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OLD ANTI-SLAVERY DAYS. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THK 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE MEETING, 
 
 HELD BY THE 
 
 i)ar)Y^rs ili^bori(;al ooci^by^ 
 
 AT THE • • ;.. 
 
 toy;h hall, danvers, 
 
 APRII, :^6,. 1893, 
 
 WITH INTRODUCTION, LETTERS AND SKETCHES. 
 
 DANVERS : ^"v^ waSH^^- 
 
 DANVEKS MIRROR PRINT. it 'i^^ 
 
 1893. 
 
 [copyright, 1893, BY THE DANVERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.] 
 
77- 
 
OFFICERS AND ASSISTANTS, 181J2-93. 
 
 REV. ALFIJED V. PUTNAM, D.I) I'l-esidont. 
 
 HON. ALDEN P. WHITK, Vice-Fn'.sulrnt. 
 
 MISS SARAH E. HUNT, Sc.cn-tarn. 
 
 MRS. E. M. P. GOULD, Assistant Srcn-Uo-'j. 
 
 DUDLEY A. MASSEY, Tirasiircr. 
 
 GEORGE TAPLEY, i^ihrarimu 
 
 REV. WATSON M. AYltES Assii-tant l.ihniriau . 
 
 MRS. ISADORA E. KEXNEY, Cnnitor. 
 
 MRS. ANNIE G. NEWHVLL Assistant Curator, 
 
 EZKV 1). IIINES Historian. 
 
 MISS MAKY 1'. ROSS E^ porter and Ci-nvrnl Assistant. 
 
 D[':h:cT<)i;s. 
 
 ISRAEL II. ITTN.XM. NATHAN A. 1JUSII15Y. 
 
 M!{S. LOUISA P. WESTON. JOHN H. GOULD. 
 
 MRS, C. ADELINE H.\I,E. JOHN W. PORTER. 
 
 GEOI{GE A. PEU501)Y. CHARLES 11. MASUI'.Y. 
 
 MISS S \UAII W. .MUDGE. 
 
 EXECUTI VE COMMEITEE. 
 HON. A. P. WHITE, Chairman. 
 LSRAEL H I'UIN.VM. JOHN W. PORTER. 
 
 GEORGE A. PEAliODY. .: • ■ ALFRED P. PUTNAM. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 TAGE. 
 
 Introductory Chapter, or Danvers ami the Abolitionists vii-xxv 
 
 TiiK Mkktixo in Town Ham., Danvkus l-Gl 
 
 Prayer by Rev. William H. Fish, Dedham 2 
 
 Address and Son<; bv Mr. John W. Hutcliinson, Lynn 4 
 
 JJemarks by the Presiiieut of the Society ."> 
 
 Address by Mr. William L'oyd Garrison, Boston <j 
 
 Address by Rev. Samuel May. Leict-ster 12 
 
 Address by Hon. M. M. Fisher, MKhvay 18 
 
 Oriffinal Poem by Mr. Georjre B Bartlett, Concord 24 
 
 Song by tiie Hutchinsons. " (Jar af Emnncipnttoii" 2(! 
 
 Address by H'ln. Parker Pillsbury. Concord, N. H 27 
 
 Song hy the Hutchinsons, " Thcif's )i<> siicJ-l icnrd <is Fair ;-!3 
 
 " " " " •' TIk' Slave's Appi'dl" 35 
 
 Address bv Rev. George W. Porter. 1). 1), Lexington '60 
 
 Address by Mrs. Lucy Stone. Boston ;>8 
 
 Address by .VI rs. Abby M Diaz, Belmont 42 
 
 Address by Rev. Aaron Porte , Fast Alst«ad, N. H 45 
 
 Address by Mr. George W. Putnam, Lynn 50 
 
 Address by Mr. George T. Downing. Jsewport, R. 1 53 
 
 Address by Rev. Peter Randolph, Cliarlestovvn • 55 
 
 Address hy Miss Sarah H. Southwick, Wellesley Hills 5(] 
 
 Address by Rev. Daniel S Whitney, Southboro' 58 
 
 Soiig by the Hutcliinsons, " Vhc Old Graaite State.' • . . 59 
 
 Hymn, "J/./ Cuuntnj, 'tin of thi-c," offerings, etc 60 
 
 Lkttkks vuom Fuikxds <;2-94 
 
 Hon. Frederick Douglass, Anacostia, D. C «2 
 
 Mr. Charles K. Whipple, Newburyport »!3 
 
 Mrs. Kate Tannatt Woods, Salem ()5 
 
 Mr. Jo.seph A. Allen. Medrtehl Ct! 
 
 Rev. Thomas T. Stone. D. D., Bolton «'' 
 
 Hon Francis W. Bird. Walpole «7 
 
 Hon. Simeon Dodge, Marblehead (u 
 
 Rev. Joseph May. Philadelphia, Pa 08 
 
 Mr. John Curtis, Boston (>H 
 
 Rev. William H Fish, Dedham «8 
 
 Rev. Robert Collyer, New York, N. Y (19 
 
 Mrs. Caroline H Dall, Washington, D. C 70 
 
PACK. 
 
 Mr. Wendell Phillips Garrison, New York, N. Y 70 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth B. Chace, Valley Falls, li. 1 70 
 
 Rev. Kichanl S. Storrs, U. D., Brooklyn, N. Y 71 
 
 Mrs. Emily W. Taylor, Gennantown, Pa 71 
 
 Mrs. Eilnah D. Cheney, Jamaica Plain 72 
 
 Mrs. Henry Ward Bi-echer, Brooklyn, N. Y 73 
 
 Dr. W. Symington Brown, Stoneham 7,} 
 
 Mr. D. L. Binjiham, .Manchester, (with note about Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 Daniel W. Friend) 7:>, 
 
 Miss Anna L. Coffin, Newburyport 74 
 
 Mrs. Lillie B. Chace Wyman, Valley Falls, R. 1 75 
 
 Mr. Aaron M. Powell, New York, N. Y 7e, 
 
 Miss Mary Grew, Philadelphia, Pa 7(> 
 
 Mrs. Caroline M. Severance, Los Angeles, Cal 78 
 
 Miss Mary J. Loring, Wobiirn 78 
 
 Mr. Francis Jackson Garrison, Boston 7;t 
 
 Mr. Cornelius Wellington, East Lexington 7'.t 
 
 Mr. John J. May, Dorchester , 7i> 
 
 I'rof. Granville B. Putnam, Boston 80 
 
 Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, Chelsea 80 
 
 Mr. Lucian Newhall, Lynn • 80 
 
 Mr. Gilbert L. Streeter, Salem 81 
 
 Dr. James C. Jackson, North Adams 81 
 
 Rev. William W. Silvester. D. D., Philadelphia, Pa 83 
 
 Kcv. William H. Furness, D. D.. Philadelphia, Pa 84 
 
 Mr. John M. Lennox, Boston 84 
 
 Mrs. Martha Waldo Greene, East Greenwich, 11. 1 84 
 
 Mrs. Fanny Garrison Villard, New York, N. Y S5 
 
 Mr. Daniel Kicketson, New Bedford 8(5 
 
 Mr. Walter B. Allen, Lynn 8t) 
 
 Mr. Robert Adams, Fall River 8(! 
 
 Mr. William D. Thompson, Lynn 87 
 
 Mr. George W. Clark, Detroit, Mich 88 
 
 Dea. Joshua T. Everett, Westminster 89 
 
 Mr. Willi im Stone, New York, N. Y DO 
 
 Mr. D ivid Mead, Danvers ilO 
 
 Mrs. Anne E. Dnmon (with note about Mrs. F. E. Bigelow), Concord . i»l 
 
 Mr. J. M. W. Yerrinton, Chelsea 01 
 
 Col. Thomas W. Higginson, Cambridge •■)2 
 
 Mr. Theodore D. Weld, Hyde Park <)•_' 
 
 Mr. Charles E. Graves, Hartford, Conn «.)•_> 
 
 Rev. Samuel F. Smith, D. ])., Newton !);', 
 
 Mrs. Harriet M. Lothroi), Boston ;»5 
 
VI 
 
 PAGK. 
 
 BroGUAPHiCAL Skktciiks !)j-I40 
 
 Hev. William II. Fi>li !'"> 
 
 .lohu W. Hutchinson '^^ 
 
 William Lloj'd Garrison lOU 
 
 llev. Samuel May 101 
 
 Hon. M. M. Fisher lOH 
 
 Georiie B. Bartlett lO.') 
 
 Hon; Parker Pillshnry lOfi 
 
 llev. Georire W. Porter, I). 1) HI 
 
 Mrs. Lucy Stone 112 
 
 Mrs. Abby M. Diaz H'' 
 
 I?ev. Aaron Porter 118 
 
 Georire W. Putnam 11'.) 
 
 George 'r. ]~)owninir 1'-';! 
 
 Kev. Peter Uando'ph 120 
 
 Kev. Daniel S. Whitney ; . K^l 
 
 Miss Sarah H. Southwick 1^1 
 
 ADniTioNAi. CoNTHimrnoNs. 
 
 From Mr. Henry B. Blackwell, Boston 141 
 
 From Mr. F. B. Sanborn, Concord 144 
 
 From Charles A. Greene, M. D., Boston 147 
 
 From Mrs. Catharine S. B. Spear, Passaic, N. J 141) 
 
 From afiiend of Hon. Simeon Dod^e l.iO 
 
 ■'The Liberator" in Danvers 1.">1 
 
Introductory Chapter. 
 
 DANVKRS AND TIIK ABOLITIONISTS. 
 
 The Anti-Slavery Coniineniorative Meeting of Apiil 2Gtli, 
 1803, whose proceedings, witii Lctteis and Sketches, are pnh- 
 lished in the fullowiiig [lages, was originally designed to he of 
 chiefly local concern, having its place in a general conrse of 
 lectnres for the earlier part of the year, nnder the anspices of the 
 Danvers Histo.rical Societ}'. The deepening and widening interest 
 that was felt in it, how(»vcr, soon led to larger plans, and hence 
 the more pnl)lic character which the occasion finally assumed. 
 Circulars of invitation were sent to hundreds of friends, scattered 
 through various New England and other states, who were known 
 to have been specially identified or in sympathy- with tlie great 
 movement for emancipation, l>nt particularly, so far as theii' 
 names and addresses could be ascertained, to those among the 
 living who were earliest and most earue.stl}- devoted to the cause. 
 The favoral)le resi)onses that came from all quarters were as 
 prompt and numerous as they were hearty and gratifying, and the 
 result was a Reunion that witnes^^ed the presence of a sui'iirisingly 
 large numlier of nieml)ers of the Aliolition j)arties and organiza- 
 tions of former days, some of whom were among the most 
 consi)icuous and distinguished advocates of freed<jin for tlie shi\c 
 a half centur}' or more ago. It was a uiost impi-essive asseudilage 
 of the veterans ; and those of the audience who had not shared 
 in the labors oi- participated in the scenes of the momentous 
 struggle, had a rare oi>portunity of seeing and hearing men and 
 women who had l)een among the foremost in the fight and whose 
 names will not be lost to the coming generations. Whoever of 
 the throng had attended the memorable Anti-Slavery meetings ot 
 forty or fifty yeai-s before, could but have ])een struck with the 
 remarkabh; I'eprodiiction or renewal, now, of their esseijlial spiiil. 
 their salient features, and their peculiar charactei-istics and con- 
 
^•oniitants. A whole generation had elapsed from the time when 
 ihc tinal victory was won, bnt here again were the old voices in both 
 -speech and song, the same old battle words and love of truth and 
 jnstice, and the same unconventional ways, free and indei)endent 
 spirit, and intense interest and enthusiasm, with which some of 
 4IS were familiar in the days when the strife was hottest and when 
 the veterans knew so well how to do and dare for the right. But 
 for the absence of all signs of angry dissent or violent oppo- 
 sition, one might almost have fancied himself transported back to 
 the abolition meetings of the long ago which were so full of |)ur- 
 pose, eloquence antl life as to make well nigh all others seem 
 tame and meaningless in comparison. 
 
 The Anti-.Slavery enterprise, in its whole inception and aim, 
 5ts progress and development, and its ultimate success, was, as 
 iias often and truly been said, one of the grandest moral move- 
 anents in the centuries ; and in view of the fact that it belongs to 
 Jthe history of our own country, while its effects and influences 
 a-each out, more and more, far beyond our territorial limits, it 
 would seem that here indeed is a matter for inquiry and consider- 
 titiou on the part of such of our American societies as profess to 
 8je, or are supposed to be, devoted to the study of the past, how- 
 4iver little, as yet, they have given their attention to it. No 
 -•subject, no event, no epoch, no chapter of our national annals, 
 -can more properly claim their thought and research, and none 
 <'au more abundantly reward investigation. But especially desir- 
 .-jble and important is it, to gather iq) the necessary materials for 
 the story, while so many of the real actors in the drama still sur- 
 vive and are able to give their testimony and relate Iheir personal 
 4'xperience or recollections in relation to it. Such contributions 
 -ue of exceptional and incalculable value. In the not distant 
 future they may not be given as now, and it is plainly the duty 
 of our societies, large or small, older or younger, to do what they 
 <-an and may to procure and put on record facts or memories of 
 the c<^nflict which are more or less likely to be forgotten or 
 neglected, but which should be made to live and fullll their a[)pro- 
 2)riate ministry. The Danvers meeting, while of course it re- 
 Jjearscd much that was already well known, had also the merit or 
 
distinetion of eliciting imicli that was fresii uiul new, and tluis of 
 helping, in some humble way, to the desired result. Many of 
 those who were tliere, thirty yeai's after the Proclamation of Eman- 
 cipation by President Lincoln, must have realized that they were 
 gaining some better view and sense of the nature of slavery and 
 of the power that contended against it and brought it to destruc- 
 tion, than they had had before they came together. Nor was the 
 meeting less lielpful to this end because it was so free and popu- 
 lar in its spirit and al»ouuded S(i much in personal allusions and 
 remembrances and eai-nest sentiment and feeling, instead of 
 being occupied with some formal and labored historical ui- 
 pliilosopliical disquisition on the genei'al subject. It answered its 
 purpose best, because it was so vivid a life-pictaie of what it 
 sought to recall and commemorate. As such, it was a true and 
 genuine study of history itself. 
 
 Nor this alone. It was marked l)y moral lessons of the 
 iiighest import and value. As there has l)een no greater service 
 of man and God in our age than that which broke the 
 chains of the three millions of our oppressed and degraded 
 fellow-beings in the South, clothed them with the rights and 
 immunities of Ameilcan citizenship and made the nation free 
 ill fact as it was in name, so it was now seen, anew, what a noble 
 thing it is for souls to consecrate themselves to a righteous cause 
 and live for others; and it was seen, once more, that such devo- 
 tit^u or work is never in vain, that no enmities or hostilities can 
 avail to defeat it, that God is in it, and that in his own good time 
 it shall vindicate itself and gloiiously triunijih. It was worth the 
 while, for young and for old. to see and hear the confessors wh(» 
 had so loved the truth and who had so loved lil)erty tV)r all, whose 
 faith had known no fear and whose word had not been silencei^l, 
 who had bravely met the frowns and jeers and persecutions of 
 the world, and had still toiled on in trust and hope, and conquered 
 at last. Wiiile the many were in quest of money, or i)leasure, or 
 ottice, or i)()i)ularity, or power, or fame, these were willing to Ite 
 poor, to forego tlu' usually coveted i)rivileges and delights of life, 
 and to be of no I'eputation, yes, even to suffer, and if need were, 
 to die, if only ihi'ough their lal»ors and strijies and sacrifices some 
 
comfort or delivenmce might come to the trampled and the weaij 
 ones. Object lessons they were and are, to nispire men with 
 more faith in the power of truth, and with increased zeal for pei- 
 soual excellence and for the universal weal. It is these and such 
 as these, who have made it easier for others to believe and not to 
 doubt, to hold to the right against wluxtever odds, to keep in sight 
 the lofty ideals and to obey the heavenly vision, and still to press 
 on until the cross is exchanged for the crowni. It was good to be 
 there, at the commemoration scene ; and the eager and unflagging 
 attention of the audience to all that was said, and the vehement 
 and prolonged applause which followed Mr. Garrison's very able 
 and fine address and all the speeches that succeeded it, as well as 
 Mr. Bartlett's poem and the songs of the Ilutchinsous, showed 
 how deeply their hearers entered into the the spirit of the occasion, 
 and how well they seemed to take to heart the moral instruction 
 and incentives of the hour. 
 
 And it was meet that such a Reunion sliould take place in 
 ^anvers itself. The old town was one of the early centres of 
 earnest and active anti-slavery sentiment, and it lost none of its 
 interest in the work of reform in subsequent times, but steadil}'' 
 and progressively gave its voice and vote in its behalf in the 
 later days of the Free-Soil and early Republican parties. Not 
 long after Mr. Garrison entered upon his great crusade, he found 
 here, in the South I'arish (now Peabody), as well as in the North, 
 a respectable number of warm-hearted friends and sympathizers, 
 most <'f whom continued to the last to give him their strong sup- 
 port, while some of them eventually connected themselves with 
 l)olitical parties, the better to compass the object in view. 'J"he 
 earliest distinct trace of them in South Danvers takes us back to 
 the year 1831, when Isaac Winslow and his familj', from Maine, 
 Avere residing there, and when Joseph Southwick (one of the dele- 
 gates to the Philadelphia Convention that founded the American 
 Anti-Slavery Society uf 1833) came with his family from the 
 same State to reside with them, the two Quaker fami'"es being 
 closely related to each other by marriage, and the Southwicks 
 being descended from settlers in Danvers of about two hundred 
 years before. Additional information concerning this interesting 
 
circle of Friends is given in the address and sketch of Miss Sninh 
 H. fSonthwiek, as pnblished in sulisequent pages. T<igotlu r llicy 
 attended anti-shwery meetings and fairs in Boston, and «■(>ll^li- 
 tnted a nncleiis of aljolitionisni in the i»lace where they lixcd. 
 The Sontlnvicks, iiaving remained in Danvers lint for a ^ii glc 
 year. — tliongh Miss Soiitliwiek sonu>where refers to a sulisi (jiK'i.t 
 residence of three years (1.S53-5G) in the same village, — icuiovcd 
 to the city in 1835, yet still continued their devotion to the c;ins>! 
 in (^ompany with the Winslows. It was doubtless in the soiitluMii 
 l»art of the town that was formed, April 7th, 1<S37. a "■ Dniivcis 
 Fi'male Ar.ti-SlaveiT Society," of which Mrs. Isaac Winslow w.is 
 chosen the President ; Mrs. Kichard Loring, ^'ice-Presi(lellt ; 
 Miss Harriet N. Webster, Corresponding Secretary ; Miss Emily 
 Winslow, daughter of Isaac Winslow, (Mrs. Emily W. Taylor, 
 now of Germantown, Pa.), Kecording Secretary, and Mrs. Elijah 
 lil)ton. Treasurer; with Mrs. Eben Upton, Mrs. Amos Osborn, 
 Mrs. Benjamin Hill, Mrs. Charles Northend, JMrs. Alxd Nichols, 
 and Mis. John Morrison, as Councillors. The Society was evi- 
 <lently meant for the whole town and pi'obably its sixty memliers 
 represented the North Parish as well as the South. Mrs. Abel 
 Nichols, not to mention others, was of North Danvers, and she 
 and hei- husband were among the best of abolitionists. Their 
 daughter, the late Mrs. Eben G. Berry, recalled with what fear 
 and trembling she was wont, as a young girl, to circulate anti- 
 slavery documents, and their nephew, Mr, Andrew Nichols, now 
 of Danvers, son of Dr. Andrew Nichols, remembers how he used 
 to be stoned in the streets for procuring subscribers to anti-slavery 
 papers. But among the men of the place who were earnest for 
 emanciiiation, there were — besides Isaac Winslow and Joseph 
 Sonthwick — Mr . Abner Sanger, whom Ficderick Douglass so 
 <leservedly honors in his elocpient letter; Eli F. Buridiam, Amasa 
 P. Blake* and Andrew Porter; and Dr. Andrew Nichols and 
 Alonzo P. Phillips, both of whom were of the highest character 
 and came to be prominent and influential memliers of the Liberty 
 party. Some or all of these men, year after year, arranged for 
 
 * Mr. Amasa P. Blake <'ie(l while these paj^es liave been hi press, 
 Sept. 5, 18:);^. at alxjut the a.iie of seventy. He was a native of Sliellielcl, 
 Vt., and came to Danvers al)out fortv-tive vears aito. 
 
evening meetings or Sunday afternoon lectures, secured the ser- 
 vices of gifted and favorite speakers from abroad, and so i<ei>t 
 the fires of freedom l)rightly burning in that neighborhood. 
 
