles to set up schools for free Blacks. Worked with abolitionist James G. Birney in editing Philanthropist. Manager, American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), 1840-1843. Antislavery agent. (Dumond, 1961, pp. 160, 164, 174, 185, 220, 264).
Rogers, J. V., Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1838-39.
Rogers, Robert V., Pickaway County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Ross, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Seeley, Uri, Geauga County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1836-39.
Shedd, James A., Iowa, abolitionist, American Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1854-1857.
Sloan(e), William, Harrison County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-38.
Smart, Hugh, Greenville, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Smith, William, Huron, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
St. John, G. W., Ashtabula, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Stevenson, Joseph, Logan, Ohio, Vice President, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Sterling, John M., Cleveland, Ohio, abolitionist. Manager, 1833-1840, and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, December 1833. (Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833).
Stewart, Archibald, Madison County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-39.
Stewart, James, African American, businessman, anti-slavery activist. Husband of abolitionist Maria W. Stewart. (Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., & Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, eds. African American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2013, Vol. 10, p. 524).
Stewart, Robert, Ross County, Ohio, abolitionist, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-1840, Vice-President, 1840-1856. (Proceedings of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Convention, 1835)
Stone, I. I., Knox, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Taylor, Lester, Geauga, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Trimble, John, Knox, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Wales, Arva, Stark, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Walker, John, Gurnsey County, Ohio, abolitionist, American Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1840-1842.
Walker, John, Gurnsey County, Ohio, Manager, 1835-36; Vice-President, 1837-39.
Wallace, John, Muskingham County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-38.
Warner, G. W., Stark, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Wattles, Augustus, Cincinnati, Ohio, Corresponding Secretary, 1836-37, 1807-1883, established school for free Blacks. Agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Worked with Emigrant Aid Society in Lawrence, Kansas. Edited Herald of Freedom. (Dumond, 1961, pp. 164-165; Mabee, 1970, pp. 104, 155, 394n31, 403n29).
Waugh, J. S., Butler County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39.
Weeks, Zadoc, Huron, Ohio, Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Whipple, Levi, Muskingham County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Vice-President, 1835-39, Manager, 1840. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Whitehead, Jonathan, Franklin County, Ohio, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Williams, M. C., Manager, 1840, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. (Report of the Fifth Anniversary of the Ohio State Anti-Slavery Society, 1840)
Wilson, James, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Manager, 1835-36.
Wright, Elizur, Cleveland, Ohio, Vice-President, 1835-37, 1804-1885, New York City, reformer, editor, abolitionist leader. Vice president, 1833-1835, and founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), December 1833. Leader, Liberty Party. Editor of the Massachusetts Abolitionist, founded 1839.
(Dumond, 1961, pp. 177, 179, 245, 301; Filler, 1960, pp. 61, 63, 74, 132, 135, 156, 193; Goodheart, 1990; Mabee, 1970, pp. 189, 190, 256, 322, 339, 364; Mitchell, 2007, pp. 6-8, 13-14, 16-17, 20, 44, 46, 67, 72; Rodriguez, 2007, pp. 46, 521-522; Abolitionist, Vol. I, No. XII, December, 1833; Appletons’ Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI, pp. 621-622; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Vol. 10, Pt. 2, p. 548; American Reformers: An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, New York, 1985; American National Biography, Oxford University Press, New York, 2002, Vol. 24, p. 11)
Biography from Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography:
WRIGHT, Elizur, reformer, b. in South Canaan, Conn., 12 Feb., 1804; d. in Medford, Mass., 21 Nov., 1885. His father, Elizur (1762-1845), was graduated at Yale in 1781, and became known for his mathematical learning and devotion to the Presbyterian faith. In 1810 the family removed to Tallmadge, Ohio, and the son worked on the farm and attended an academy that was conducted by his father. His home was often the refuge for fugitive slaves, and he early acquired anti-slavery opinions. He was graduated at Yale in 1826, and taught in Groton, Mass. In 1829-'33 he was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in Western Reserve college, Hudson, Ohio. Mr. Wright attended the convention in Philadelphia in December, 1833, that formed the American anti-slavery society, of which he was chosen secretary, and, removing to New York, he took part in editing the “Emancipator.” He conducted the paper called “Human Rights” in 1834-'5, and the “Quarterly Anti-Slavery Magazine” in 1835-'8, and through his continued opposition to slavery incurred the enmity of its advocates. His house was once besieged by a mob, and an attempt was made to kidnap him and convey him to North Carolina. He removed to Boston in 1839, and became editor of the “Massachusetts Abolitionist.” For several years he was connected with the press, and in 1846 he established the “Chronotype,” a daily newspaper which he conducted until it was merged in the “Commonwealth” (1850), of which he was for a time the editor. Mr. Wright was twice indicted and tried for libel, in consequence of his severe strictures on the liquor interests while publishing the “Chronotype,” and again in 1851 for aiding the rescue in Boston of Shadrach, a runaway slave. Between 1853 and 1858, besides editing the “Railroad Times,” he gave his attention to invention and mechanics, constructing a spike-making machine, a water-faucet, and an improvement in pipe-coupling. He patented the last two, and manufactured them for a short time. In 1853 he published “Life Insurance Valuation Tables” (2d ed., revised and enlarged, 1871), and in 1858 he secured an act of the Massachusetts legislature to organize an insurance commission, on a basis that required the annual valuation of the policy liabilities of all life-insurance companies in the state. He was appointed insurance commissioner of Massachusetts under this act, which office he held until 1866. He obtained the passage of the Massachusetts non-forfeiture act of 1861, and also its substitute in 1880, which was embodied with some change in the insurance codification bill of 1887. He devised a new formula for finding the values of policies of various terms, now known as the “accumulation formula,” and, in order to facilitate his work, invented and afterward patented (1869) the arithmeter, a mechanical contrivance for multiplication and division, based on the logarithmic principle. Afterward he became consulting actuary for life-insurance companies. He was a delegate to the convention of 1840, which formed the Liberty party and nominated James G. Birney for the presidency, and edited “The Free American” in 1841. He was a promoter of the convention at Philadelphia on 4 July, 1876, which organized the National liberal league to support state secularization, and was the second president of the league, being twice re-elected. He was a member of the Forestry association, was instrumental in obtaining the Massachusetts forestry act of 1882, and labored for a permanent forest preserve. He wrote an introduction to Whittier's “Ballads, and other Poems” (London, 1844); and published a translation in verse of La Fontaine's “Fables” (2 vols., Boston, 1841; 2d ed., New York, 1859); “Savings Bank Life Insurance, with Illustrative Tables” (1872); “The Politics and Mysteries of Life Insurance” (1873); and “Myron Holley, and what he did for Liberty and True Religion,” a contribution to anti-slavery records (1882). Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Vol. VI. pp. 621-622.