 North Danvers, or banvers as it now is, was still more, per- 
 haps, a theatre of zealous and determined propagandism. About 
 the time when the Winslows and the Southwicks first appeared in 
 South Danvers in 1H33-34, there seems to have existed liere some 
 kind of an association ot anti-slavery friends (of which, however, 
 no record is known to have been preserved) at ''The Neck," or 
 "New Mills," later known as Danversport. — having for its mem- 
 bers, Jesse V. Ilariimau, Kichard Hood, John Hood. Joseph 
 Merrill, Hatliorne Porter, Alfred K. Porter, John Cutler, William 
 Endicott, James D. Black, William Francis, Henry A. I 'otter. 
 Rev. Samuel Brimblecom, John 11. Patten, Dr. Kltenezer Hunt. 
 William Alley, Job Tyler, and Hercules Johnson, and [)()ssil)ly 
 some other gentlemen, assisted and encouraged as they all were 
 by good and faithful women, most of wdioin were of the same 
 names and families, yet others of whom were such true friends of 
 the cause as Mrs. Rachel Kenney, Miss E. H. Kenne}', (afterward 
 Mrs. Joseph Merrill), Miss Irene Kent, Miss Susan Hutchinson, 
 and Miss E. H. Hutchinson, subsequently the Secretary of the 
 Essex County Anti-Slavery Society. Oyly two of the men, whose 
 names have been given in the list, still survive : — Henry A. Potter, 
 now of Marblehead, and William Alley, now of Marlboro'. The 
 latter, alone, was present at the commemorative meeting, occupy- 
 ing a seat on the platform. Mrs. John Cutler was also present, 
 from Peal>ody. INIis James D. Black, who new lives at Law- 
 rence, was unable to attend. Mrs. William Endicott was living 
 in Danvers at the time, but in her greatly enfeebled condition she 
 could ill understand the nature of the occasion, and she has 
 since died. We are not aware that others of the wives of the 
 original members of the Society of 18;};3. tlieniselves all devotetl 
 to the anti-slavery cause with theii' husbands, were among the 
 living on the 2Gth of April last. The widow of Dr. Hunt — that 
 able and staunch Aliolitiouist who was at one lime tlu' candidate 
 of the Liberty Party for Lieutenant Govt-rnor of Massachusetts — 
 had, like himself, been previously married. SIk- became his wife 
 
in 18-14, :iii(l tlu-ii- only child is tlu- present Secii-'taiy of the Ilis- 
 toricjil Society. A daughter of .lohn I'Mge, K!^(l., of Dan vers, 
 Mrs. limit is lenienihered as having been from early life, not only 
 a remarkably luight and interesting lady, hut a vvarm friend of 
 the slave :ind an etlicient promoter of every henevolent work. 
 .She is said to li:i\e been one of the lirst two subscribei's in the 
 town foi' the JJIienitvr. Col. Jesse l*utnam, long since deceased, 
 being the other. She and her husband welcomed to their home, 
 and lu'arts and liel|»ful hands the fugitives from oppression. She 
 still survives, Itut like Mis. Kndicott, she was unable, by reason 
 of the iiiHrmities of age, to recall, at the time of the Commemo- 
 ration, the oUl jinti-slaverv days when she gave the rare beauty 
 and strength aii<l grace of her womanhood to the service of the 
 [toor and the wionged. It is such facts as these that impress us 
 deeply with a sense of the fast iliminisliing ranks of the true and 
 the faithful, and of the sure receding of the great drama and all 
 who shared its fortunes into the calm and changeless realm of 
 history. 
 
 It was [)erhaps a short time previous to 183:^-4, that Oliver 
 Johnson came to the town to deliver in the vestry of the First 
 Church, of which Kev. Milton 1'. Braman, I). I)., was the 
 minister, what was probably the earliest Anti-Slavery lecture ever 
 given in Danvers, a principal object of which was to combat the 
 Colonization scheme which Mr. Garrison, in 1832, had m^'rcilessly 
 attacked and exposed, in a well-known pamphlet publication on 
 the subject. It was probably in the year 183.3. possibly 1834, 
 that the writer of these pages, then aliout the age of seven, had 
 the good f(Mtune to hear, in the Baptist Chuivh at "-The Neck," 
 an eloquent Fourth of July Anti-Slavery oration by James D. 
 Black, who was at the time but nineteen or twenty years old. 
 We well recall the earnestness and vigor of that excellent address, 
 and the young man who delivere<l it, bright and gifted as he was, 
 lived to be, not only one of the leading Abolitionists of the town 
 lint also, in other ways, one of its most useful and honored 
 citizens, whatever the injustice he suffere<l during his life. It has 
 often been said of him that " he was the best mo<lerator of the 
 town meetings Danvers has ever known." Although Air. Torter 
 
XIV 
 
 has not iueluded him in his list of the "Seven Stars," yet, 
 
 whether that designation was nieajit to express a certain definite 
 
 number or not, our impression is that he really belonged to the 
 
 p-alaxy, as he certainly deserved the honor. It was in 1834, also, 
 
 that Rev. Cyrus P. Grosveaor,* an early and devoted champion 
 
 of freedom, who should not l)e forgotten, came from Salem, 
 
 where he was then settled, and likewise gave an Anti-Slavery 
 
 address iu the Baptist Church. In the same edifice, in 1835, a 
 
 laro-e number of people were privileged to hear the celebrated 
 
 George Thompson of England. And in 1837, we learn from an 
 
 old printed programme of the time, there was a Celebration of the 
 
 Fourth of July by the " Danvers Anti-Slavery Society," Rev. 
 
 Samuel Brimblecom being the orator of the day, and Alfred R. 
 
 Porter the poet, both of them members. 
 
 The seed thus sown, took root aud grew. From what soon 
 
 took place, it is evident that the cause was gaining new friends 
 
 and fresh strength. On the 2Gth of August, 1838, a meeting was 
 
 held in the Universalist Church at the "Neck," at which steps, 
 
 *The name of this early and emineut Anti-Slavery clergyman meets 
 us often in the history of tlie L'reat striiL'gle. While writing, in 1879, a 
 .seiies of articles about Abolitionism iu Dauvers for the Danvers Mirror, 
 I gathered from the late Dr. Henry Wheatiaiul, President of the Essex 
 lustitute, some particulars couceniing him, wliich may be of interest iu 
 this connection. He was a son of Kev. Daniel Grosvenor, who was born 
 iu Pomlret, Coun., April 20, 1750. and who. haviug graduated at Yale iu 
 17fi!). was settled successively at Grafton, Paxtou, aud Petersham, Mass. 
 The sou, Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor, was born at Petersham. He graduated 
 at Dartmouth College in 1818, afterward studied at the Princeton The- 
 ological vSeminary, and was still biter a Baptist minister at New Haven, 
 Conn., 1825-2G, at Boston, 1826-30, and at Salem, Mass., 1830-34. It was 
 while he was at Salem, that the Essex County Anti-Slavery Societ}' was 
 organized iu his own parlor, about ten or twelve persons being present. 
 He was at Sterling iu 1887, and subsequently he was President of Central 
 College, at McGrawsville, Cortland County, N. Y. While at McGraws- 
 ville, he was Corresponding Secretary, says William Goodell's very 
 \a.\v\Ah\{i lUstorti of Slarcnj and Anti-iSlavfry, of the Ame lean Baptist 
 Free Mission Society, which admitted no slave iiolding members ant' 
 recognized no distinction founded ou color. Said Dr. Wht-atland: "He 
 was a man of flue talents and scholarship and of unusual ability in the 
 pulpit. He was decided and radical, but sincere, devout, and conscien- 
 tious." He appears to have been foremost iu really setting the Anti- 
 Slavery ball iu motion in Salem and Essex ('ouuty. Subsetiu-^ntly he 
 joined the Liberty Party. The Salmi Register, of Mar. 3, ls7!), had the 
 following: " llt-v. Cyrus P, Grosvenor, LL. D., died recently at Albion, 
 Michigan, aged 86 years." 
 
 A. P. P. 
 
svere taken for reorganization, and Joseph IMerrill, Tlionias 
 Bowen, and John R. Langley, were appointed a committee to 
 diaft a constitntion for what was now to be ''The Yonng Men's 
 Anti-Shivery Society." The report of the committee having 
 heen presented and adoi)ted on the following Tnesday, Rev. 
 Samnel Brimblecom, the minister of the Universalist Church, was 
 chosen Presiient, (William Endicott being elected as his successor 
 ii year later), John R. Langley, Secretary, and Joseph Merrill, 
 Treasurer. The list of meml)ers at once became enlarged, and 
 included, not only the names already given as belonging to the 
 earlier and less compact and efficient association, but also these : 
 Thomas Bowen, John R. Langley, Jonathan Richardson, James 
 F. INIcIutire, Moses Black, Jr., P^lias Savage, John D. Andrews, 
 James M. Usher, Charles W. Page, John Hines, Oliver G. Wait, 
 James Kelley, Archelaus P. Black, Winthrop Andrews, Geoige 
 Kate, Joseph W. Legro, Benjamin Potter, Ingalls K. Mclntire, 
 Daniel Woodbury, Josiah Ross, Edward Stimpson, Jonathan 
 Eveleth, Charles Benjamin, Samuel P. Fowler, Oliver O. Brown, 
 Alexander A. Leavitt, William Needham, Elbridge G. Little, Jra 
 P. Clough, Abuer S. Mead, and Joseph Porter. Of the mem- 
 Iiers of this new or reorganized society of 1838, as mentioned in 
 the above two lists, oul}' nine were living at the time of the 
 Commeinoiative meeting; William Alley and Henr}' A. Pottei', 
 who, as stated above, also belonged to the eai'lier society ; J. R. 
 Langley, J. W. Legro, Winthro[) Andrews, and A. S. Mead, all 
 f>till of Danvers; and Daniel Woodbury, Jonathan Richardson 
 and Jonathan Eveleth, of^Peabod}', Essex and IJeverly, respectively. 
 Messrs. Langley, Andiews, Mead, Richaidson and Eveleth, were 
 present at the Reuni(ni, Mr, Andrews and_Mr. Mead occupying seats 
 on the platform, with Mr. David Mead (a brother of Abner), who is 
 iitill a resident of Danvers, and like his fiiend, Parker Pillsbury, 
 is 84 3'ears of age, and who, though his name does not ap[)ear in 
 i-ither of the lists, was ever a most decided and uncompromising 
 Abolitionist. All the other meml)crs of the Society — there were 
 forty-eight in all — are, it is believed, numbered with the dead. 
 Some of them were variously represented at the Commemorative 
 Keunioa l>y wives and children : — Ilathorne Porter by his sons 
 
Frederic (of Salem) niul Aaron ; .Toliii C'ntlei' aixl Moses IJlack 
 }»y their widows, Mrs. M. M. Cutler of Tealtody, and Mrs. 
 Harriet N. Black of Danvcrs ; William Kiidicott l»y his daughter, 
 IMrs. Henry G. Hyde; John Hines by his son, Ezra D. Hines, 
 Esq., histoiian of the Historical Society ; Samuel 1*. Fowler by 
 his daughter, Mrs. Clara F. Dubois ; Dr. Ebenezer Hunt by his 
 daughters, Katharine E. and Sarah E. Hunt ; and doubtless there 
 were others, the surviving members of whose families were 
 present at the meeting. 
 
 I>ut how w'iW these young men of Danvers, back there in 
 1S38, graspi- 1 t'le situation and d 'dicated themselves to the sacred 
 cause of Libel ty, when to do it was, to say the least, a sacrifice 
 of social consideration and popular favor, appears in the language 
 of the Treamltle of their Constitution and in the various Resolu- 
 tions which their society adopted. Says the Preamble : " Whereas, 
 it is established by evidence and facts beyond all doubt, that 
 Aineiican Slavery is a system wholly oi)posed to all natural rights 
 and completely at war with the Christian Religion, and as such 
 should be iiniuediately abolished, we, the undersigned, do adopt 
 the following constitution." And here, also, is one of their 
 earliest declarations : " Resolved^ that, whereas some millions of 
 our brethren are held in bondage, are deprived of all their rights, 
 political, civil, and religious, and are crushed to the level of the 
 brutes, therefore we, as abolitionists, aim not only at their eman- 
 cipation, but to restore them to their proper place in the scale of 
 moral beings, which CJod has designed them to enjoy." And 
 still again: " Hesoltmf, that professing ministers of the Gos- 
 pel who acknowledge Slavery to be a sin against God, but 
 who neglect to lift up their voices against it, or to exert them- 
 selves in any way for its abolition, give the public strong reasons 
 to regard them as time-serving men and unworthy of the con- 
 fidence usually reposed in them." 
 
 All honor to those who thus, at the outset, bore their fearless 
 testimony to the truth, and gave the strength, the freshness, the 
 dew, of their youthful manhood to the service of the slave, nor 
 counted the cost. They well deserve to be gratefully remembered. 
 Possibly a few of them were destined, sooner or later, to fall back 
 
from tlu'ir Iiigli moral vanta;j,L' ground into old polilical ii'lations 
 witli the \Vliig and Democratic parties of the time, in liie vain 
 and deUisive hope that through one or the other of these instru- 
 mentalities the evil of slavery might most surely, however grad- 
 ually, be mitigated, or removed. Others of them, like Dr. Hunt, 
 Elias Savage and Winthrop Andrews, were to join the Liberty 
 T'arty as the most direct ai,d effective way in which the land 
 might I»e redeemed from its curse and shame, while they would 
 still hoUl to the Church, and make it the Bulwark of Freedom 
 instead of the Bulwaik of Slaver}', as many deemed it to be. 
 Associated with them in this attitude and action, were such men 
 as Dea. Frederick Howe, Col. Jesse Putnam, John A. Learoytl 
 and I'eter Wait; and, in subsecpient years, Allen Knight, Francis 
 r. Putnam, Elias E. I'utnain, Alfred Fellows, and others — all of 
 whom, with their co-workers previously mentioned, were among 
 the truest Anti-Slavery men in Danvers. Hut a large proportion 
 of the later Society, and a still greater proportion of the earlier, 
 were more and more persuaded that the church was irretrieval)ly 
 given over to complicity with the sin and iniquity of the Slave 
 I'ower, and that to remain in connection with it under Buch 
 circumstances would be to partake of its wickedness and guilt ; 
 while at the same time they regarded the Union and the Civil 
 Government of the countiy as likewise the monstrous oppressor 
 and enemy of the manacled and down-trodden captive, and there- 
 fore the exercise of the usual functions and privileges of citizen- 
 ship under such a political system as a countenance and support 
 to it, and consequently as wrong and inexcusable. Hence they 
 withdrew from the church, declined to vote at the |)olls as they 
 would also have refused to hold otliccs and disowned the Union 
 and advocated its dissolution as a solemn daty and as the best 
 means of setting at libeity the objects of their pity and compas- 
 sion. They were " Comeouterx.'" Yet it was seen by others 
 that one could not well live under such a political rule at all, 
 could not at all remain iu such a country and enjoy the ordinary 
 intercourse of society and the manifold safeguards, opportunitit's 
 and blessings which its laws madi' a common lot for the millions, 
 witl.iDut his being in some monsuie a party to the very Power that 
 
xvm 
 
 was called in question and defied. Absolute freedom from all 
 entanglements would require self-expatriation. To pay laxes, to 
 make use of the post-office, to buy and own and sell, to ride on 
 the railroads, to share the general protection of courts, or of 
 municipal or state or national enactments or api)ointmeuts, waste 
 acknowledge and respect the central and supreme authority, 
 without which chaos would come again, — quite as much as if one 
 should cast his ballot, or be a constal)le or congressman. 
 
 Yet the class of abolitionists to whom we refer were most 
 conscientious in their action, and were as consistent as circum- 
 stances would allow, while virtually accepting the situation and 
 living still under a government which they protested against and 
 abjured. One can but greatly admire their high moral standard, 
 their strenuous effort to free themselves from all resi)onsibility 
 for slavery in whatever waj', and their willingness and readiness 
 to bear whatever it might cost them to be faithful to their own 
 honest convictions. And the cost was great. It was not without 
 struggle or sorrow that they disowned the grand bequest of the 
 fathers of the Republic, or renounced the church in which they 
 were born and reared, however wicked or corrupt one or the other 
 might be. Many of them were chnrch-members, long and 
 devotedly attached to the observances and sanctities that properly 
 belonged to it ; and they left it, not because they no longer 
 believed in Christianity or could no longer engage in its appro- 
 priate forms of worship and communion, but because of the very 
 strength and siucerit}' of their faith in it as such a pure and divine 
 revelation and reality, that it must never suffer stain or profana- 
 tion through the acts or words of its friends and adherents in 
 excusing, or defending, or aiding, or encouraging gigantic crimes 
 and the perpetrators of deeds of darkness. They were ridiculed 
 and anathematized for it, but here they took their stand, and it 
 must be acknowleged that it was lofty ground, however others 
 might have deemed it the part of wisdom and duty to still abide 
 in the Church, as well as in the Union, and tight the battle there, 
 until each and both were " without spot or wrinkle or any such 
 thing." And these men practically illustrated, in tiieir character 
 and daily life, the pure principles which they would faiu make the 
 
liiw of the hind. Most of them were of humble pursuits and 
 cu'cumstauces. They were tanners, and curriers, and shoemakers, 
 and artisans, and tillers of the soil, yet were they possessed of a 
 high degree of intelligence, even as they were surpassed by none 
 of their neighbors in their reverence for God and his Christ and 
 in their aim and effort to do the will of heaven, while the work 
 upon which they entered and which so fully enlisted their sympa- 
 thy and commanded their faculties and energies, had a wonderful 
 effect in educating them, in developing their mental and moral 
 powers, and in making them the bringers of light and life to 
 others. They held frequent meetings for talks, discussions, and 
 lectures. They attended conventions, far and near. They read 
 the Anti-Slavery literature, circulated papers and tracts, and 
 wrote for the Ziiherxitor and the Herald of Freedom. They 
 welcomed to their homes the Abolition orators, that the people 
 might hear them tell, in church, or hall, or schoolhouse, the story 
 of them that were in l)onds and the one duty of the hour, paying 
 out of their own scant earnings the too meagre expenses. I well 
 remember hearing, as a lad, a talk from that sterling, indefatiga- 
 ble Quaker abolitionist, Benjamin Lundy, precursor of Garrison, 
 as, after his patient and self-denying labors in the cause through- 
 out the country for moj-e than twenty years, he made a visit to 
 IJanvers (it could not have been long before his death at Lowell, 
 111., in 183'J) and discoursed one evening to a few friends in the 
 old schoolhouse at " The Neck." But there came from time to 
 time, and again and again. Garrison, Phillips, Pillsbury, and 
 Douglass themselves, with Stephen S. Foster and Abby Kelly, 
 Sarah and Angelina Grimke, Nathaniel P. Rogers, Henry C. 
 AV light, Charles Lennox Remond, Lucy Stone, Thomas Parnell 
 Beach, Sojourner Truth, George Bradburn, and indeed well nigh 
 all the abler and more eff'ective speakers of the old-line Abolition 
 l)arty whom the people would throng most to hear. Richard 
 Hood (Mr. Hood was most prominent in arranging for all these 
 occasions, and both he and Harriman suffered imprisonment on 
 account of their anti-slavery princii)les and activities), Harriman, 
 Merrill, and the rest, rendered no small service to the town in 
 bringing to it such visitoi's and voices as these, as an inspiration 
 
(»f lilievty and life to its citizens, and as a contribution to its 
 histoiy wliicli it will more antl moie be glad to remember and 
 record. The cause nowhere had more constant and faithful 
 servants than these men and their immediate associates. Mas- 
 tered by one great idea, or purpose, so far as they could consist- 
 ently with their secular avocations, they gave to it their time, 
 their thougiit, their strength, their means, their life, in full and 
 glad surrender. They lvei)t the community astir. They made 
 the peo|)le think and talk. The}^ were moral agitators. There 
 was no peace for the pro-slavery churches and political parties, 
 and tliere were not wanting occasions when some of the more 
 fiery spiiits from abroad, like Foster and Beach and Maria French, 
 seized with a consuming sense of the awful sin of slavery and 
 feeling that the apathy of professing Christians and of the people 
 generally was, to use the fit and forcible language of Mr. Garri- 
 son, "enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to 
 hasten the i-esurrection of the dead," — invaded Sunday congrega- 
 tions in the hours of public worship), interrupted their services, 
 rebuked them for their unfaithfulness, and threw them into inde- 
 scribable confusion ; — a method of warfare which, it should ])e 
 said, the editor of the Liberator^ with most of his noted associates 
 and the great inass of the Abolitionists, did not approve, albeit 
 many of them were inclined to excuse it. But however excusable 
 the procedure under the un^jrecedented provocations which 
 prompted it, it was plainly a violation of the letter and spirit of 
 the law, and of the sacred and inherent right of all men, or bodies 
 of nien, peaceably to assemble themselves together and worship 
 (iod in their own chosen way, or according to the dictates of their 
 own consciences, with none to molest them or make them afraid, 
 so long as they respect the public order and trespass not upon the 
 common privileges and interests of their neighbors or of society. 
 It was an essential right which the Abolitionists justly claimed 
 for themselves, and never more than when their meetings were 
 broken up by pro-slavery mobs or myrmidons. 
 
 Like all earnest reformers from time immemorial, who have 
 been on fire for truth or right and who have been called to wage 
 heroic warfare against the colossal sins and errors of their age, 
 
the (!:inisoui;iii i»arty, so well representetl hy the Danvcrs fricmls 
 we have referred to, were not seldom betra3-ed into varions indis. 
 cretions and excesses which were but natural, if not inevitable. 
 In such conlliets with intrenched and terrible wrong and injustice, 
 brave soldiers of freedom cannot always deliberately weigh their 
 words or carefully stud}^ propriety of action. Blows must rain 
 thick, ftist and heavy, and, as Edmund Burke said, Something 
 must be pardoned to the spirit of liberty. The Abolitionists 
 would themselves be the last to claim perfection and they have 
 quite enough without the award. Yet even their faults or errors 
 were not wholly without extenuation. If at times they vvere too 
 indiscriminate and sweeping ia their denunciations of chui'ch and 
 clergy, and of political leaders and parties, and seemed to forget 
 that there Mere amongst them thousands and thousands of true 
 anti-slavery men and women, it must not be forgotten how furiously 
 such organizations, or representatives of [)ublic opinion, de- 
 nounced these friends of emauciiiation, and visited them with 
 evei'y vile epithet and every maik of piosciiittion and disgrace, 
 and how many of tin; best of such bodies and classes, by reason 
 of tlieir atHIiations, were prone to disappoint expectations of their 
 fidelity to freedom and to jeoijaidi/.c its sacred interests, and 
 therefore needed constant watch and warning. And if it shall be 
 said that they were narrow and exclusive in spirit, indulging the 
 fond conceit that only those who walked with them or stood on 
 their particular platform could l)e counted as genuine Abolition- 
 ists, and not realizing how dilHcult it w\as, for those who dissented 
 from the disunion, non-voting, anti-church, and other theories, 
 which they connected with their anti-slavery gos[)el, to work with 
 them and so share with them the general responsibility, — it must 
 be remembered, also, tluit not a little of this lack of co-operation 
 was largely due to the mei-e fact that lierc was a despised, unpop- 
 ular and persecuted band of reformers ; that much which the 
 abolitionists associated with their ai)peals for the slave and which 
 others than themselves then regarded as so irrelevant, is now seen 
 to have been logically deducible from their fundamental principle ; 
 and that one, at least, of the proposed and related, but obnoxious 
 measures, is now marching on to assured victory. So that, with 
 
reference to more tluin one of the reform movements whieli were 
 urged I»y tlie Garrisonians, it may justly be said that the hxtter 
 were not so much in the wrong in their attitude and teaching and 
 work, as the}' were simply in advance of their time. Even with 
 regard t(j their advocacy of the dissolution of the Union, if the 
 impious and enormous plans and schemes of the ISoutii had still 
 gone on unchecked, and it had been indisputably evident to the 
 masses that ours was a nation that was in danger of soon becom- 
 ing permanentl}' the one great slave-holding empire of all history, 
 their platform would have been crowded indeed, and millions 
 instead of huncb-eds or thousands would, in due time, have joined 
 their ranks and demanded the annulment of the covenant. God 
 meant it otherwise and kept North and South together, that in 
 the death-grapple of Freedom with Slavery, the Right should pre- 
 vail and the Wrong should perish forever. The Union which 
 many thought was the sure Fortress and Strength of Slavery, 
 pi'oved to l)e its sure Destruction. 
 
 The future will make snudl account of an}' shortc(jmings 
 which men may see in the old Abolitionists. It is their everlasting 
 honor that, at tlie time when milliuiis of our fellow-creatures vvei'c 
 groaning under insutfeiable bondage within our borders, and 
 church, state, and people were alike deaf to their cries and were 
 devoted to sellish gain and pride and fashion and pleasure, they 
 wrre the llrst and foremost, as a class, to see the dreadful natui'c 
 of slaverv, t(j call the nation to repent and do works meet for 
 repentance, and to rouse the public to a sense of its duty and to 
 the needed action, giving themselves no rest until the beginning 
 of the end had come. In an age of moral blincbiess and obliquity, 
 of base compromises with the eternal riglit and of general world- 
 liness and sin, they kept themselves pui'c and free from the evil, 
 and maintained the highest character for strictness and even 
 sternness of personal rectitude, whatever the exceptions. Their 
 mission, their warfare, was a moral one. Their one supreme 
 object was inunediate and universal emancipation ; ami to agitate 
 and still to agitate the subject, and, in the service and for the sake 
 of it, boldly to face and liravely endure the mockings and ciuel- 
 ties of their guilty countrymen, until their work was accomplished, 
 
XXlll 
 
 or until otluTs slioiild ciitci- into it mikI coiniilctr it. w:is tlir l;isk 
 wiiicii in tlic i)i<i\iiU'iic(' of (it)(l was :issi<:nc'il tlicm, and to wliicli 
 tliey were faillirnl unto the imuI. It was iiot llu'iis inclccd to 
 fnllil it. Otiicrs were to take it up and carry it on to tiinnipli. 
 To these, as well, iK'loniis the mt-ed of i)iaise. A\'itiiout them, 
 shiveiT. so far as human vision uiiuht foresee, wouhl not have 
 been alxjiished. ISut the animatin<2; piiiicii)le of their liighest 
 endeavor and tiieir eiownint;' achievement came from those who 
 liad wron<;ht before theili, and without wliom, also, Freedom had 
 never won the victory, 'i'hese were they who inaugurated the 
 onter[)rise and bieathed into it the breath of life, and hcjwever 
 they might disapprove the methods of their successors, oi- however 
 justly they might not hold themsi-lves ifsponsible for the conse- 
 (luenccs of their own honest words or deeds, yet all the same is it 
 ti'ue, that the great originrd and solenui declaration of their pur- 
 pose and pi'inciples, to which they so steadfastly adhered, meant 
 and necessitated the Liberty and Fi'ce-Soil and I\e[)ublican Par- 
 ties, with Joslma K (iiddings and John V. Hale, C'hailes Sunnier 
 and Abraham Lincoln, ( Jrant, Sheiman, Sheriihin and Farragut ; 
 and forts and iron-clad^, and armies and navi's and battles. 
 Garrison might well ha\ i' said, with the Keformer of reformers, 
 " I came not to send peace, but a sword." Peace would come at 
 last, but only through war and agony. The great work of the 
 Abolitionists is seen, not alone in their own immediate labors, 
 but also, and not the K-ss, in the service of those who finally 
 struck off the chains of the enslaved and 'made them fi-ee indeed ; 
 and again the Scripture was verified : — '•'• And these all, having 
 obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, 
 God having provided some better thing for us, that the}' without 
 us should not be made perfect." They have renewed or i)crpet- 
 uated the line of the early Christians and martyr spirits of whom 
 the author of the Epistle wr(»te, and " of whom the world was not 
 worthy." A "• I'"ree-Soiler from the stai't," and still holding as 
 aforetime to the L'nion as to the (hni'ch, we nevertheless acknowl- 
 edge that not in Amei'ican history has there been another con- 
 spicuous exemi)lilication of such tine Apostolic faitii and practical 
 Chribtiauity as theirs ; none which we believe will shine with such 
 
briglitfiiing lustre in tin- roi-onls of our past. Wliati'vor chnngc 
 of religious oi)iniou or feelhig ail}' of theui may have coine to share 
 with others, in more recent years of such marked and general 
 drift in the theological world as we have all w^itnessed, no fouler 
 injustice could be done them than to say that in the course of 
 their anti-slavery service they were inimical to the Bible, or to 
 " the Way, the Truth, and the Life" whom it reveals. Garrison 
 
 himself said " Take away the Bible, and our warfare with 
 
 oppression, and infidelity, and iiitem[)erance, and impurity, and 
 crime, is at an end ; our weapons are wrested awa3\ our founda- 
 tion is removed; we have no authority to speak, and no courage 
 to act." As with the leadei', so with his associates, AVe our- 
 selves heard them all, from childhood up, and we never knew 
 preachers who seemed more familiar with the Book of books, who 
 had its truths and lessons more complctt'ly or readily at their 
 corwmand, or who more constantly, ai»tly, or powerfully applied 
 them to the sins and the sinners of their day. Their appeal yvas 
 ever to the spirit, the mind, the word, the example of the Christ, 
 as if they knew for a certainty that, once His law of love and life 
 should rule the souls of men, every fetter would break and every 
 slave would be free. And who like themselves, in all the land, 
 when Levites passed by on the other side, were the Good Samari- 
 tans to open their houses and hearts to the fugitives as they came, 
 *' wet, cold and hungry," or "panting, bleeding, and gory from 
 the hells of the South," and to feed and clothe, and comfort and 
 protect them, and send them safely on to the one sure refuge and 
 rest, defying unjust and infamous law, with all its tines and 
 imprisonments? All over the North wei-e these numberless shel- 
 ters of the hunted poor and friendless, and they were the homes 
 of the "unbelieving" and " profane" Abolitionists ! Had Christ 
 been oti the earth in those dark and i)erilons yeais. we know 
 what he would have done and where he would have found his own. 
 One of these days some other brilliant Macauley will take pen in 
 hand and write of the Puritans of Puritans, of tiie old Anti- 
 Slavery times. Meanwhile we may rejoice, indeed, that tha 
 source and cause of the nation's woe and humiliation is forevei- 
 of the past ; may still try to assuage the hurt of the people, of 
 
whatever race or color ; and while we yet remember the story and 
 gather fresh materials with which to illustrate it and emphasize 
 ^its lessons, may more and more cultivate friendly and harmonious 
 relations between all sections and classes of a once distracted and 
 endangered, but now free and glorious country, to realize the 
 vision of which so many of the early confessors and martyrs 
 toiled and waited in faith and liope, but died without the sight. 
 
 A. P. Putnam. 
 Concord, Sept. fi. 1893. 
 
 We give here the names of twme of the friends who were 
 present at the meeting, so far as we are able to recall them. We 
 would gladly have extended the list. Those who were grouped 
 on the platform are mentioned in connection with the picture, 
 (with the exception of one wliom we are unable to identify), 
 with several others who, occupying a front seat in the audience, 
 were caught una'w^ares by the photographer. Others are as 
 follows : — 
 
 Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, of Chelsea, Col. Henry Stone, of 
 South Boston, Mr. and Mrs. 1). L. Bingham, of Manchester, 
 George F. Allen, of Manchester, Dr. Gaston W. Fowler, of Lynn, 
 Mrs. Viola H. Campbell, of Lynn, Miss Kate L. Campbell, of 
 Lynn, Al)bie A. Flint, of Weymouth, Hon. and Mrs. Simeon 
 Dodge, of Marblehead, Mrs. Aaron Porter, of East Alstead, N. 
 H., Joseph G. Brown, of Lynn, Miss Helen Philbrick, of Salem, 
 Miss Eliza Philbrick, of Salem. Mrs. Mary Philbrick Swazey, of 
 Beverly. Climena Philbrick, of W. vSomerville, Hon. and Mrs. 
 Abuer C. Goodell, of Salem, Emma M. Lander, of Newburyport, 
 Lucian Newhall, of Lynn, p]mma D. Newhall, of Lynn, Gilbert 
 L. Streeter, of Salem, William D. Thompson, of Lynn, Lucretia 
 Thompson, of Lynn, Miss Mary H. Stone, of Salem, Miss 
 Caroline S. Rodman, of Wellesley Hills, Lydia M. Tcnney, 
 William Austin Brown, Joshua G. Dodge, of Arlington, Robert 
 Adams, of Fall River, Mrs. L^jdia R. Putnam, of Boston, 
 Miss Mary J. Loring, of Woburn, Dr. Mary L. Richmond, of 
 Boston. Rev. O. S. Butler, of Georgetown, Miss C. D. Fales, of 
 
Boston, Florence M. Atkinson, of Dorchester, Joseph A. Allen, 
 of Medfiekl, Rosa S. Allen, of Medfield, John Curtis, of Boston, 
 Abby Allen Davis, of W. Newton, S. Elizabeth Yerrintou, of 
 Chelsea, Hon. John I. Baker, of Beverly, Dora Taft Brigham, 
 of Boston, Edward L. Giddings, of Beverly, Charles Woodberry, 
 of Beverly, Wilbur M. Waite, of Lynn, Daniel W. Friend, of 
 Manchester, Julius F. Rabardy, of Manchester, Francis J. Garri- 
 son, of Boston, J. Russell May, of Boston, Mrs. Anna H. Weld, 
 of Hyde Park, Louis D. H. Weld, of Hyde Park, Miss Cornelia 
 A. Stickney, of Salem, Mrs. Charles Babcock, of Salem, sister of 
 Charles Lennox Remond, Mrs. Mary O. Stevens, of Peabody, 
 Hon. J. W. Berry, of Lynn, Miss Carrie E. Walton, of Salem, 
 Miss Lucy H. P:verett, of Plainfield, N. J., Hon. and Mrs. S. H. 
 Phillips, of Salem, Hon. A. A. Putnam, of Uxbridge, Mrs. 
 Emily P. Reed, and daughter. Miss Anne E. Reed, of Andover, Mrs. 
 Johu Cutler, of Peabody, Nathan A. Bushby, of Peabody, Jona- 
 than Eveleth, of Beverly, Jonathan Richardson, of Essex, Mrs. 
 W. A. Gorton, of Providence, R. I., Mrs. Hauuah Mausfield, of 
 W. Peabody, Mrs. Clara Oliver, of Peabody, Mr. C. C. Alvord, 
 of Philadelphia, now of Danvers, William E. Putnam, of Bos- 
 ton, Miss Margaret R. Putnam, of Concord, Mass., A. J. Archer, 
 of Salem, Mr. E. Kendall Jenkins, of Andover, Mr. Aaron 
 Nourse and daughter, of Salem, Mr. and INIrs. Frederic Porter, 
 of Salem. 
 
 Among the friends present belonging to Danvers there 
 were : — 
 
 Rev. and '^Irs. E. C. Ewing. Hon. Alden P. White, Hon. 
 aiid Mrs. Augustus JNIudgt', Mr. and Mrs. Ezra D. Hines, John 
 W. Porter and son John Endicott, Mrs. Sarah P. Fuller, and her 
 daughter Jessie, Miss Sarah W. Mudge, Mrs. Isadora E. Kenney, 
 Miss Katharine E. Hunt, Dr. Warren Porter, Israel H. Putnam, 
 Mrs. Andrew Putnam, Mrs. Ellen M. P. Gould, Mrs. Harriet N- 
 Black, Mrs. Edwin Mudge, Mrs. L. P. Weston, Mrs. Lucretia D. 
 Massey, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Langley, I\Ir. and Mrs. Andrew Nich- 
 ols, Mrs. John T. Ross, Mr. t^nd Mrs. Thomas T. Stone, Mr. 
 and Mrs. J. C. Butler, Mr. and Mrs. 4lfred Fellows, Dr. and Mrs. 
 C. W. Page, George Tapley, Miss Mary E. Kenney, Miss Oda 
 
Howe, Miss Margaret Howe, Mrs. Parker B. Francis, Mrs. J. 
 Warreu Mead, Mrs. Annie G. Newhall, Miss Caroline B. Faxon, 
 Mrs. Mary Vi. Pntuani, Miss Bessie Putnam, Horace Ross, and 
 daughter Miss Mary T. Ross, Rev. J. W. Hyde, Rev. W. H. 
 Trickey, Rev. Eugene DeNorraandie, Mr. and Mrs. Webster Put- 
 nam, Mrs. Henry B. Learnard, Miss Alice M. Putnam, Mrs. Joel 
 Kimball, Mrs. Irad Goodale, IMrs. Augustus Proctor, and her 
 sister, Mrs. Mansfield, Mrs. Fanny P. Gray, Mrs. Abby J. 
 Woodman and Miss Mary E. Johnson from" Oak Knoll," Charles 
 H. Preston, Mrs. Clara F. Dubois, Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Tapley, 
 Miss Isal)el Tapley, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Putnam, Mrs. Martha 
 P. Perry, Miss Mary B. Putnam, Mrs. Alice Barnard, Miss Lena 
 W. Trask, Mrs. David Mead, Mrs. Nathaniel Batson, Mrs. 8. 
 Lizzie Bradstreet, Miss Emilie K. Davis, Mrs. Daniel W. Wood- 
 man, Miss Addie Woodman, INIiss Hannah P. Cheever, Mrs. 
 Mud:iline L. Putnam, Mr. and ]\Irs. John Lummus, Charles H. 
 Masury, Dudley A. Massey, Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Porter, Miss 
 Azubah Kimball, El. E. Woodman, Mi-, and Mrs. Wm. A. Jacobs, 
 Miss INLary A. Bomer, IMiss Mary W. Nichols, William- S. Nichols, 
 Mrs. Nathan Oakes, Miss Betsey K. Warren, Mrs. Ellen B. Dodge, 
 JMiss Abby E. Richards, Miss Alice Richards, and William H. 
 Weston. 
 
 Mr. F. E. Moynahan, Flditor of the Danoers Mirror and 
 representative of the N. E. Associated Press, Mr. Edmund Noble 
 of the Jioston Herald (whose nanic is incorrectly given on a 
 sulisequent page), Mr. Fred Tebbets of the Boston Advertiser , 
 :ind other journalists, were present, and occupied seats near the 
 pl.itform. 
 
o 'C c/>^i w-'Ji 4. e~ 
 
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 V o S C 2 2 2"^ Q 2 S! 
 
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 2= i^ FP- 
 
 . -1- 4^ 4^ 4^ ^ t^j Vj c^ :^ -^^ 
 
 
0LB ANT-I-SIiAVE-RY DAYS. 
 
 THE MEETING IN TOWN HALL, DANVERS. 
 
 [Ki:p(»imi:i) for tiik Danvkrs IIistohkal So( iktv j.v ;\l!;. 
 Kdavaki) Xukle, axi> Otiikks.] 
 
 One of lliG most rLMiuirkaliU- iiiectiniis, eoinvuemoriitivo of 
 old aiiti-slaveiy days, ever held in this state or country, took 
 place in the Toavu Hall in I)an\ers on the afternoon of Wednes- 
 ilay, April 21), 1893, under the auspices of the Danvers Histoiic:U 
 Society. The gathering ^vas a notable one from many points of 
 view. It ])rought together veteran al)olitionists of both sexes, 
 who, on account of their extreme age, could never expect to come 
 together again foi' a like purpose ; it gave an opportunity, not 
 only for a number of bright speeches from men and women who 
 were engaged in the great movement aiming at the freeing of the 
 the slave, but also for the exchange of personal recollections by 
 actors in the stormy scenes that led u[) to emancipation ; it 
 focussed the interest and sympathies of abolitionist woi'kers who, 
 though unavoidably absent, could send letters of good cheer and 
 congratulation to those who were present ; and it did the excellent 
 service for the 3'oung people, of whom many were seen in the 
 audience, of refreshing their knowledge of a vital episode of the 
 nation's hi.'^tory, anil of inspiring them with a new enthusiasm for 
 a great movement in the interest of human rights and universal 
 brotherhood. The proceedings, which lasted from 1 to G.30 
 P. M., were also made memorable by the sweet singing of the 
 Hutchinson family, the members of which, led liy Mr. John AV- 
 Hutcliinson, sang a number of emancipation melodies and songs 
 of liberty. 
 
Tilt' pt'opk' l)L'gaii to gather in the iiK^niing, and were brought 
 into Danvers by various liorse ear, electric and steam raitroad 
 lines. IJosides visitors from Danvers i)roi)er, friends came from 
 Salem, Lynn, lioston, Amesbur}', Newburyport, and other parts 
 of Massachusetts or New England. On reaching Danvei's they 
 were enteitained at lunch, served at noon in the rooms of the 
 Danvers Historical Society, in the National Bank building. At 
 1 o'clock P. INI., the commemorative meeting was oi)ened in the 
 Town Ilall, the stage of which had lieen appropriately decorated 
 for the occasion. Along the front of the platform were arranged 
 a rich i)rofnsion of tlowers and potted plants, and fine portraits 
 of John G. Whittier, AVilliam Lloj'd Garrison, Charles Sumner, 
 and Kev. Samuel J.May, of Syracuse, N. Y., while the wall at 
 the rear was handsomely adorned with tlie stais and stripes and 
 other patriotic emblems or devices. 
 
 Ivev. Alfred V. I'utnam, D. D., President of the Danvers 
 Historical Society, occupied the chair, surrounded by prominent 
 abolitionists who were to take active part in the proceedings of 
 the afternoon and by other well-known friends of the anti-slavery 
 movement. The main audience included a large number of men 
 and women from far and near who had long been devoted to the 
 great work of emancipation, and many distinguished citizens 
 besides, of Essex County and neighboring districts. 
 
 The opening exercises were S(.mewhat delayed from various 
 causes, chiefly to allow a i^hotographic view to be taken of the 
 grou[) upon the platform by Mv. William T. Clark, of the Soule 
 Photograph Company. 
 
 At about two o'clock President Putnam I'ose and said: 
 
 (fathering under such circumstances, friends, it is meet that 
 we should give thanks to God for the great victory of Ereedom 
 which we have come together to commemorate, and should invoke 
 his blessing upon this scene. I call upon Rev. William H. Eish, 
 of Dedliam, a well known veteran in the cause, to offer prayer. 
 
 PRAYEPv BY REV. AVILLIAM H. EISH. 
 
 " Oh Thou, who art the unseen and infinite One, we rejoice 
 that Thou art yet always present with us to bless us and guide us 
 in our pros[)erities and our adversities, in life and death, as we 
 need. Now we come to Thee, thanking Thee, Holy Eather, for 
 
Hjis liri<;lit and Ix-atitifiil day. ^\\■ tliank Tlice for llu- imiUitude 
 tlial liave asseiiilik'd lieiv at tlu' call of this ^Society, drawn togc-th- 
 t'l- as we trust by a moral and spiritual attraction. ^Ve thank Thcc 
 L'spccially for the orcat and iilorious cause, Ihtc repiesciitcd and 
 conimcniorated. W'c thank 'i'luv fui' the iircal awakeniiiL!,- powi'r 
 that it was in its day, for the work t!i;it it did. in thine own 
 si)irit. and for the many good thinu> tli;it ha\eurown ont of it for 
 the welfare of man and wom;in. l-'nther. we thank Thee foi- the 
 uolile leaders, hapti/ed into the s[niit of C'hri.-.t. who inaimiMMted 
 this movement and led it on so earnestly and so [Mospeionsly. 
 We huild monuments to them more duraltle than in:nlile o ■ l)r:i.-.s 
 in our lieait of hearts, and so may it l»e with all tliis n.ition. 
 'J'honoli so many of them have gone from ns. and vaiushed out of 
 Dur sight, we are sure they are not dead. NVe cannot mnke them 
 (lead by any thought of ours. 'I'hey believed th;it tliey slioiild 
 live on forevermoie, and we hold them not oidy in our gi; teli.l 
 inemoi'y and our dee[) and reverent affection, but ;is li\ ing and 
 ministering spirits with ns here today. ^Vc l)less 'I'hee for tlu- 
 reformers of that earlier time who are still in the Hesh and aie 
 vsith us now, and who were so faithful in all their walks and w;iys. 
 And we bless Thee for their childi-en. and their children's chil- 
 tlren, so many of whom have had the spirit of theii' fathers and 
 their mothers in their hearts. And we bless Thee, too, for those 
 who consecrated to the scia ice of the slave their gift c)f song and 
 thus did so UHich to inspiie the people with the love of liberty. 
 And now we connneiid ourselves to Thee, praying that we who 
 are nearing the eternal world, soon to pass away, may devote 
 ourselves unto the end to wliaf -vei' is promoti\(' of the welfare of 
 others. JNlay we believe in 'I'hee, because we find 'J'hee in our 
 (leei)er soul ; ami being united with Thee as children to a father, 
 and having a calm and sweet confidence in 'I'hee wdien we come to 
 the close of this moital life, nniv each one of ns be able to say, 
 '•■ 'Ihe Loril is my Shepln'rd, J shall not want, lie maketh me to 
 lie down in green pastures, he lead'th me beside the still waters, 
 :ind though I walk fhi'ongh the valley of the shadow of death, I 
 will fear no evil." Ami then may we l)e admitted to a glad and end- 
 less i-eunion with all tlie dear ones who shall have gone before 
 ns, to receive the positi )ns and fidlill tlu' duties which thou wilt 
 assign to us, and so i)artake of a hapfuness which eye hath not 
 seen nor ear heard nor heart of man conceived of. And unto 
 Thee the all good and perfi'ct One. in the spii'it of Thy son .Jesus 
 Christ, we will offei' thanksgiving and praise through all our days 
 and in worlds unknown. Amen." 
 
 Pkksidkn r PiTN.\M : — We will now hear a souii' from the 
 
Hutchinsons, wlu>iu ^Ye have nskcnl to repeat some of the very 
 words and niiisie that tso thrilled the old anti-slavery meetings fox 
 so man_y years, and in so many places at home and abroad. ^ Our 
 venerable friend, Mr. John W. Hutchinson, the sole surviving 
 member of the famous (luartet. will, however, lirst sinp; a song 
 which he has written specially for this occasion and which he has 
 adapte<l to a tune of his own. I hope he will preface it with soiiie 
 reminiscences. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson then came forward and made the following 
 remarks, addressed particularly tD his former associates, after 
 which he sang ''Feii\ Faithful and True,'' accompanied in the 
 chorus by his daughter, Mrs. Viola Hutchinson Campbell, and lii.s 
 granddaughter, Miss Kate Campbell : — 
 
 ADDRESS AND SONG BY MR. JOHN W. HUTCHINSON. 
 
 Dear Friends: — This is an impressive occasion and a moment- 
 ous review. We liid you all a hearty welcome. To the few 
 veterans whose life has dwindled to so short a span, let me say, 
 we congratulate you that one more opportunity is offered that 
 will 'yield sacred remembrances of joys we have tasted, and of 
 true friendships we have experienced throughout the many yearsi 
 during which we lal)ored in the vineyard of good will to all man- 
 kind. 
 
 Your joys are full, and our hearts are made glad this day, 
 even though it should chance to lie the last. We meet here upon 
 ground sacred to the memoi'y of our anc( :^t<>l•s. who, two hundred 
 and fifty years ago, settled and culti\at»'d this soil, deriving title 
 from the aborigines who had so recently vacate<l their corn fields 
 and hunting grounds. Here seven genei-ations, beai'ing the name 
 of Hutchinson, have followed in due succession. From this place 
 heroes of that and man}' another family went forth to the defence 
 of liberty, and were among the bravest at the battles of LexingtoR 
 and Bunker Hill and in the struggles of the Revolution. We, who 
 have lived since that day of sharp conflicts with the foes of free- 
 dom, have rejoiced to hear again the sound of emancipation. And 
 now, in our old age, we assemble with our countrymen here and 
 connnemorate the events that established the fact that the nation 
 could live with chattel slavery entirely eliminated, and right made 
 triumphant. 
 
 Familial- as household words shall be the names of (Harrison. 
 Rogers, Thompson, Phillips, Douglass, Weld. (^)iiincy, Jackson- 
 Burleigh, Sunmer, Chase, Wilson, Birney, Brown, Foster. Kellc}', 
 May, Billsbury, Putnam, Mott, l^ni'vis, Chai)man, .Mcdvim, 
 
 
U'liittiiT, Al)r:ili;iui Liiirolii an 1 Lucy St<))U\ with the Ti'iliL' of 
 Ji'-se-, and full inaiiv (>tliiT>. 
 
 riu' scH'iu's and (>.-(/uri\'iiec-s of anU->la\-t'i'v (lavs shall, in dur 
 ?i(icial u'allii-M-iniL!,s, he rver ri'iin^MulnTrd. 1 caiinol cxpiH'ss. as I 
 would, the SL'iitiiui/nts I I'eid at such a uatlu'iiuLi- as this. The 
 a^s()(•iatio!ls of half a crntury of exixTJeiice niiuLili' with tlir>e 
 ji:issin<>,' hours and fill uu' with tleliLiiit, which I can only ti'V to 
 Tuiee in song. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson's spirited verses were smig with wonderful 
 
 j-ffcet, and those who were |)resent and who luid heard him forty 
 
 C'r fifty years before were kindled liy him with the same enthusi- 
 
 asiii as then and discovered no loss of his nuisical genius and 
 
 I'lectrifying power. We give the closing lines of his poem, as a 
 
 re-echo of the 0})ening stanzas, omitting the portions that touclu'd 
 
 more directly upon '' The (■om])at lieree, the liattle long.*' 
 
 " So, now, good friends, rejoice with iiio; 
 Tlie i^romised day we live lo see : 
 Witli grateful hearts and slrouic desire, 
 We wait the summons, 'Come up hiuherl' 
 Dear Conwades, faithful, tried, and true, 
 Heaven is waitiny- for such as you, 
 Your work on earth is fully done: 
 Ueeeive the crown tliut you have won. 
 
 ChoruH — TJejoice I flejoicc ! lie joiee I 
 'J'iic crown is won. " 
 
 REMARKS r,Y THE FRKSIDKNT. 
 
 Ladles unci Gentlemen: — As we ha\e laen delayed in our 
 jnoceedings l»y eir<nimstanees \A'ith which you are familiar, I shall 
 not long prevent you from listening to other speakers by any 
 W(jrds of my own. Dut 1 nniy lie permitted to say in behalf of 
 the Danvers Historical Society that 1 warndy welcome ;dl of you 
 to this commemoration of oUl anti slavery days. Es[)ecially do 
 ■we welcome the veterans who ;ire gathered here on the platform 
 or who are mingled in the larger crowd before me. — videi'ans (d' 
 many a well-fought battle, all or most of whom at the ver^' outset 
 dedicated themselves to the sacred cause of liberty and continued 
 in the light until the very end, subjected to persecution, to ont- 
 yage, to wi-ong, yet faithful ever to the principles of truth and 
 justice. We would fain do them special honor here and now. 
 and thank them from our very hearts, for the service whicdi they 
 have rendered, for the example which they have set, for the inlhi- 
 pnce wdiich they have exei'ted. for all that they have done for our 
 )>eloved country, and for the world at lai'ge. Von ha\-e taught us, 
 
dear I'l'iciuls (tlu' is[K'aker hxikiiiLi, .•M'ouikI the platfoi-m) . how Ui 
 staml for the riij;ht, to stand for it consistently and uncon)[ji-ouiis~ 
 ingly, :^ih1 havin<^ done all, to .>-^7/<<^/. We are all of us the better, 
 we trnst. for what 3'on have lieen, foi- what von have said, for the 
 lives tliat von ha\e live(l. 'J1ie Messinii' of them that weie ready 
 to perish is upon von, with the ui'owinu benedictions of a grateful 
 pieople. Thinned and wasted are yoni' ranks, and old age is with 
 nn)st of yon, yet we rejoice to know that von are all still young 
 and strong in thought and spii'it, and love and faitli. God grant 
 that the tinu' may yet be distant, when you shall go hence as liave 
 gone so many of y<jur comrades in the memorable conflict. But 
 be that day sooner or later, we are most h:ipl)y to have yon here, 
 and ho[)e to heai' something from yon of the innnortal stoi'V. For 
 better oi' worse, we have arranged for a single session oidy, and 
 what with so many addresses that are to be delivered, so many 
 letters to be read, and so manv songs to be sung, each si)eaker 
 is expected to be brief. We would gladly hear everyone at gi'eat 
 length, but th(> hours Hy fast and the committee have thought that 
 the amlienee would prefer to hear numerous short s[)eeches rather 
 than a few vei'y long ones, and they have made out the pi'o- 
 gramme accordingly. I have the pleasure now of introducing tn 
 3'ou a distinguished son of an illustrious fatliei' — a father who was 
 foremost to enter upon the great warfare, to tling the gauntlet 
 down at the feet of the slave power and breast the storm of hatred 
 and abus(! which he encountered — a son wdio worthily bears his 
 name, and inherits his l)lo()d, and i)ei'petuates his interest in every 
 good and holy cause — William Lloyd (xarrison. [Great applause.] 
 
 ADDKIvSS r>Y MK. W'ILLIA>[ LLOYD GAURISOX. 
 
 1 was invited by your President to speak, in the few minutes 
 allowed nu', upon the eaily anti-slavery life of my father. I could 
 add little if any to the record of his authentic Inographv. and 
 tlu'refore elect to treat of a pliasi' of tlie great nxnemeiit >ti'.l 
 confused and generally misunderstood because of snr\-iving preju- 
 dices ami of peisonal antagonisms unforgc^tten or inherited. 
 
 To one baptized in the early spiii'it of the cause, and boi'ii 
 into the circle of uueompron;ising aliolition, nothing is more, 
 marked in the cniient attempts to write history than the utter 
 failinc of historians to grasp the secret of the anti-slavery i-eform, 
 or to appreciate the undeviating ijolicy of its leader. TJie dis- 
 tance is not yet great enough to allow the proper perspective, and 
 the temper of the times is so swayed by the gosjxd of expediency 
 that we must wait for the just recognition which is sure to come 
 with the nation's ultimate moral regeneration. What Lowell has 
 
writton of Lincoln is c'(ni;ill_v ;ii»iilicaliK' to tlio pioneer of the anti- 
 shivery canse : 
 
 '• I [iraiso liim not; it wei-c luo late; 
 And some iiinative' weakness tliei'c iini>t he 
 In him wlio condeseends to vieiory 
 Snch as tiie Fresent uives, and eannot wail, 
 Safe in liiniself as in a fate. 
 So always tirnily lie: 
 He knew to hide his time, 
 And ean his fame aliide, 
 Siill patient ill his simple faith sublime, 
 "Till the wise years decide" 
 
 But now, when a sacred treaty with a fi'ieudly naticni, which 
 recoi>"nizes '' tlie inherent and inalienable rights (jf man to chaiijj.i.' 
 his home and allegiance . . . from (Mie country to another, for the 
 purposes of curiosity, of trade, or as jiermanent residents.' is 
 l)asely broken, — when the days of liu' Fugitive Slave Law are 
 reappearing with tin; Chinese for victims,— when the attem[tt to 
 steal Hawaii recalls the liUiliustering efrorts to sei/.e ('i;b;i. — when 
 a secret star-chanibei' treaty with Russia permits the Czar U) drag 
 back to death or exile the accaised polilical i-efngees who naturally 
 sought safety in the land of Washinutou and Lincoln.— when the 
 injustice to the Lidiaii and tlie soutliern negro is still coudoncMl, — 
 at such a time, what wonder t;;at the i)o[)ulai' estimate'of tlu> 
 (rari'lsonian abolitionists is false and misleading 1 
 
 Pick up the attem[)ted histories which Inne been written sinee 
 the civil wai', bearing upon the causes and the struggles which led 
 to the downfall of slavery, and read the authois' charactei'i/.atiou 
 of those impracticable men and wcjiiieii who eonteudc-d for *" im- 
 mediate and unconditional eman<n[)atiou" and demanded that the 
 •' covenant with Death and the agreement with Ih'U" be annulled. 
 You gather from the p<ntrayal that they were excellent and well- 
 meaning but fanatical i)eople, given to harsh language and using 
 methods subsequently sh.owii to be mistaken. '1 hat by their 
 idtimate action in sustaining the Lnion. as against the South, tliey 
 confessed the erior of their early contention, and must thei-efore 
 be considered less clear of vision than tie statesmen of tlu' He- 
 publican party. That, while they weie of service in (aeatiug a 
 moral sentiment against slavery, they must liavi; been an uncom- 
 fortable lot to associate with, ;ind the fact that society ignored 
 them is sullicient evidence to that effect. In short, they were a 
 necessary if disagreeable element in the great revolution, and 
 cannot therefore be left out of the histoiy, although it is frccjuent- 
 ly feasil)le to compi'ess them inlcj a few lines. Some " ca[)tain 
 with his gun," who, Init for these fanatics, would have .-lept in 
 oblivion, commands more pages. 
 
8 
 
 I shall aim to show with a forced conciseness, far too iuade- 
 (luate, that the very weakness alleged against the abolitionists was 
 their tower of strength ; that their direct language was their most 
 etfective virtue, that their refusal to take i)art in political organ- 
 izations vindicates their claim to the highest statesmanship ; that 
 their unbending adherence to absolute principle made them more 
 formidable than an army with banners ; and, finally, that the 
 '•' covenant with Death and the agreement with Hell" was annulled 
 with the destruction of the old Union, leaving no barrier to their 
 acceptance of the new. 
 
 In the initial day of anti-slaverv, as at present, he who an- 
 nounced the moral law and proclaimed its constant and inevitable 
 working, was forced to confront criticism and credulity and to 
 see himself held in contempt by the so-called practical party- 
 workers. Herbert Spencer, in his earlier and better day, has 
 admirably characterized " people who hate anything in the way 
 of exact conclnsious," to whom " right is never in either extreme, 
 })ut always half way between the extremes," who ai-e continually 
 trying to reconcile Yes and No ; who have great faith in the 
 '\iudicious mean," and who " would scarcely believe an oracle if 
 it uttered a full-length principle." " Were you to inquire of 
 them," he says, " whether the earth turns on its axis from east 
 to west or from west to east, you might almost expect the reply, — 
 ' A little of both,' or ' Not exactly either.' " And the wise phil- 
 osopher bids ns recollect "that ethical truth is as exact and as 
 peremptory as physical truth," that "there can be no half-and- 
 half opinions," and that in the nature of things " the fact must 
 be eitlicr one way or the other." 
 
 Long before Spencer formulated this axiom it was a[)pre- 
 hended and acted upon by Garrison. To his moral nature the 
 (piestion of obedience to the law could never arise, and. to his 
 eyes, disobedience was fraught with danger and punishment. To 
 aflirm that slaver}' was wrong, was to him equivalent to saying 
 that it must be abolished at once. " At once !" exclaims the 
 startled expedientist. ''• Think of the dangt^- and disturbance 
 to follow !" The calm reformer replied, "Wrong can never be 
 too quickly righted. The longer it prevails, the more terrible the 
 judgment." No efforts to shake his position prevailed. On 
 matters of mere opinion or expediency, no one was more accom- 
 modating than he, but on principle he stood like Gibraltar. So 
 he was ever a laudmark to steer by. Political promontories suffer 
 geographical changes. What chart could locate a Webster per- 
 manent enough to i)revent the shipwreck f)f mariners reckoning 
 on his stability? Who can measure the drift from his Plymouth 
 liock speech to that of the 7th of jNJarchV 
 
[} 
 
 S(_) llie primal wisdoui of (iuri'isou was lidi'lily to uii cliTiial 
 j)rineii)lc. It angered men and parties who were ineommoded l>y 
 such stuMiornness. Hence the change of liis unreasoninii,' i)rr- 
 sistcnc}'. Well did Lowell nnderstand it. 
 
 " Men of a tlionstuul shifts and wiles, look here! 
 
 See one stniiyhtrorwiird eonscitiuee pat in pawn 
 To win a world; see the ol)edient si)lR're 
 
 By bravery's simple iiiavitation drawn." 
 
 Clear-siglitednoss coutroUed the reformer when he deelined 
 to trust either himself or his cause to u political imrty. ]t In'ought 
 ui)on his head the augry denunciation whose echoes are not yet 
 .stilled. 
 
 It was natural for the Athenians to be weary of hearing 
 Aristides called •* the Just." AVhile he stood as the recognized 
 type of justice, the selUsh and the unjust felt keenly their con- 
 scious disadvantage. If the standard-bearer of nioralit}' would 
 not hold his emblem quite so steadily aloft, but would lower it 
 now and then to accommodate certain circumstances or conditions, 
 lie would be less irai)ractieable in the popular regard. Doubtless 
 he was reminded, as all reformers are, that " the ideal is all very 
 *vell, but that we must take things as we find them," and that 
 -" theory is one thing and practice is another," 
 
 Garrison never confused the functions of the reformer with 
 lose of the politician. One must keep himself in the clear 
 atmospliere of abstract truth, the other must mingle in the si rife 
 •of personal amViitions. As Theodore Parker well stated it, -'In 
 morals as in mathematics, a straight line is tlu; shortest distance 
 between two points." The course of tlu' Garrisonian abolition- 
 ists was without deflection, and for the vei'v reason ihat they had 
 no elections to carr^', no conservatives to placate. !io feai- of re- 
 sults. Results I A reformer who concerns himseU" vvith i-esults 
 loses his vision and his strength. " That is V.ni l)usiness of 
 Jupiter," not his. Ilis to see and [iroclaim j)iiiieii)h's which, 
 from their nature, can be trusted in their oi)oration. 
 
 I remeralier once expressing regret t(j my father that lu; 
 should differ with several of his anti-slavery friends on a certain 
 question, and suggesting reconsideration in conse(jiience. His 
 reply was in effect, '' If one would preserve liis jnoral vision tliei'e 
 are matters in which he should never consult with lle.sh and [)!o()d. 
 The question is with his own soul, and to in(iuire how such or 
 such a one thinks before deciding on his course is to lose discein- 
 ment and to invite confusion. What mattei' if all the world 
 iliffer?" Tliat such an attitude should provoke ex[)edienti»ls i.s 
 inevital)le. 
 
10 
 
 Tlie course of the anti-slavery political parties was of neces- 
 sity sinuous. Think of the crooks and turns of the pai'ty which, 
 startino- with James G. Bii'ney for its presidential candidate, ended 
 with JMartin Van Bureu ! And. np to the time of the civil war, — 
 brought about by the "• in'epressiljle conflict" which the abolitionists 
 ever preached, — its final candidate was blind enough to think that 
 he might save the Union without desti'oying slaver^'. Fortunate 
 was it for the reputation of IMr. Lincoln that his desire was over-- 
 ruled by omnipotence and his immortalit}' ensured b}' the circum- 
 stances he would fain have prevented. 
 
 The future historian will have for a most pregnant chai)ter- 
 the no-union position of the abolitionists. As a nioi'alist he will 
 l)e bound to recognize that for them to take an oath supporting a 
 pro-slavei-y constitution, which [)olitical action necessitated., 
 would have stultilied their conscience and impaired their powerful; 
 influence. To denounce slaveiy and then to agree to a constitu- 
 tional compact recognizing it and consenting to its immoral com-- 
 promises would have been an ethical paradox. Tiie abolitionists- 
 attempted no casuistry to justify political action. 
 
 The old Union was dissolved by the shot fired at Sumter. 
 To call States united, whereof half were liusily engaged in slaugh- 
 tering the other half, was to indulge in fiction. No dissolution 
 could have been more decided. Concpiest does not make a iniion. 
 Poland in chains did not mean union with Kussia. When -^ peace- 
 reigns in ^V'arsaw," we know what kind of i)eace it is. A sul)ju- 
 gated South was a nation tied l)y compulsion to the North, nor 
 was the union restored at Appomattox. The uncompleted i>ro- 
 cess has taken more than a quarter of a century and still goes on,. 
 l)ut with slavery eliminated ha|)pily no obstacle exists to prevent 
 the ultimate unity for which we so much long. Histor}^ will yet 
 recognize that the abolition cry for dissolution was the cry of 
 conscience as well as of prophecy. 
 
 Let me illucti'ate tlie political anti-slavery creed that is vaunted", 
 as the practical and efl'ective weapon which emancipated the slave.. 
 Listen to Richard H. Dana. Li 1.S48 he declared that he was a. 
 Free Soiler by inhei'itancH' and liecause he disliked subserviency 
 to the slave-holding oligarchy, adding, '' A technical Abolitionist 
 I am not. T am a constitutionalist, and in favor of adhering; 
 honestly to Ihe compromises of that instrument. If I were in. 
 Congress, and the South should come with clean hands, keeping; 
 faithfully her side of the compact, and demand of ns a fugitive- 
 slave law, I should feel bound to give her one." How long would 
 it lake such a propaganda to arouse a sleeping nation? The- 
 answer is ''• Until Doomsday." Slaverv never treml)led before 
 
1! 
 
 Micj ;i ]il:,t,'tii'in ;is tliat iipDii wliicli Lincoln \\":is iKnniiinted. How 
 it rends in the liiiht of events ! *• Tiie niaiiiteiiniiee inviolate of 
 tlie liulits of tile States, and es|)eeially tin- riulit of eaeli Stiite to 
 crilei' and conti'ol its own domeslie institntions [slavery inclnded] 
 according to its own jndjinient exehisively, is essential to that 
 halanee of powers on Mliieli the perfection and endnrance of oui' 
 political falirie de|)ends." \\'hat a triflinii; with conscience! 
 What a contempt for the hiiiiier law ! Ami aceordinti; to current 
 history it was sucli niea -and such party as this that aliolished 
 slaveiy ! 
 
 IIow shoit ari' memories ! I'ecanse in the stoi'm and stress 
 of civil war, and for self-preservation, t lie ])arty of compromise 
 and disitelief in alistraet light were foiced liy military necessiitj 
 alone to issue the edict of en!auei[)ation, to them is awardi^'d the 
 lionoi' and the yloi-v. ruwillinu' instruments, they forget tlu; 
 hand that used them for the mii>hty purpose. Ever ready to over- 
 look the rights of the slave, so that an election might lie carried 
 or .nil otii.H' won. it is the imrlisaus of such ex[)ediency who would 
 liolittle the pioneers. In the liiinament of the century the tele- 
 scope of real liistoiT will leveal clearly the lixed stars of abolition, 
 and their names will he an encourauement to the idealists and a 
 discom-agement to the time-servers. 
 
 The calm verdict yet to hv rendered will come at length from 
 the lace which was the \ictiiu of American Christianity. It wil! 
 weigh carefully the men and the events connected witli the free- 
 dom of foui- million slaves. Think von that it will (ind the lan- 
 gnau'e of the aliolitiouists harsh? 'i'hat it will hiame them for 
 declining political alliliat ions which dem.auded a iirolongation of 
 the sum of all villainies'.-' Will not tlie jury rather be inclined 
 to consider the language far too inadecpnite to meet the situation? 
 As for him who stood as the incarnate foe of o[)pression, advo- 
 catino,' it with such feivor and feeling that men who had never 
 seen him took it for m'anted that lie was i)lack, will the retlcf-tion 
 of the jurors be, '' Alas, that he was so impracticable I He might 
 have lieeii a niembei' of Congress or the holder of a fat ollice, but 
 he thi'ew ;iwav his great ch.'ince Iccanse he was so impracticable 
 that he could not forget them that are in bonds as bound with 
 them." 
 
 At this stage O" the meeting the Secretary, JMiss Hunt, read 
 elocpient letters ac'dressed to the President for the occasion, from 
 Hon. Fiederick Dou'jla>s, Mr. Theodtnc I). Weld, Rev. William 
 H. Furnes<, I). D., iNliss Mary Grew and Kev. Jose[)h May, ton of 
 Rev. .Samuel .1. May, of Syracuse. Dr. Putnani spoke of the 
 
12 
 
 earnest uiiil faillifiil devotion of tliesn (•<nspiiuous anti-s aveiy 
 champions, and, as Philadelphia, wheiv' several of thcni had lon^ 
 Jived and served, was one of the most influential centres of A'l- 
 olitionism hy reason of their work and inHucnee, he propos.'d 
 tiiat the following message should at once be forwaided to 
 them and their co-laLorers in that city : 
 
 "Danveks, JMass., April 20, 1893. 
 
 The Danvers Historical Society and other friends of Liberty, 
 now assembled here in commemoration of old Anti-Slavery days, 
 greet with grateful affection and honor Mary Grew, Kosanna 
 Tliompson, William Henry Fnrness, Kobert Purvis and their 
 Philadelphia associates in the cause of emancipation." 
 
 The message was greeted with loud applause by the an- 
 dieuce, and Iniving been heartily and unanimously adopted, was 
 sent by telegraph. 
 
 Prksidkxt PL"rxA:\i : I have no\v the great [)leasure of in- 
 troducing to you, as the next speaker, one of the original and 
 life-long co-workers with iMr. Garrison, one of the truest and 
 best of the great Reformer's friends and hel[)ers, who is widely 
 known for his iudefatigal)le zeal iu philanthroi)ic and Christian 
 service, and who has given added lusti'e to a name which many 
 others have made dear to lovers of (iod and marl* — the Rev. Sam- 
 \iel INIay, of Leicester. 
 
 ]Mr. May had a very warm reception as he rose to speak, 
 and his words commanded the close attention and entire sympa- 
 tliy of his hearers. 
 
 ADDRESS OF RKV. SAMUP:L IMAY. 
 
 The speaker said he should restrict himself to the alh)wed 
 tea minutes. He thanked Mr. Garrison for the fine anecdote of 
 his father, and s:ud it reminded him of one of "Wendell Phillips 
 which he thought worthy to go with it. He had been simihirly 
 urged l)y a fri.'ud t ) m >.l,M'at3 til:; s3V3rity of his speech: "You 
 are hindering your wt)rk, Mr. Phillips; you will ne\'er al)olis!i 
 slavery in this wav." "'My dear sir," was the re[)ly, "(bxl ditl 
 not send me into the world to abolisli slavery, but to do my 
 duty." [The further remarks of jNIr. JMay are in the moie ex- 
 tended form which he had prepared for the occasion.] 
 
 No more appropriate place than the County of Essex, for 
 
holiiiii.u' :i iiuctiiiu' to cciiinH'nH'i'iilc tln' overthrow of slavciy. 
 couUl tie found. It \v;i8 the liirlliphiee. within :i few _ve;ii's of 
 eneh oilier, within :i few mihs of e;ich otiier. of \\'illi;ini i.U)\il 
 Gai'iison :ni(l of .lolni ( ii'eeiilc ;if \\' hitlitr.— t w <> iic n who it::iT 
 ])(' said to have created thi' nio\cinent. which h d directly lo liic 
 Aluilition of ShiNcrv in this land. 'I'here were aholitionists lie- 
 fore their day; faitld'nl souls who caiTied the Imrden of the 
 slave's wrongs in their heaits 'all theii- lives: Imt they scai'ccly 
 knew each other; ar.d tlu'ie ^\:ls ro (onceitcd action amop.g 
 tlioni. It was in every ease -aw in iivi hi d [irotest and a disro- 
 jiarded warninu'. llenjamin Lnndy went on foot from state to 
 stale, from Ik-usc to lunise, tellinjj,- the shameful story ; sti'ivin.g 
 to awaken couscienci' and feeliui)' ; printin;j,' an edition of his 
 paper now here, now there, and nuiiling it Avhen printed to his 
 few suijscrihers, and such others as his means allowed. Edwui 
 M. Stanton, President Lincoln's able and fearless War Secretary, 
 told me in his own oflice, just after the close of the War of the 
 Rebellion, that Mv. Lunch' was accustomed to make periodical 
 visits to his father's house, in Ohio ; — the wrongs of slavery his 
 constant theme. That Woolman, Benezet, Franklin, Rush, Ed- 
 wards, Lundy and others, pre[)ared the ground and sowed good 
 seed cannot be doubted, lint the conscience of the nation 
 seemed paralyzed. Its young people were hearing the fatal doc- 
 trines of slavery's constitutional rights from Calhoun and Mc- 
 Duftie, of expediency and compromise from Henry Clay and Pvl- 
 ward Everett, from liishops and joriests, from political editors and 
 from theological seminaries. The noble words wdiich Daniel 
 Webster spoke at Plymouth Rock, in 1820, against the still ac- 
 tive slave trade failed to arouse the American heart; and he soon 
 forgot them himself. Abject acquiescence with the slavehokliug 
 demands was everywhere. There was no open vision. There 
 was no pi'ophetic word. 
 
 But that word was to be uttered ; and it came from a son oi 
 Essex County, Massachusetts. It said: — ''I have determined at 
 every hazard to lift up the standard of emancipation in the eyes 
 of the nation, within sight of Hunker Hill and in the birthplace of 
 liberty. * * \ shall sti'enously contend for the immediate en- 
 franchisement of our slave i)o[)ulation. - * * i am in ea.i- 
 nest. I will not ecjiiivocate. I will not excuse. I will not 
 retreat a single inch, and I will be heard." Thus did Williarji 
 Llosxl Garrison throw down the gauntlet, .b-iniiaiy 1st, INMl. 
 That he took his life in his hand, we have all heard — some of us 
 I'einember. The great command was on iiiin. ••Thou shnlt speak 
 my word to tJiem. whether iliev will hear or whether they will 
 forbear." 
 
14 
 
 But it was the voice of one cryiiiu' in the wiliKM-ncs-;. Soiii.- 
 listened aiul euine I)y ni>iht. to iiKiuire : and a few juiiUMJ openly. 
 Twelve men gathered in a room in Uo.ston. in l.S.ii. and foimed 
 Tiie New England Anti-ShiviTV Society. A Sont'i m'u l-uislatnie 
 in Noveml)er, I80I, proclaimed a leward of live t.ionsand ih)lhiib 
 for the head of the Liberator, William Lloyd (!arri.son. Ilerod 
 (sought the young" life U) destroy it; ami, as \Vhittier wrote, 
 Pilate and Herod weie made friends to accoinplish it. Those 
 who ventured to speak were assaulted, suhjected to abuse and in- 
 jury, east into prison, their houses and hulls burnt to the ground, 
 not a few put to death. The rulers and all who sought to l>e 
 Siuch, conspired against them. Some, who ran well for a time, 
 Vy'ere bye and bye offended ; forsook the cause and fled ; and 
 iBome betrayed it, to escape martyrdom themselves. It was among 
 the plain people, the common people, that the call of Fi'eedom 
 "was heard gladly by jMiblicans and sinneis, in the absence of 
 saints, by a few Ival)l)is and lawyers, with now and then a man 
 of learning, genius and eloquence. Sometimes one came who 
 I)rought his wealth to Freedom's service. The mighty autl the 
 wise, with rarest exceptions, stood aloof or wei'e hostile. It 
 was the experience of all time. As Lowell wrote : 
 
 ■'Right forever 011 the seartoUl, VVronu forev r on the throne:" 
 Ikit he added, 
 
 "Yet tiiat scaftbkl sways the future, and, l)eliiiul the diui inikuowi, 
 Standeth God within the shadow, keepinii" w.ireh a!n)ve his own." 
 
 It was the story again of the giant (Toliali and the stripling 
 T.ith only a sling and a few smooth stones from the brook. 
 
 Every great effort for freedom and for tintli discloses agencies, 
 if invisible, yet mighty to the pulling down of Liirpiity's strong- 
 iiolds. Fighting against God. no matter wlio or wdiat the men. 
 is a bad business and a losing one. The abolitionists said from 
 the iirst, that '"(Tod himself was with th mu foi' tU di- Captain." 
 
 But wlu'U will the victory come? ••Not in our diy," was. 
 for long 3'ears. the prevailing ansvver. '•Taere are tW(j thousand 
 millions of dollars invested in slavery, and it is in vain to assail 
 it," said Heni'v Clay. That was American statesmanship tlien. 
 The very power of slavery [)roved its destruction. Its arrogance 
 led it to raise its hand against the nation. That act invited its 
 tloom. ''Whom the Gods will destroy, they first m die mad." 
 
 Our fathers of New England often s[)oke of the '"Wonder- 
 working Providence" which led them lietter than their own wis- 
 4lom could devise. Could there ever be a more w^onderful proof 
 cf a Pow.^'r greater t!i 1:1 m iii's, m iking foi" righte.>uslK^ss, than 
 
IT) 
 
 ' :is evineotl in the downfuU of the great Babylon of Aniericau 
 iavery? Yet it was no miracle. For thirty years the seed- 
 wheat of God's mightiest truths had been sown fearlessh' and in 
 faith all over tlie northern lands. And when slavery, in its 
 wrath and folly, lifted its murderous hand, it found a generation 
 -of men dilferent from those who had bowed in servility so lon<i'. 
 None the less was it felt that that it was with a mighty hand and 
 n stretched-ont arm that God brought his people out of the land 
 of bondage ; it was the almightiness of Truth and Eternal Right 
 that had conquered. 
 
 Shall I say a word of my own connection with the Anti- 
 . Slavery movement? I was not of the earliest abolitionists. The 
 
 first number of The TJberator was published on the first day of 
 ...rlanuary, 1831. It was not until 1833, and the reading of Mrs. 
 
 Lydia Maria Child's book, "•An Appeal in favor of that class of 
 j\.mericans called Africans," that I found m3'self unable to be 
 -anything but an abolitionist. After my ministry, at Leicester, 
 ■ of twelve years, in which I had tried to treat the Anti-Slavery 
 •cause as an integral part of my Christian ministerial duty, I l)e- 
 
 came, in 1847, (ieneral Agent of the jNIassachusetts Anti-Slavery 
 ..-Society and held the office to the end of the Civil AV^ar. 
 
 You will be interested to hear of those wdio w(M'e tlien doing 
 the anti-slavery work ; men and women, whom the older poition 
 
 -of the audience have seen and heard. They were AI)by Kelley, 
 iiftcrwai'ds INIrs. Foster. vStephen S. Fostei', Charles C. and Cyrus 
 Burleigh, Parker Pil!sl)ury (vigoioiis yet and ^vitll ns today). 
 Susan B. Anthony. Lucy Stone (with us today). Sallie HoUcy, 
 Charles L. Bemond, Wni. Wells Brown, Andrew T. I<'oss. Daniel 
 S. Whitne}' (with us today) ; and latei'. Anna Dirkinson. .lohn 
 L. Russell, George W . Putnam (who will bye ai.d bye address 
 you), E. II. Hey wood and many mor(\ Nor these alone. The 
 cause had a reserve fund of unequalled [)ower. who freely ga\e it 
 time and labor of a value lieyond price : — ^Slr. (iarrison himself, 
 AVendell l^hillips. Ednmnd (^uincy, .lames N. P)uffum, Henry C. 
 '\Vright, Edwin Thompson and others. Brave and truly Clii'is- 
 tain ministers, Theodore Parker, -James Freeman Clarke, Adin 
 Ballon, Thomas T. Stone. Jacob M. Manning. C). B. Frothing- 
 liam, Samuel Johnson, Samuel Longfellow, were generous in an- 
 swering calls upon their time. At the lirst open-air meeting of 
 the Society which I attended, — it was at NValtham, July 4, 
 1847 — James Russell Lowell was [jresent. I asked him to ''say 
 ix woi-d" to the meeting ; Imt he said ''Oh, I cannot ; I never said 
 
 ~tx word in mv life." He aaid so many good words later; he hail 
 
already iv7'Uten so many good ones; that his silence then wat- 
 easiiy excused. 
 
 Let me name, too, those who wei'e then otlicers and 
 managers of the i\iass;u'h.iisetts Anti-Shivcry Society; not pnblic 
 speakers, l)iit insi)ir(_'i's (j f thot-e who wltc ; tlie organizei's, the- 
 cleai'-hcadi'd, stout-hcarlcd. fearless hh'm and women, qnite as 
 essential, (luite as helpful, to the caiifc as any who have been 
 named. First of them J speak of Fiancis dackson, President of 
 the Society, to whose house the BosttJii Fennde Anti-Slavery So- 
 ciety was invited, when driven by the mob of October, 1835,. 
 from their own rooms at 4(] Washington street; Mrs. Maria W. 
 Chapman, ]\Irs. Eliza Lee FoUen, Miss Anne W. Weston, Dr. 
 Henry I. Bowditch, James E. Lowell, dohn Rogers, (-'ornelius- 
 Bramhall, Charles K. Whi|)ple, John M. Spear, Samuel Phil- 
 brick was Treasurer, Robert F. Walleut, Secretary, Edmund 
 Quincy, Corresponding Secretary'. These, with Messrs. Garrison 
 and Phillips, then constituted the Board of Managers. Of the 
 twenty-six Vice Presidents, only three survive. Rev. Thomas T. 
 Stone, now of Bolton, Joshua T. Everett and Wm. Bowman 
 Stone. From the very first, and throughout, Ellis Gray Loring 
 and Samuel E. Sewall were devoted friend s and helpers. 
 
 It was at a later time that Theodore D. Weld came to Massa- 
 chusetts, his health so impaired by his work in the Western and 
 Middle states, that he has but seldom spoken here in public. In. 
 the earlier days of the Society, its principal agents had been 
 Arnold Buffum, Samuel Joseph May, Frederick Douglass, John 
 A. Collins and Loring Moody. 
 
 Ralph Waldo Emerson was at first critical of the Anti- 
 Slavery societies. But that ceased, as the Fugitive Slave Law 
 and the Civil War came on. He had previously given the prin- 
 cipal address before a First of August meeting of the Society, 
 held at Worcester on the hill where the State Normal School, 
 stands now. The address was printed in pamphlet form. We 
 must recall today his well-known witticism, "Eloquence is dog- 
 cheap in the Anti-Slavery meetings." Parker Pillsbury can tell 
 you, better than I, of the help which that other Concord sage^ 
 Henry D. Thoreau, gave to the cause of freedom. 
 
 The cause had its poets. Who can fitly tell the service ren- 
 dered to the cause of freedom by Mr. AVhittier and Mr. Lowell? 
 Thousands of tongues and pens have recently joined in doing: 
 honor to them both, — and yet there is room. Unending bless- 
 ings, from :dl true hearts, will ever wait on their memories.. 
 Others there were, and among the earliest and bravest was John. 
 Pierpont, of IloUis street church, Boston. 
 
17 
 
 The aiili-slavery niovenient was an emancipating one, in 
 niiotlu'i' sense. It emancipated its advocates from the bondage 
 • if sect, the bondage of party, the bondage of creed. It bronght 
 'ogether people whom the sects and parties luid l\ept asnnder and 
 kei)t estranged, and made them brothers. It was a great recon- 
 ciling power. It set free men's son Is. 
 
 Then witness its high religions fnnetion and force. Never, 
 in America, had jiractical Christianity been so taught and so ex- 
 emplified. No one who had heard its speakers, no one who had 
 ever read its poets and scholars, can question this. At one of its 
 great open-air meetings (at Abington, in Plymouth Co.) James 
 Freeman Clarke said, "I find here in the anti-slavery meeting a 
 church of Christ, a church in deed and truth." 
 
 Thirty years nearly have elapsed since the overthrow and 
 downfall of slavery in these United States. But it is yet too 
 early for that complete history of the movement, made up of 
 many parts, which this meeting was called to commemoiate. A 
 full and reliable history, the most so of any now existing, is the 
 memoir of Mr. Garrison l)y his sons. Its bidk has i^robably 
 stood in the way of its being extensively read, but that is not 
 objectionable to the thorough and conscientious student; nor will 
 it ever cause regret to any one who takes it iii hand in a truth- 
 loving spirit. 
 
 We meet today in no boastful spirit. We rejoice, with ex- 
 ceeding great joy, in the triumph of right over wnjiig. Our only 
 personal feeling is that of thankfulness that we had a part, how- 
 ever small, in lifting our counti'y from the guilt and shame of 
 slavery. As JMr. Garrison always said, so would we all say, 
 "Not unto us, not unto us, l)ut unto Thy name give glory, for 
 Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake." 
 
 President Putnam: — One of the early and most ])0werful 
 agencies for forwarding the anti-slaver}' movement, was, of 
 course, the old Liberty Part} . It was the first of the great po- 
 litical organizations that were found necessary to carry into effect 
 the essential truths and principles which had begun to take hold 
 of the mind and heart of the people. It did a nobis work in its 
 time, and we have the good fortune to be favoi'ed with the pres- 
 ence with us today, of one of its most highly esteemed and useful 
 representatives. He, too, is full of years and honors. He has 
 told me that he has written what he has to say, and that, should 
 his strength fail him befoi'e the allotted time has expired, he will 
 pass his manuscript over to his grandson, j\lr. Willis R. Fisher, 
 who is with him. As we hope to publish all these speeches in 
 l)ami)hlet form, we shall expect to have the benefit of our friend's 
 
18 
 
 words ill full, in cue way if we cannot in anotiier. Hon. .'^]\[. M. 
 Fislier of Medway will now address you. 
 
 (Mr. Fisher, having read a few pages of his manuscript, 
 handed it to his grandson, who occupied the remainder of the ten 
 minutes. The entire pa[)er is herewitli i)resented.) 
 
 AU DRESS OF HON. M. M. FISHER. 
 
 JMii. President AND FuiKNDS : — An old man is not much if 
 not reminiscent. He either never knew much or has forgotten 
 what he once knew. A very common soldier in the Anti-Slavery 
 War of thirty-five years, from 1831 to 1865, must have had some 
 exjyerience ; whether he can relate it so as to be agreeable to 
 himself or to others is quite a different matter. 
 
 A few months before the death of our dear mutual friend 
 Whittier I visited him at Newburyport. I read to him an extract 
 of some twenty lines of equal measure from a poem, so called, 
 written for and delivered in i)iiblic on a graduation day of a High 
 School in Medway in 1831. This was tiie time of my enlistment 
 in the old conflict, and he said they were good. 
 
 On my seventy-seventh birthday he wrote me as follows : — 
 "•As one of the Old Guard in the Anti-Slavery War 1 know well 
 thy works of courage and devotion in the dark days of the great 
 conflict." In this community where I am a stranger, and he so 
 well known, I am quite willing, even proud, that such a friend 
 should speak for me. Of these "works" doubtless he would 
 refer you to the beginning of the slavery discussion in Amherst 
 College, 1833, which ended in victory for free speech to the 
 credit of^the elder professoi' Hitchcock. He mi^ht speak of the 
 opening of a colored school in that town and the incident of a 
 young man who, on April 23d, 1834, sixty years ago save one, 
 in a private carriage made a southern trip for his health, making 
 a delightful call upon the Kev. Samuel J. May at Brooklyn, 
 Connecticut, who received him with marked courtesy ; and who 
 v/ould have also called upon Mr. Garrison- and his new bride at 
 Father ''Benson's," only they had just left for New York and 
 elsewhere — and who, at Mr. May's earnest request, rode over to 
 Canterbury to visit Prudence Crandall and her colored girls' 
 school, and who gave them as they needed a word of cheer. 
 Then as he passed on to the first anniversary meeting of the Ameri- 
 can Anti-Slavery Society in New York and its thrilling incidents 
 as [)ublished in the "Commonwealth" of Boston in 1885 — 
 going south to other meetings in Philadeli)hia, and then travelling 
 through the slave states of Delaware, Maryland. District of Co- 
 luniliia, into Virginia and as a colporter distributing Phelps' Book 
 
19 
 
 on Shwei'V aiid other similar liti'rature, coiixerbing with bhivos 
 liy tlie way and in their homes at Monnt \'ern()n, learning their 
 condition and giving them eneonragement anil hope in their grief 
 over the recent sale of their children to the rice t^wainp^- and 
 cotton fields of the far south, and also visiting the great slave 
 pen of William l\ol>y in Wasliiiigton antl hearing the tales of 
 shame and grief from one to whom thev wert' a daily and nightly 
 experience. Again, he could refer to the tirst introduction, ten 
 years latei', of the slavery (piestion into the great Missionaiy 
 ])Oard at Worcester, and to its linal outcome in the witlidra w;i I 
 of many rneml)ers and fiiends, lesnlting in the formation of 
 the American Missionary Association in 1<S47, now so i)rosp,'rous 
 in the southern Held in educational and missionary work ; all of 
 which may be found in the Boston Traveller of Decemliei' l-'i. 
 1S84. 
 
 These and other events with their many inciilents in (U-lail 
 known to our friend Whittier, I sn|)]»ose were the --woiks of 
 courage and devotioa" to which he referred in his very courleon.-. 
 letter he was [)leased to send the writer on his seventy-seventh 
 liirthday. 
 
 fUit with (hie apology for so much by way of introduction, 
 I must proceed to the second epoch assigned more especially to 
 me, in the anti-slavery conllict — the organization and work of the 
 Old Lil)eral Tarty, "all of which I saw and a small part of which 
 I was." 
 
 TiiK LiuKUTV Party. 
 
 Ml!. PuKSiur.NT : — As ideas precede action, so a sentiment 
 of op[)osition to American slavery preceded all direct action for 
 its al)olition. This sentiment preceded and dominated the soul 
 of Garrison before his spoken and written words, and like a voice 
 from heaven kindled a like sentiment in the soul of many others. 
 So ideas, voices and pens, in their natural order, preceded ballots 
 and bullets in the great contest for the freedom of the slave. 
 Early in the moral agitation and educational work by Garrison 
 and Whittiei-, Channing and Phelps, Pierpont and Leavitt, 
 Mrs. Childs and others, it was seen and admitted by discerning 
 men, politicians, statesmen and common people, that befcjre the 
 slave could be free, the civil, if not the military power, must be 
 evoked in his behalf. AVhen and how to begin this necessary 
 work was the supremo question. I well rememlier Henry Wilson 
 in 1840 or a little later, with the true spirit of hatred to slavery 
 in his soul, told me he could not vote for a slave-holder for Pres- 
 ident, but in 1844 he voted for Henry Clay, and as he wrote me 
 he was better than Polk and favored gradual emancipation. 
 
20 
 
 Diirino- tlie first ten yoius (from 1831 to 1840) of the moral 
 agitation of the question, few shivehohlers liad been so con- 
 vinced by the force of argument against slaveiy as to emancipate 
 their shxves. Among tlie few Janus G. Birney, a prominent 
 Christian hiwyer in Huntsville, Ahiljama, was a conspicuous 
 example. 
 
 Previous to this time candidates of the old political parties 
 were solicited by letter to declare their position upon this ques- 
 tion and received votes of anti-slavery men according to their 
 answers. 
 
 The original platform of the National Anti-Slavery Society 
 formed in December, 1833, was peiliaps wisely reticent as to the 
 necessity or use of the civil power in the prosecution of a work 
 destined to shake the nation to its very centre. Kelying upon 
 the supreme justice of their cause, the intelligence and conscience 
 of the American people, the united voice of the platform, the 
 pulpit and the press, the}' hoped the great leform would be ac- 
 complished. 
 
 When concerted action in the use of the ballot by a new 
 political party was suggested by some of its prominent members, 
 there was unfortunately a large division of opinion. Complica- 
 ted with other social questions, such as non-voting in politics, 
 secession from churclies, admitting women to the platform and 
 the pulpit, questions new and unsettled in the social order, it 
 seemed for a time to the conservatives that the very foundations 
 of society were being or likely to be subveited. Amid such 
 throes and convulsions tlie Liberty i\aity was born. It was soon 
 found that the new abolition societies and the resultant Liberty 
 Party for concerted political action were as earnest and potent 
 forces against slavery as any agency which simply made moral 
 and educational forces a specialty, and that both combined work- 
 ing in tlieir chosen way wouhl ultimatelv secure the desired re- 
 sult. 
 
 Though the struggle between the old and new order of things 
 for a time was a little sharp, '-when tlie new wine was i)nt into 
 new bottles both were preserved." 
 
 Tiie birth of the Liberty Party occurred in 1840, on the eve 
 of the most intense Presidential election of modern times, result- 
 ing in the election of William Henry Harrison by an overwhelm- 
 ing electoral majority. Only men of the most stalwart convictions- 
 on the slavery (piestion could stem the tide that set so strongly 
 tOAvard the candidates of their old affiliations. (Jrcat induce- 
 ments were personally given to anti-slavery men supijosed to be 
 at all am1)itious for [jolitical favoi' to vote with the old iiarties 
 
•21 
 
 just this once moi-o. nud iioxt year their calling and election in 
 the old parties would lie sine. But with a few men the die was 
 cast and under the liannei- of the Liberty Paity they went to the 
 pulls and cast their votes for James G. Birney and for the doom 
 of American sla\ery. A ticket for Presidential electors, state 
 officials and members of Congi'ess, was voted, 1 think, in ten, at 
 least, of the free states. In my own town, seventeen votes only 
 were cast for it and Medway was the banner town of Norfolk 
 County. In the whole state there were only 1081 votes, and in 
 all the states there were found "seven thousand who had not 
 bowed the knee to Baal," a small vote to be sure, but significant. 
 In 1844 the vote in Massachusetts went up by successive steps to 
 9635, a tenfold increase in five years, and to GO, 000 in all the 
 states. The smallness of the vote in 1840 was a disappointment, 
 of course, and a subject for ridicule in the old party newspapers, 
 and the prophecies of a short life and ignoble death were expect- 
 ed to procure their own fnltilment. 
 
 But such men as lion. William Jackson of Newton, >Samnel 
 E. Sewall of Roxbury and Gen. Appleton Howe of Weymouth 
 and men of their stamp, were made of sterner stuff than to have 
 "put their hands to the plough to look back," and they pressed on 
 under their chosen banner to victory. 
 
 During the next few j'ears the anti-slavery sentiment per- 
 vaded the old parties ; the churches and religious organizations 
 began to crystallize into more emphatic forms of protest against 
 the slave power. Salmon P. Chase in 1841 and later ex-Gov' 
 ernor IMorris, both of Ohio, and John P. Hale of New Hampshire, 
 Gf)vernor Slade of Vermont following soon after, allied them- 
 selves to the fortunes of the rising young party. The Wilmot 
 Proviso Democrats, and the Conscience Whigs, under the lead of 
 Charles Fi'ancis Adams and Henry Wilson, stimulated the older 
 parties to take higher ground against the domination of the slave- 
 holding oligarchy. 
 
 It needed a party exigency of some magnitude to disrupt tlu' 
 party ties that l)egan to menace a large depletion to both and a 
 sure defeat to one at least of the old parties. This exigency 
 came in the National Democratic Convention in 1848 that nom- 
 inated Gen. Cass for President and in the Whig Convention that 
 nominated Gen. Taylor, — a nomination that Mr. Wel)ster said 
 "was not fit to be made." 
 
 In this chaos of the old parties the wise men of the Lil)erl'y 
 Party were not mere spectators. They saw in it the leaven of the 
 truth hidden by Garrison and later worki'rs in the cause, su<ldenly 
 ex[>andiiig the lnni[) in unwonted jiroportions. 
 
Mass nieetiiio-s were at once called in all the fi'ee states. Iii 
 .]nne of that year, at least 5000 people assenil)le<.] npon the Com- 
 mon in Worcester. The veneralile and Hon. Samuel Hoar and 
 iiis son, tlie ex-Judge, then a young man, Judge Allen and many 
 othei's, were heanl with intense satisfaction. A platform of jirin- 
 ciples was formed by a committee, Stephen C. Phillips, Chairman, 
 of which Judge Hoar and myselt are the only living members. 
 The result of these meetings was the call for a national convention 
 at Buffalo, Aug, 10, 1848, to nominate candidates for President 
 and Vice-President for the Party of Liberty under a new name. 
 The Free Soil Party, at that time especially appropriate as the 
 slave power, was seeking the vii-gin soil of vast territories for its 
 extension and i)er[)etuity. The delegates to this convention weie 
 three from eac!i county, one from each of the existing parties. 
 It was the writer's privilege to be a delegate for Norfcjlk Countv 
 with Charles Francis Adams and NVilliam J. Reynolds to this con- 
 vention, over wiiich Salmon P. Chase of Ohio from the Libeitv 
 Party was called to preside, while Charles Francis Adams from 
 the Conscience Whigs presided over a mass meeting of many 
 thousands. On a street in Buffalo I witnessed a scene I shall 
 never forget. Jn the early morning a steamer from Cleveland had 
 just arrived and hundreds of stalwait votei's fi'om the old '' West- 
 ern Peserve" in Ohio were thronging the street to the convention, 
 and whom should they meet as they came up across street but 
 Joshua Giddings, that war horse of Li bert^' and their old neighbor, 
 with carpet-bag in hand, just arriving from the stormy scenes, as 
 their Rein'esentative in Congress at Washington. Such a I'ush 
 to grasj) his hand in theirs fairly blocked up the street until he 
 l)eckoned them to an o[)eu s|)ace where the multitude greeted him 
 to their heart's content. 
 
 These conventions without doubt drew together the largest 
 .•,nd most intelligent and earnest body of American freemen that 
 ever asseml)le(l to piotest against the domination and per[)etnitY 
 of the slave power in this great republic. 
 
 The Convention of delegates cast 46G votes and ^Lirtin A'aii 
 liuren received a majority of twenty-two and John P. Hale 181. 
 with manv scattering votes. The result was much regretted l)y 
 the " Coiiscience Whigs," as they hoped to succeed in the nomi- 
 nation of Judge McLean of (Jhio, but he sent a letter of declina- 
 tion on the morning of the Convention. Mr. Hale was exceed- 
 ingly popular with the Liberal Party delegates and had been 
 nominated in a previ<,)us convention of the party. But as a 
 satisfactory platform was unanimously adopted and positive assur- 
 ance given'that Mr. Van Buren fully subscribed to it, the nomination 
 
23 
 
 was iiecepted with the full ('<jiiscnt of Mi. Halo. Some old Liberty 
 men with long memories and some pi'ejudice feared that the cause 
 in which they had labored at great cost was paralyzed, if not 
 indeed "a lost cause." The leaders from the old parties first 
 gave their adhesion to the nomination. David Dudley Field, a 
 young and strong '' Barnl)urner," from New York, now living, 
 waxed eloquent over the nomination, beginning with a quotation 
 from Kichard The Third : — 
 
 " Now is tlio winter ol our iliscontciit 
 Made ulorious .suninu'r by this Son of Yorli : 
 And all the clouds that lowered upon onr liouse 
 In the deep bosom of the ocean l)uried " 
 
 Stephen C. Phillips, I think, spoke foi- the '-Conscience Whigs." 
 Then a pause and silence was indeed expressive, until Dr. J.eavitt, 
 in l)ehalf of the Liberty Party, rose to speak. IJe was a man of 
 stalwart form, dignity of mnnner and speecli. All eyes and etus 
 were attentive. He referred to the cost and saciiiice made to 
 sustain the Party of Lilieity for eight years, to tlie devotion it had 
 for its principles, and to John P. Hale theii- chosen standard 
 lieare;', and then in tone of loftv exultation and voice of thunder 
 he Qyic\\\\\\\Qi\, '''' The Liberty Party i.'f not dead hut trans/a ted.'' 
 Such chee.'s and siionts as came from all parts of the hall wiien 
 the Old Liberty Guard surrendered their name and their caiididati; 
 for the cause were not surpassed by any of the iiK'nioitdile and 
 tiirilling incidents c(jnnei-ted with this great body of eiMiiest and 
 devoted men. 
 
 After the nomination of ^'an Pjiiieii. Cliailes Fnnicis Adinns 
 was nominated for Vice-Piesident with gi'cat unanimitv ;nid 
 enthusiasm. The ohl }iarty (now but a memory) under its new 
 name nnide great i»rogress in some of the stntes. in 1848 sixty 
 Free Soil Keprescntatives wcic eU'cted to our State Legislatnic. 
 Two of \our own citizens. Wil!i;;m Dodge. .Ti., ai.d \\'illi:>ni W\\\- 
 cott, were among them. I now iccall the fnct tliitt Hon. -lohn P. 
 King, another of your distinguished citizens, as early as 1S41 aS' 
 l^resident of the State Senate gave his casting vote for a measure 
 in the interest of tlie colored race and lived to be your Kejiresent- 
 ative in Congress and died l)efoi'e he knew of their I't'demption 
 from bondage at the south and from neglect nnd degradation in 
 liie north. 
 
 During the eight years of the l''i'ee Soil Fi)ocli very distin- 
 guished men were elected to Itoth branches of Congress, some 
 Governors of States and members of State Legislatures. In 1851, 
 Robert Pantoul, Jr., and C-harles Sumner, Henry AVilson in 18");"), 
 Salmon P. Chase, John P. Hale and otiiers to the L'nited States 
 
24 
 
 Senate ; Joshua Giddings, Horace Maim and others to the House 
 of Representatives ; all devoted to the abolition of slavery upon 
 the National domain and opposed to its extension to the vast ter- 
 ritory upon the Pacific, and so, by cutting off its supplies of virgin 
 soil, to starve it out of existence. 
 
 In 185G the Party of Liberty took another departure in the 
 change of its name to that of the Old Republican Party, and by 
 the nomination of Fremont, the great explorer, and Dayton, the 
 statesman, as their standard bearers. The name of Fremont, the 
 son-in-law of " Old Bullion," as Benton was called, was a name 
 to conjure with and inspired some hope of his election to the 
 Presidency. 
 
 Although large numbers were added to the party, the hour for 
 complete success had not arrived, but its speedy oncoming was 
 but a question of time. 
 
 In 1860 the time had fully come and the men appeared and 
 under the banner of Lincoln and Hamlin, and by the voice and 
 vote of the American people and l)y the '' favor of Almighty 
 God." the pen of Lincoln and the sword of Grant, the haughty 
 slave power was dethroned and the slave was free. 
 
 And so as John Pierpont said and sung of the ballot : — 
 
 " A weapon falls as light and still 
 As snow Hakes fall upon the sod; 
 Yet execntes the freeman's will 
 As lightnings do the will of God." 
 
 JNIr. Fisher's address was listened to with marked attention 
 
 and was followed by warm demonstrations of approval from the 
 
 audience. 
 
 President Putnam : — The anti-slavery movement was full of 
 inspiration and it was wont to voice its spirit and sentiment in 
 song and poetry. We have with us here a very good friend of 
 our Society, and everybody's friend, in the person of Mr. George 
 B. Bartlett of Concord, who is a truly typical Concordian, and is 
 not onl^' an admiralde lecturer and author, but a poet withal, 
 xis 3'ou will now see. 
 
 ORIGINAL POEM BY MR. GEORGE B. BARTLETT. 
 
 Mu. Geouge B. Baktlett : — I have been selected for this 
 task because I represent the very first town that ever sent a fugi- 
 tive slave l)ack to his master, the town of old Concord, Massa- 
 chusetts ! For when Rev. Peter Tliatcher of Medford lost his 
 .slave, the latter, after being concealed in Cambridge, was discov- 
 ered in Concord and carried back. As I always write in short 
 meter I shall detain you l)ut three minutes and a quarter. (Great 
 
hiugliter and appliuise.) 1 luive chosen for my tlit'iiu' tlio iiiiaf^- 
 iiiary audience who might l)e supposed to be listening to the 
 olurious voice of the great singer who has pleaseil us so much 
 this afternoon. 
 
 IJelics of the mighty past 
 Souiul the i-raud old bugle blast. 
 Summon to their haunts again 
 All these old historic men 
 Who in Freedom's l)lackest night 
 Dared to battle for the right. 
 Garrison, that fortress strong, 
 Kefuge sure from every wrong, 
 To the shelter of whose name 
 Every hunted creature came. 
 Phillips, on whose silver tongu(! 
 Eager crowds enraptured hung. 
 Whittier, who with mystic lyre 
 Quaker souls could rouse to tire. 
 Sumner, whose majestic liead 
 For the cause of Freedom bled. 
 Andrew, who to victory sent 
 Many a noble regiment. 
 Craft, who stole himself away 
 From the men who watch and prey. 
 Burns, marched back to Southern hell, 
 Fast tlie spot where Attucks fell. 
 Spring's best blossoms strew his way 
 Whose presence was perpetual May, 
 Who with consistent courage trod 
 The footsteps of the Son of God. 
 Parker, with his grandsire's gun 
 I'l'om the Green at Lexington 
 On that '-ever glorious day," 
 Eager for another fray. 
 Old John Brown, uplifted high, 
 Saw the glory in the sky : 
 What to him were pain and loss 
 When the gallows gleamed a cross I 
 These and twenty iliousand more 
 On the fair and shining shore. 
 When our St. John strikes the chord, 
 Chant tlie glory of the Lord. 
 Whitest souls, with faces black. 
 Fling the glorious tidings back 
 From the resurrected laud, 
 Free from Slavery's iron hand. 
 
 The Ilutchiusons were now again called upon and sang witli 
 all the old-time spirit and power, and amidst the greatest enthusi- 
 asm, the well-remembered song. '' IIo, the Car of Kmanci|)ation," 
 Mr. Hutciiinsou stating that it was written in its original form 
 
26 
 
 by liis brother Jesse, diiriiig the progress of an anti-slavery con- 
 vention in Faneuil Hall, and was sung by the family quartet on, 
 that occasion, and at numberless meetings afterward. 
 
 SONG— HO, THE CAR OF EMANCIPATION. 
 
 Ho ! The car of P^inancipatioii 
 Kides mMJeslic tlu'oui:li our nation, 
 Beariiiii' on its train the story — 
 "Liberty is a nation's glory." 
 
 Holl it along, 
 
 1U)II it along. 
 Roll it along through our nation — 
 Freedom's car, Emancipation. 
 
 Men of various predilections, 
 Frightened, run in all directions, 
 Merchants, editors, phvhicians, 
 Lawyers, pries^ts and politicians; 
 
 Get out the way, 
 
 Get out the way. 
 Get out the way, every station. 
 Clear the track for Eniancii)ation. 
 
 Hear the mighty car wlieels humming, 
 Now loolv out, the engine's coming! 
 Church and Stati-man. hear the thunder, 
 Clear the track or you'll fall under; 
 
 Get off the track. 
 
 Get off the track. 
 Get otr the track, all are singing. 
 While the liberiy bell is ringing. 
 
 A]\ triumphant, see them bearing, 
 Through sectarian rubl)ish tearing; 
 The bell and whi>tle and the steaming, 
 Startle thousands from their dreaming; 
 
 Look out for the cars. 
 
 Look out for the cars, 
 Look out for the cars while the bell rings 
 Ere the sound 3'our funeral knell rings. 
 
 See the throngs that run to meet us, 
 At Danvers Hall the people greet us, 
 Ad takes seats in exultation 
 In the car Emancipation ; 
 Huirah, Hurrah, 
 Hurrah, Hurrah, 
 Hurrali, Hurrah, Emancipation 
 Soon will bless our happy nation. 
 
 Come on, come on, come on ! 
 
 Emancipati'.n soon wid bless 
 
 Our happy nation. Come on, come on, 
 
 Come on — u — n — n — n! 
 
27 
 
 It would be impossible to describe the stirring and (lirilliiig 
 effect of these words, so hastily written in the long ago amidst 
 the excitement of one of the old abolition gatherings " by Jesse 
 himself," as they were now sung again at the Commemorative 
 JMeeting. Oidy those who were present to hear them on this 
 occasion, or who had heard them from the quartet during the 
 great anti-slavery crusade, can fulh' realize their inspiring power, 
 as thus rendered. The mention of "■ Danvers Hall" seems to 
 have been luq)[)ily ir.troduced for the moment, instead of tluit of 
 some other place, the singers probably having ])een accustomed 
 to adai)t the line to each new locality, wlierever they ix'peated the 
 verses. 
 
 Pkksidknt PuTXAAr : — A rare treat awaits you. In one of 
 the letters which our Secretary has read, Frederick Douglass i-e- 
 ferred to one of the old-line abolitionists as, more than any other, 
 the terror of the slave power. The veteran soldier of Freedom is 
 with us today. He has been in Danvers before, and some of us 
 who heaid him then, are not likely to forget his fearless and tre- 
 mendous arraignments of a guilty Church and State in less )^eace- 
 ful days than these. He was then a man of Avar, and you will 
 hardly l)e able to recognize him in the genial and l)eaming friend 
 whom 1 shall now have the honor to present to you. Not one of 
 i us all is hai)pior than he, and well may he be ct^ntent and glad, 
 ^ilK•e he has lived to see the cause for which he so long and luno- 
 ieally fought completely victorious ; and all hearts are his at 
 length. Though the fierce liattles in which he engaged were so 
 many, and though he is now 84 years old, you will (ind that 
 Parker Pillsbury is still young, aud he is always '• Young for Lib- 
 erty." (Ci'ent applause.) 
 
 .Mr. Pillsbury, as lie r.)>e, met with a most (■nthusiastic 
 ovation, and there was universal regret that his bright, pithy, 
 eloquent and altogether characteristic speech was not much longer 
 than it actually proved to l)e. In the course of his i-emarks he 
 exhibited to the audience, as will be seen, various interesting 
 mementos. 
 
 ADDPvESS OF HON. PARKER PILLSP.URY. 
 
 ?»Ik. Pkesfdent, Ladiks and Gkntlemkn : — I think it is no 
 exaggeration when I say that this is perhaps the proudest, cer- 
 tainly the hapiiiest dayof my life. (Ai)plause and cries of good). 
 
28 
 
 How sluill we c'om;)ensate the Dauvers llistor'usal Society :i:ul its 
 excellent presid-ut for giving us this foretaste of fiiture ami tiniil 
 bliss? ( AppL'ius'.'). Perha[)S among the eldest, if not t!ie vei-y 
 oldest veterans of anti-slavery present, it is not iinb^'Coining in 
 iiv^ to say that certainly from ni}' inmost heart and soul 1 thank 
 that Historical Sov'iety. (Cries of good and api)lause). 1 hope 
 it is not improper for nu to say that although tlu'^^ have greatly hon- 
 ored us, I trust and t'aink they have not disiionored themselves. 
 (Cries of good and applause). But, Mr. Chairman, the moments 
 that are passing at this time and under these peculiar circum- 
 stances, wh}', to me they are drops of time, falling into the ocean 
 of eternity, more precious than all the jewels of the mines. And 
 who am I, that I should by my voice liere, almost at the com- 
 pletion of four score and four years — who am I that I should 
 interrupt this beautiful current of thought and of music that has 
 saluted our ears? I would that I were worthy of such an oppor- 
 tunity and such an occasion ; but I shall keep before me the ten 
 minute rule, inevitable, as seems to me, under these i)eculiar cir- 
 cumstances. And first I want to say that there are those who 
 have been quiet workers in the anti-slavery movement and wjio 
 have survived, and who have preserved some of the relics of those 
 days, and they have entrusted to me the pleasant opportunit}' and 
 dut}' of calling the attention of this gathering to them. Among 
 the oldest that are presented is an oldtinie daguerreotype of our 
 famous friend wdiose name has not yet been spoken b^^ any who 
 have preceded me — I mean George Thompson of England. 
 (Loud and earnest applause). I hold here the precious shadow 
 of that might}' man. When I was travelling and lecturing in 
 behalf of the slave I had the opportunity to possess myself of 
 soDie of the shackles which slaves had worn, and one terrible 
 whip, the five thongs of which were red with blood that had been 
 drawn from the backs of slaves ; and I had also shackles they 
 had worn, and chains. Today I have but a single link presented 
 by those same excellent women — the link of a chain that was 
 worn by the slave Jerry who escaped and was finally secured by 
 the abolitionists of Syracuse, N. Y., \vhere our excellent friend, 
 Samuel J. May, wdiose shadow is there before you, was Unitarian 
 minister. There is the link of that chain worn by that slave 
 Jerry, and if you harness your havses with chains to cany a ton 
 or more, they would not be larger links than that, and that link was 
 only got off his limbs by a l»lacksmith's file. He wore it out of 
 slavery and before he could !> ■ emancipated the Idacksmith had 
 to cut it with his file because th/y hail no key to unlock the [)ad- 
 lock. I have one other little memorial of slavery. The name 
 has been spoken of William Craft, the fugitive slave. Here is a 
 
29 
 
 picture of Willinm Craft's wife. Slie -vvas so while and so lieau- 
 tiful that slie i)assed on their joiiniey from Geoijiia to Pliiladel- 
 phia as the voiing son of a shivehohler, and hei' hiisliaud, wlio 
 was quite a bhiek man, was her body seivaut : and as body ser- 
 vant to the beautiful girl, he ennie with her safely through 
 Georgia to Philadelphia. 'I'hat is ihe photograph, or rather tht; 
 l)hotograph of the picture that was taken of hei'. Those of you 
 who can perceive it can see that iier aim is in a sling. You know 
 it was necessary for travellers living south at hotels to register 
 their names. But she, a slave, knew nothing of writing. But 
 re))resenting the son of a rich Georgia planter, she was of course 
 expected to be educated, and her arm was put in that sling to 
 give color to the pretext that she had inflammatory rheumatism 
 and could not write ! She Avas so beautiful on board the steamer 
 as she came up that quite a number of l)oth southern and north- 
 ern young women actually fell in love with her. (Laughter and 
 applause). I am glad to have found that picture, because at that 
 time it was reall}' a sensation. I hope it will be copied and cir- 
 culated, and I thank the^woman who brought it here and entrust- 
 ed me with the pleasant duty of presenting it to this audience. 
 (Applause.) Now I shotdd like to say a few words for myself, 
 lint I do not ku'jw how I can, tor I shall stand in the way of 
 others who have a better claim to the ears of the audience than I. 
 But here I am in my native County of Essex, and 1 am hapjiy to 
 say that my father and grandfather on both my father's and my 
 mother's side, were also born heic in the County of Essex — a 
 county that gave (iarrison and Whittier to the anti-slavery cause 
 and the cause of fj-eedom throughout the world. Honor enough 
 for nie to have been liorn in such a county ; and indeed my ances- 
 tors from the year IG35, were all born here in the County of 
 Essex. I have seen much of two hemispheres, but 1 never saw a 
 county yet where I should so choose to be born as in this county. 
 (Cries of good and applause). Then as to my woik in the anti- 
 slavery cause. I did what I could, and 1 want to say that in the 
 service, Mr. Garrison had been in the held ten years I)efore I en- 
 tered. When I did come, it so hai)pened that we had an oppor- 
 tunity to lay the axe at the loot of the tree, and to justify 
 ourselves in so doing. Eor the honoialile .lames (i. liirney, 
 whose name has been mentioned here, and so ci'cditably men- 
 tioned as the (irst anti-slavery candidate for tlie presidency, Avas 
 a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church and a slave-holder in 
 Kentucky, a Judge of the Supreme Court of tliat Stale and so 
 high in litei'ai'y culture and distinction tiial when the Pniveisity 
 was instituted there, he was apiiointvd and ^i\cii carte hlanc'ie 
 to nominate the otlieers of the LniviMsity. 1 should also say, 
 
30 
 
 and it \v;\s the crowiiino; excelloiice in the estimation of tlic shive- 
 hoUlers, tli it he was the owner of f<;ity-tw(; shives. Thns con- 
 stituted and tiuis surrounded, he vv:is eneonntered 1)V one of our 
 anti-slavery a<;euts whose name has been mentioned in the letters 
 read, Theodore D. Weld. He encountered this illustrious slave- 
 holder in Kentucky, being tiiere on some literary agency, and he 
 arrested him with the question, "Where did yon get your right 
 to hold those slaves?" and he did not leave that judge's ottice 
 till he had nailed the truth so hard and fast to his conscience that 
 he never found peace, to borrow the parlance of the church, till 
 he '"found it in believing." and became a penitent slaveholder. 
 The laws of Kentucky did not permit him to emancipate his 
 slaves there, but he was able to bring them over the river into 
 Ohio, and there he set them all free. 1 have named those con- 
 siderations that gave him his distinction — his education, his 
 ottice in the church as ruling elder, and high position as a lawyer 
 and jurist, being a judge of the Supreme Court of Kentucky. 
 But in that one act of emancipating his slaves of course he sac- 
 rificed every one of those distinctions, every one; and the 
 persecution that he suffered in consequence was so intense that 
 it drove him and liis family out of Kentucky, and they came ovei- 
 into Cincinnati. There he established an anti-slavery paj^er, 
 which was three times mobbed, press and type being thrown into 
 the Ohio river. The leading inliuences in those mobs were the 
 church and clergy of Cincinnati and the surrounding c )untry on 
 l»otli sides of the Ohio river. It resulted in this, that he went to 
 Englantl and while there Avrote and published the first chui'ch 
 testimony ag-.iinst slavery— a tract of 40 pages, entitled, '"The 
 American Clunches, the Bulwarks of Amei'ican Slavery." Well, 
 that moment I came into the anti-slavery field. That was in 
 1840. From that time I date my anti-slavery convictions and 
 conversion ; and, as I trust, ray sincere rep.Mitance of any ]iart I 
 had had in the guilt of slaveholding. I want to say further, 
 that we were logical in our conclusions. Tlic church gave us that 
 premise through Judge liirney. The anti-slavery men who Ite- 
 came politicians did themselves honor of course in naming him for 
 the President of the United States, as has been shown here. But 
 in 1840, though he received some votes from anti-slavery men for 
 the presidency, he was soon dropi)ed out of sight, and certainly 
 one of the most dishonorable of all the politicians that any party 
 ever had, Martin Van Buren, was made his successor ! (A voice: 
 That's so.) And I think our friend (xarrisoii has just illustrated, 
 or rather illinnined very clearly and forcil)ly the (luality of political 
 anti-slavery ever since. For that one fact, the repentance and 
 redt'mption of Judge Birney, who really made a great many more 
 
31 
 
 .■sacrifices for liis nuti-slaverv than even (iariiso:! could inakt,', lit- 
 was iioiuinated for tlie presidency. Garrison liad no sucli sac- 
 rifices to make. He had no forty-two slaves, he had no political 
 eminence, nor legal standing. He gave what he had. He wa.s 
 like the widow with her two mites. He gave more in himself 
 than all the politicians. Bnt Judge Birney had those possessions 
 -and beautifully and cheerfully and freely he laid them all on the 
 ;nltar of his convictions, and I do not know that he ever* forfeited 
 the confidence of tlie anti-slavery people of his time. 
 
 But 1 want to say that since that time, since that fall of 
 those political abolitionists from James (x. Birney to Martin Van 
 Buren. it seems to me there has been no moral conscience in this 
 .country in any political party. (Laughter and applause.) I 
 believe we have lost all knowledge of what right and wrong, posi- 
 tive right and wrong, in the divine sense, mean ; and our trade 
 .tind our commerce, our politics and our religion, are the whole of 
 them, matters of convenience. And it is paying a good many of 
 them a compliment to sa}' even that. (Laughter and api)lause.) 
 While we just now heai'd Garrison's position, I felt almost sorry 
 that it was spoken, fori wanted to speak it myself. (Laughter.) 
 Oarrison took his stand and uttered his voice in memorable and 
 .emphatic words; "■ I am in earnest; I will not equivocate; I 
 will not retreat a single inch; I will not excuse, and I ioill be 
 heard." (Applause.) He was heard. (Renewed api)lause.) 
 As if the Almighty who s})oke to the Hebrew prophet, had said to 
 him, '"■ Go thou and si)eak my word unto them ; they will not 
 hearken unto thee for they will not heai'ken unto me, nevertheless 
 ■^o thou and speak my word unto them, and it shall be known 
 that there hath been a prophet amc.ng them." And was it not 
 known? And has it not been known ever since? Bnt we have 
 no such conscience since. Why, the Ba|)tist church, in its c/ose 
 communion doctrine, was tiie most consistent of all the religions 
 sects at that time, in the country. We always called them the 
 most bigoted, Ijut they would not hold the Christian sacramental 
 ■communion, and did not with Free Will Baptists even any more 
 than with Congregationalists, although the Free Will Bai)list8 
 were all immersed as well as themselves. I am not talking of the 
 sincerity of any of them. The least said about that the better. 
 There is no time for it now. But they would not hold com- 
 I munion with any man who had not been immersed, nor with any- 
 i l)ody who wonhl hold conunnnion with anybody who had not been 
 j immersed, as would and did the P'rce Will Baptists everywhere. 
 1 Now yon see there was consistency, there was logic, there was a 
 f carrying out of principle. We have no such thing as that now. 
 1 But the Al)olitionists took the same ground that the Baptists did. 
 
We would not vote for :v slave holder, and we would nut 
 vote for anybody who would vote foi- a slaveholder. (Laughter.) 
 And we were equally logical and and consistent in all our 
 chnrch relations. Garrison made himself heard. He said he 
 would ])e heard and he was lieaid, and that was the reason. 
 He would not go to the polls and vote, and he taught a good 
 many of us, quite a good many of us who are here, and for 
 forty years we did not go to the polls and vote, and I have 
 never voted since, for I cannot vote any more for a gov- 
 ernment that robs and taxes and enslaves my wife and daughter 
 without their consent and representation. (Cries of good and 
 applause-.) I have been consistent ever since. I have lived in 
 Concord, N. H., since 1840, now three years more than half a 
 century, and I have never seen a ballot box and never wish to 
 see one. My wife, blessed be her very idea, fortunately for her 
 has more to be taxed for than I have ; but she cannot vote, and 
 if she cannot, I ain sure I will not. (Cries of good, and ap- 
 plause and laughter.) I am going to carry the principle out. I 
 will tell you one reason the temperance cause has made no better 
 advance. It is older than the anti-slavery cause. It was quite a 
 number of years old when Garrison commenced operations. He 
 began as a temperance man before he reached the matter of 
 slavery. But the cause is working its way, and see what work is 
 made of it. It has had no Garrison since 1879. It has not yet 
 found a man or "woman that will not budge a single inch, and will 
 not excuse, will not equivocate, politically, nor religiously, nor 
 in any way, and declares he will be heard. People do not know 
 anything about principle, vital, moral principle ; and in the com- 
 «ion parlance of the street, ''that is what's the matter." There 
 is no man demanding temperance on the principle of Garrison- 
 ism. There is nobody demanding woman's suffrage on the prin- 
 ciple of Garrisonism that I know of. lam trying to acton that 
 principle myself. 1 will not vote for any government that taxes my 
 wife without representation, any more tiian I will vote for any 
 government that made slavery and returned fugitive slaves. But 
 I am forgetting myself. I wish I could come down to my native 
 county, and give you some anti-slavery reminiscences, but I 
 thank you for listening to me so long. (Great applause.) 
 
 Pheisidknt Putnam : — However unfaithful to the interests of 
 the slave were the vast majority^ of the clergy of the country, 
 there were not wanting a large number of ministers who were 
 among his truest friends. Of these, no one made for him- 
 self a nobler record than the now very aged and greatly venerat- 
 ed saint and apostle of Righteousness, Kev. Thomas T. Stone, 
 1). D., of P>olton, Mass., formerly the pastor of the First Church 
 
33 
 
 ')f Salem, Tlu; feeble state of his healtii has pi-evented liiiu froni 
 meeting you here today, but, ninety-two years old though he is, 
 lie has sent us a beautiful letter, traced with his own fine, delicate 
 liandwriting, which I will ask his honored son, Col. Henry Stone, 
 of Boston, whom I see in the audience, to read for us. 
 
 Col. Stone cheerfully responded to the call, and read from 
 the platform, and the letter, which was listened to with deep 
 interest by all present, may be found with others in another part 
 of the volume. 
 
 The speaking was then discontinued for a Ijrief time to allow 
 31 r. Clark, the ph(jtogra[)her, to take a [)icture of the audience. 
 The President improved the opportunity afforded while the nec- 
 essary preparations were going on, to introduce to those present 
 a grandchild of the venerable Theodore D.Weld, and to exhibit a 
 piece of the strand with which John Brown was hung, in Virginia, 
 a memento brought to the meeting by Mr. Charles Woodbury, of 
 Beverly. After Mr. Clark had done his work, the Hutchinsons 
 sang the following spirited song, composed by Mr. George W. 
 Putnam, of Lynn, and formerly sung by them throughout tlio 
 whole anti-slavery struggle and all over the North : 
 
 SONG :— ^'THERE'S NO SUCH WOKD AS FAIL." 
 
 [Words by G. W. rutnain. Music by Asa \i. Ilutcliiusou. Of the six 
 original verses the Hutchinsons usually sang these foiu'.] 
 
 Hidden by the slave power, 
 
 Crushed beneath the chain, — 
 
 Now has conic our risiug lu)in', 
 
 Lo ! we're up again ! 
 
 And voices from the niountaiu hciglit, 
 
 Voices from the vah;, 
 
 !Say for Freedom's fearless host. 
 
 "There's no such word as fail I" 
 
 For tliis the soii^s of liberty, 
 
 Are ringing to the sky! 
 
 For this upon a thousand hills 
 
 Our lianner %vavetli high ! 
 
 And rallying 'neatli its folds we call, 
 
 From mountain glade and glen, 
 
 All stern and fearless spirits forth, 
 
 Which l)car the forms of men." 
 
34 
 
 Free to speak llie biiruinif truth, 
 All fcttfrless the hand.— 
 Kevcr shall the Yankee's brow 
 Bear the eiirsed brand ! 
 Send the gathering Freemen's shout 
 Boonnng on the gale, — 
 Omnipotence is for us, 
 "There's so such word as fail!" 
 
 They're gathering on the mountain, 
 They're gathering on the plain I 
 Aud Willi the trani]) of Freedom's host 
 The broad earth shakes again ! 
 And this their glorious rallying cry. 
 Whose tirm hearts never quail, — 
 God and the People ! On for right ! 
 "There's no such word as fail." 
 
 Another song being called for from the Ilutchinsons, Mr. 
 George T. Downing rose and asked permission to say a word. 
 He said : — "In conversation with ^Ir. Hutchinson in the early 
 stages of this meeting, we carried ourselves back to a building in 
 the city of New York where the members and friends of the anti- 
 slavery association used to assemble annually. At one of those 
 gatherings a notorious man l)y the name of Rynders came there 
 with his associates to break up the meeting. I was one of the 
 number present. Mr. Hutchinson and his noble band sat in the 
 gallery. The meeting became a complete scene of disorder, 
 owing to the interruption of R3'nders and his gang. Without 
 any announcement, the Hutchinsons rose in the audience, or 
 rather in the gallery, and with their sweet voices completely 
 tamed the wild beast, as I recall him on that occasion, and they 
 are about to give us the same song now, which they sang then. 
 
 Mu. Hutchinson: — It was not always convenient for us to 
 be announced from the stage. AVe would manage to get among 
 the audience, and when the opportunity came to do our duty, we 
 did it. We did it on that occasion. It nudves me feel like 
 shedding tears of joy that we were privileged to serve and even 
 to suffer for the great cause of Emancipation. It was when we 
 were once with William Lloyd Garrison at Portland, and when 
 the mob was so noisy that nothing could be heard, and he re- 
 mained silent, and they would not allow him to speak, that he 
 turned and asked us to sing. We arose and sang this very song. 
 I would state that, of the two members of my family who are 
 with me today, my daughter takes the place of my dear sister 
 who was with me singing recently at the burial of our beloved 
 .John G. Whittier, who has gone to his glorious home above; 
 
35 
 
 iind her IihsIkuuI wroto me a letter which I received just 
 before 1 came, in wiiich he says, "Abbie aixl myself cannot lie 
 with you, yet we will be with you in spirit," and I believe it is 
 so. We will siniv, friends, the song >>()\i'r the mountain and 
 over the moor, or "The Slave's Ai)|)eal." 
 
 ]\Ir. Hutchinson and his c impanions sang this song from t!ie 
 platform, havirig sung the [irevious ones at tlu' [)ia;io I) 'low, u>Mr 
 the stage. 
 
 SONG :— -THE SLAVE'S APPEAL." 
 
 OvLT tlie mouiitaiu and over the moor, 
 Cou'cs the sad wailing' of many a slavi;; 
 Tlie r.-.tlier, the iiiotlier, and ehildien are pool", 
 And grieve with i)etitions tlieir froedoni to have. 
 
 Pity, kiiiii gcuth'iueii. Crlends of huinaiiity. 
 Cold is the worhl lo tlie cry of God's [x^or; 
 Give us our free(h>m, ye friends of luunaMity, 
 Give us our nuiits, tor we ask nothing more. 
 
 Call us not indolent, vile and degraded, 
 \Vhitk; men ha\e' roljbed us of all we hold dear; 
 Parents and ehiltireu, the yoniig and the aged, 
 Are .seourgetl by the lash of the rough overseer. 
 
 Pity, kind gentlemen, friends of e(iualitv, etc. 
 
 .And God in His mercy shall crown your endeavors, 
 'I'he glory of Heaven shall be your reward; 
 The pronnse of .lesns to yon shall l)e given, 
 "Enti r, ye faithful, the joy of your Lord." 
 
 Then pity, kind gentlemen, friends of Christianity, etc. 
 
 l'nfc:sn>i:NT Pctnam : — Few are those wlx^ can say tliat they 
 were present and witnessed the scene when JNIr. Garrison was 
 mobbed in Boston and dragged through tlie streets to jail. Our 
 revered friend, llev. Dr. (ieorge \V. l^orlei-, of Lexington, late 
 President of the Historical Society of that town and so well 
 known to oui- own Society to which he has rendei-ed so nnich 
 'service, and to tliis neigliborhood in which he was born, is one of 
 tlie number. He was a youth at the time, but his recollection of 
 what he then and tliere saw is still vivid, as you may well sup- 
 pose. Will he kindly tell us all about it, and tell ns, also, of his 
 personal aciiuaintance with that other noble champion of Liberty, 
 Nathaniel P. Rogers, of New Hampshiri' ? 
 
 Dr. Porter received a hearty weleomi' fi-oin- the aiulieiice, 
 who vveri' evidently eager t() hear about the memorabh' event from 
 .an actual eve witness. 
 
36 
 
 ADDRESS OF REV. GEORGE W. PORTER, D. D. 
 
 Mk. Pwksipent, Ladiks and Gentlemen : — I \v:is most liai)py 
 to respond to the invitation of 3'our president to be here today 
 and to recount my recollections, tirst of a person, and secondly of 
 an event, both of whicli were intimately connected with the cause 
 we are here today to commemorate. In my early youth I was at 
 a school in Plymouth, N. H. I found in that village a gentle- 
 man and his family who took a very kindly interest in me as a 
 youth, and the interest between us was mutual and grew into 
 friendship. That person was Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, one of 
 the i)ioneers of the cause of human emancipation — a man of mag- 
 netic power, of logical mind, of fearless pen, and of great ability 
 and influence in the cause which he had espoused. He became to 
 me an inspiration, and my birth out of proslavery delusion into 
 the light of emancipation began under his tutelage. He asked 
 me to journey with him aci-oss the country some forty miles to 
 the town of Canaan, where I had been a resident and where I 
 think the members of this assembly will remember, an attempt 
 was made to establish a school of higiier academic learning, and 
 that establishment was. to be open to the colored people as well as 
 to the white. Subscriptions were taken, the building was erected, 
 and it was ready to l)e opened as a school of that character, when 
 the feeling of the community became so aroused and the people 
 became so adverse to the enterprise, that the farmers from the 
 hillsides and the river banks came thei'c witli tlieir yokes of oxen 
 to the number of sixty, attached them to tlie building, drew it 
 away, and left it in a swamp. By doing this 1 sui)i)0se they 
 thought they had put an end to all abolition movements in that 
 town and community. From that moment the cause of anti- 
 slavery prospered and soon became triumphant in the community. 
 So that I venture to say that Avithin twenty years, possibly flf- 
 teen, aftei' the date of this event, the whole community had 
 changed its sentiment, and from being the advocates of slavery 
 and of the ownership) of slaves in the Union, became the advo- 
 cates of anti-slavery. Mr. Rogers had a history of very great 
 importance in the eai-ly period of the anti-slavery struggle. His 
 intluence was felt all over the state and perhaps largely over 
 New F2ngland, and even beyond its boundaries. My recollections 
 of him are very pleasant and only pleasant. As I said, he became 
 an inspirer to me in the cause of humanity. 
 
 I will now recount my recollections of an event. That event 
 was the mobbing of William Lloyd Garrison, in P>oston, in tiie 
 year. I think. 1835, and in the month of October. I, as a youth, 
 was passing down Washington street and came opposite the Anti- 
 
37 
 
 Slavci'Y Kooiiis, as llu\v wci't- then failed, where Mr. (Jarrison had 
 fiis office ius editor of TJte JAherutor . I saw a crowd gatheriii<i'. 
 I asked the meaniicj,- of it, and I was told tliat they were gather- 
 ing to niol) (ieorge Thompson, a noted English advociite of 
 American emanci[)ation. That mob grew very rapidly. Jt was 
 made up of very respectal)le looking men outwardly. J'resently 
 [ saw them entering tl»e building, which they did ruthlessly, 
 loughly and violently, and then I heard that Mr. Garrison had 
 I'scaped through a rear window of the building, and it was sui)- 
 posed that he had gone out to escape from tlie violence of the 
 mob. It was seen very soon that the tendeu -y of the mob was 
 toward State Street. I was forced on with it and turned down 
 State street. As I came near the corner of Wilson's Lane, I saw 
 borne above tlie heads of the crowd the form of William Llo^'d 
 (iarrison, with a rope around his neck. The mob was shouting 
 and uttering maledictions and objurgations. It was a very 
 violent crowd. State Street had already filled with a surging 
 iiuiltitude. The mayor, Mr. Lyman, was at that time in the 
 mayor's office, which was then in the old State House, and efforts 
 -eemed to be made by the friends of humanity, if possible, to 
 -ecure the safety of the victim of vio'ence by placing him within 
 the doors of City Hall. That was si)eedily done. Then a carriage 
 was summoned. Then IMr. (iarrison was l)rought out and put 
 into the carriage, and the order was given to the driver to hasten 
 with all possible speed to Leverett Stieet jail for the security of 
 the victim of malice. The im[)ression this scene made upon mv 
 mind was one that can never be forgotten by me. I have for tlie 
 first time this afternoon had the opportunity of meeting with the 
 son of that honored and illustrious father. I had no sooner seen 
 him than I said he must l)e the son of his father, the resemblance 
 is so strong between them. Mr. Garrison was of course in a 
 state outwardl}' of great agitation. InwardU\ I trust, he had the 
 peace of God and the consciousness of right within his soul. 
 And as he was borne aloft his face was suffused with blood, and 
 he was apparently choking under the violence of his enemies. Jn 
 that way he was taken to the jail. I want yon to remember that 
 the mob was not an ordinary one. It was a kid-gloved mo)), 
 made np of the respectable gentlemen of Boston. Then' was no 
 rough or very little lough element in it ; and as the carriage was 
 ordered to drive on, these men with gloved hands held onto the 
 wheels of the carriage, I'esolved that it should not go. But with 
 the help of the spirited horses, the still more s[)irited driver, and 
 the still more s|)irited wliip. the man concpiered and the carriage 
 went on. The mob went after it. shouting to make the welkin 
 ring again : Itut taking a devious course which tlie driver was 
 
38 
 
 ordered to take, tlie carria;:;e reached Leverett Street jail iu safety 
 and Mr. Garrison was therein safe for a while. He remained there 
 until peace was somewhat restored, and was then taken into the 
 country. The next morning I had occasion to go into the street 
 where he lived and in front of his door there stood a gallows ! 
 The house had been ill-treated during the night, and that was the 
 condition of Boston, friends, in the year of grace 183;"). AVhat is 
 the condition now? I venture to state that ninety-nine iiersons 
 out of every hundred are today what were known ignominiously 
 at that time as abolitionists and friends of the slave. So God 
 works wonderful changes in the consciences and minds of men. 
 Illumination takes the place of darkness, and truth the jdaee of 
 error, and truth eventually under God is to conquer. (A[)plause,) 
 
 The Puksidknt : — The most persuasive voice that was heard 
 in all the troublous years we are passing in review, vvas that of 
 one you have long been waiting to greet. Slie needs no inti'o- 
 duction. A [)ioneer in anti-slavery work and in so many other 
 great and noble reforms, she has endeareil herself to all true 
 lovers of humanit}', and you will be more than glad to listen to 
 Mrs. Lucy Stone. 
 
 As one after another of these early and faithful reformers, 
 so long ago famous, came forward to address the meeting, they 
 could l)ut realize, ]\[r. May, Mr. Pillsbury, Mrs. Stone, and tlie 
 rest, how warmly and widely their earnest, self-sacrificing and 
 long-continued devotion to the service of the oppressed was 
 appreciated at last. Many who were present had often heanl 
 Mrs. Stone and others of the numljer plead the cause of enslaved 
 men and women forty or lifty years before. It was ;i coveted 
 privilege and pleasure to see and hear them again, and the mani- 
 festation of delight, on the part of all, at this reappearance of the 
 favorite and most conspicuous advocate of the rights of her sex, 
 with her accustomed brave words and winning voice and manner, 
 was unmistakable. She spoke but ten minutes, conllning herself 
 strictly to the allotted time. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MRS. LUCY STONE. 
 
 1 should like to add one word to what Dr. Porter said about 
 the way in which Mr. Garrison was carried to the Leverett Street 
 jail. One of the Essex County men, James N. Buffum, told me 
 that he was there at the time of the mob. He said that when he 
 saw the mob getting lujld of the wheels and attempting to prevent 
 
30 
 
 tlie earriagc from going, lie had a spirited horse and he drove it 
 on to them, and they had to let go for their own safety or else 
 ^Ir, Bnffum would have run them down. What I especially want 
 to speak of this afternoon is the influence Mr. Garrison and the 
 early abolitionists had in the cause of women at the time of the 
 auti-slavery movement. There was then no such a thing as a 
 woman having any part in puljlic affairs. It was everywhere held 
 that woman should be silent on such occasions, f remember 
 many years ago that P21izabeth Stuart Phelps' grandfather, Kev. 
 Eliakim Phelps, asked for any one to offer prayer. This was at 
 the village i)rayer meeting. A woman knelt and prayed. AVhen 
 she ceased Mr. Phelps rose to his feet and said very solemnly, 
 " Let your women keep silence in the church." 
 
 There was nothing like women ap|)earing in public at that 
 time, though Mr. Garrison and Wendell Phillips and others were 
 telling us of the woes of mothers and of little babes sold on the 
 auction block. It was not ^xissible in such times for women to 
 be silent. In the Friends' meetings, among the (Quakers, freedom 
 of speaking has always been accorded to women. Abliy Kelly 
 and the two Grimke sisters, three Quaker women, found it impos- 
 sible to keep silence. I cannot tell 3^ou how it began, l>ut they 
 did come into the lield of public speaking. Yet a certain class of 
 abolitionists said they should not. Abby Kelly said : " Woe is 
 me if I preach not this gospel of freed;)m to the slave." The 
 anti-slavery society divided itself on the subject. jNIr. Garrison 
 and AVendell Phillips always stood in favor of the freedom of the 
 public s[)eaking of women. You can see by what Mr. Porter has 
 told you, what the condition of pultlic sentiment was in regard to 
 anti-slavery. These men added to that, the odium of allowing 
 women to do wliat they had not been allowed to do l)efoie — to 
 speak in public. I rememl)er when the sisters Grimke and Abby 
 Kelly began to speak. The mob jeered at tliein and pelted them 
 with bad eggs and even with stones. the ne\v>i):i[)i'is lidieuled 
 them and ministers preached against them. Ahhy Ivelly once, 
 in a town of Connecticut, went to church. The clergyman rose 
 and took for his text, " This »Je/.el)el has come amongst us also.'* 
 Then he preached a1)Out her as though she was the 
 worst kind of a woman. This brave (.^uaiver woman had 
 taken her life in her liands, and had gone out to hel[) free the 
 slaves. 
 
 The Women's Pights movement owes its inception to the 
 anti-slavery cause. Look at the progress which has ))een made 
 from the time when Abl)y Kelly was pelted with stones to the 
 present time, when the women of the Columbian Fair have millions 
 of dollars at their command from tlie I'nited States government. 
 
40 
 
 Well, all the progress made from Al»1)y Kelly's time to this we 
 owe to the anti-slavery agitation. (Applause.) I do not think 
 we can conceive at this day of the condition of things then. Now 
 when all doors are open to women, we Had women managing the 
 temperance canse, with Miss Frances Willard at its head, with 
 her great army of 600,000 engaged in the temperance cause. 
 But in 1853, there was a World's Temperance Convention in New 
 York. One woman, Antoinette Brown, came there as a delegate. 
 And the great body of the delegates to that convention, who were 
 clergymen, turned themselves into a mob to i)revent the woman 
 from being heard. William Lloyd Garrison was there, and he 
 said he had seen violent men in mobs before, but he had never 
 seen anything like that, when for two or three days the great body 
 of ministers clamored and banged with their heels and thumped 
 with their canes, and did everything they could to keep a woman 
 from being heard as a delegate. And in the year 1840, when 
 there was a world's anti-slavery convention in London, and Mary 
 Grew and Lucretia Mott went as delegates, the world's anti- 
 slavery convention would not admit them, and Mr. Garrison said, 
 •■'lama delegate and these women are delegates, and if they 
 cannot be received I will not be." So he sat in the gallery. It 
 was the play of Hamlet with Hamlet left out, for they desired Mr. 
 Garrison as a delegate more than any one else. But he sat in the 
 gallery, taking his place with the women. (A])planse). Yon will 
 see what the condition was in those years by that very shutting 
 out of women. 
 
 Now I come to a period later than that — 1848 or 1849, or 
 perhaps it was 1850. Rev. Samuel May then was agent of the 
 Anti-Slavery Society. I went to Maiden to hold an anti-slavery 
 meeting. That meeting took place on Sunday at five o'clock in 
 the afternoon. An orthodox clergyman was asked to give notice 
 of the meeting, which he did thus, "I am requested by Mr, Morey 
 to say that a hen will attemi)t to crow like a cock this afternoon 
 at the Town hall. All those who like that kind of music will 
 attend." (Laughter.) Now you can imagine, after all these 
 years of Abby Kelly and of the sisters Grimke and of the anti- 
 slavery fight, what the condition was in 1850, when a respectable 
 clergyman could give such a notice. You can nnagine from that 
 what the anti-slavery men luul to face when they took up this 
 cause. I often tlynk of Abby Kelly, — how she was hunted like a 
 parti'idge on the mountain, and every woman thought she had a 
 right to jeer at her. Men went with brickbats and stones to pelt 
 her. T have often thought that if she had had to cut her way to 
 the top of Mount Washington with a jack-knife it would have 
 been an easier task than that by which she made a highway over 
 
41 
 
 wliicli -woiiu'ii now walk fivfly. When Galileo diseox cred thf 
 I'ottitiou of the I'urth, they piuched his flesh and he denied it, 
 heeanse he could not endure the pain. Hut Al)))y Kelly for 
 twenty years l)oi'e all the eruel hurt to her spirit for the sake of 
 equal rights. What do we not owe to those women as well as to 
 tlie men ! We can never measure what we owe. I remember 
 the first time I attended an anti-slavery meeting in Boston. On 
 the platform sat a woman. This was such an unheard of thing 
 that I felt almost ashamed to see a woman there. It was my 
 first experience. !She had on one of those bonnets that came 
 away out, so that I could not see her face, and she had a pale 
 blue ribbon on it and at her wrist white cuffs. 1 wished to see 
 her face to know what kind of a person she was. It was Eliza 
 J. Kenny of Salem ^ who acted as Secretar^^ of the Society for 
 many years. The Anti-Slavery Society welcomed a woman 
 to be its secretary, and helped to do away with i)rejudices. But 
 the great thing the anti-slaver}' movement did was to emancipate 
 the human mind. Before, everybody believed in a personal 
 devil, with a hell in Avhich there was brimstone and fire ; but from 
 the coming of the anti-slavery cause that movement set us free to 
 question even the things held most sacred. When people said 
 the Bible sustained slavery, Theodore Parker said "So much 
 the worse for the Bible." The question had been opened 
 whether tlie Bible Avas all that it claimed to be. We were taught 
 that there was no thing and no claim, however sacred, which we 
 iiad not the right to question. So this result of the anti-slavery 
 movement was worth more to the world than even the freedom of 
 the slave. 
 
 Mr. President, I thank 3'ou and the members of the Daiivi-rs 
 Historical Society for the oi)portunity you have given int- to come 
 here and say a word and to look into the faces of tliose wlio are 
 here. There are many wrinkled faces; yet many of us l>egan 
 with roses in our cheeks. Today we come young at se\-enty-f<>ur, 
 young at eighty-four, and determined, as long as we can, to work 
 to the end. (Great applause.) 
 
 The President next introduced Mrs. Abby Morton Diaz, 
 author of many interesting l)Ooks and stories, and proiniiiciit in 
 the Women's pAlucational & Industrial Union, of ISoston. "Her 
 work," he said, "in numerous departments of usefulness, has 
 resulted in a great deal of good, and promises to result in a great 
 deal more. She will tell us something, I trust, of the Plymouth 
 fil)olitionists, as she is a daughter of one of tlie most noted and 
 worthy of them." (Api)lause.) 
 
42 
 ADDRESS OF MRS. ABBY M. DIAZ. 
 
 1 sliould like to say that a great many women here and else- 
 where, engaged in money earning, have not the slightest idea 
 how largely these extended opportunities have been made pos- 
 sible to them by the woman who has jusi, sat down. I think I 
 shall introduce myself as a relic of the anti-slavery times. I 
 know that relics are looked upon not at all with envy, rather with 
 pity ; l)ut I, as a relic, look with pity on the younger people here 
 who did not have the opi)ortunities which we had of being edu- 
 cated in princii)les. I am a relic, for one thing, of a Plymouth 
 Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society, of which I was Secretary, — a relic 
 of some Plymouth school girls who had become skilful in anti- 
 slavery argument, and who circulated anti-slavery petitions on 
 their way to and from school. Tlie anti-slaver}' reading room 
 was our daily stopping place. It was a free thought social 
 centre. Tlie sign of tliat anti-slavery room was mobbed and had 
 the honor of being coated with tar. I am also a relic of an anti- 
 slavery meeting held in Plymouth in an obscure church, the only 
 one attainable. The meeting was mobbed, stones being thrown 
 through the window. M3' father went to the sheriff, but the 
 sheriff did not care to do anything about it. Then I am a lelic 
 of a party who went on to New York at one time in a steamboat, 
 at the time when so many had been aroused by the enthusiasm of 
 John A. Collins. The Graham boarding house engaged for the 
 delegates would not contain us. We arrived in the morning 
 earl}', and were sent to the St. John's Hall to get our breakfast, 
 because the Graham boarding house could not take us in. But 
 Ave had Graham fare. There were tables set np and down the 
 hall and we had dishes of mush and other rations. There we 
 took our breakfast. In tiie afternoon we ascended to an upper 
 loft and partitioned it off with our shawls, so as to spend the 
 night there, feeling it a great wonder that an}' owner would let 
 xis into his building. But later this owner came in great agita- 
 tion, and said tiiere was danger tliat the hall would be burned, 
 and that we would have to go somewhere else. We picked up 
 all our belongings and set forth. A crowd assembled in the 
 street as we went out, and we heard the men say "^Vhy, tliere 
 are some very good looking women among them !" We did not 
 know what to do when we got into the street. It was night, but 
 darkness only added to the delight of the youngest of the party, 
 because it was something very romantic to be thrown into the city 
 streets late at night, and not to know where to go. We tried a 
 great many places but nobody would receive anti-slavery people. 
 At last we were taken in where we smelled supper getting ready. 
 
43 
 
 "We noticed some whispered coufereiiees and pi-eseiitly liie iniid- 
 lady caine to us and said, "I cannot keep you. I sliall lose 
 every boarder I have iu the house if you stay. You will lia\e to 
 go." So we had to put on our things at nine o'clock at night 
 and go forth again into the streets oH a sti'ange citv. At last in 
 a tenth rate l)oarding house — it was very tenth rate — we ohtainctl 
 permission to stay, though rathei- than go to bed we lay down on 
 the outside. There was one thing you can have no idCa of. It 
 was the enthusiasm, the utter devotion to the canse, of the 
 young people of those days. Just as other yonng giils — " the 
 world's girls" — looked forward to ))alls and parties and talked 
 about their beaux, we of the anti-slavery cause looked forwaiul to 
 anti-slavery conventions, reckoned ui) the days that would elapse 
 before the next, talked about the speakers, doted over The 
 Liberator and sonie of us ate our l)rea(l bare of butter to save up 
 money to i)ay half our weekly subscription to the Anti-Slavery 
 Society, and knitted cotton garters to make up the other half, 
 going around anil selling them to get the necessary quarter a 
 week. All we had a desii'e for was to put what money we cc'uld 
 save into the contiibution box. If any one of us had owned a 
 watch it woukl have gone into the l)ox. But this w(juld n(jt have 
 l)een a sacriiice. It was a most delightful thing for us to do, 
 and we were so absorbed iu anti-slavery work that we had no 
 wish for anything else. I rememlter that two girls wer(> sent to 
 Boston. Their mother had given them money to buy some 
 shawls. ''Now," she said, '••I want yon to buy good shawls." 
 So they |nit nearly all their money into the contribution box, and 
 went back with very [Xjor shawls, to the great disgnst of their 
 mother. 
 
 There is one other thing that the anti-slavery people \vxxv. 
 done; they have given us lal)or-saving tools. As JMarcus Anto- 
 ninus says : '-As physicians have always instruments ready for 
 any case which may suddenly recpiire their use, so do tluni have 
 principles ivad}' for the understanding of things divint- and 
 hu!nan." I call principles labor-saving, Itecause when any (jues- 
 tion comes up they save the labor of spending an}' time in talking 
 about probal)le results, in consulting l)ooks, iu listening to any- 
 body in anthoi'ity, whether iu church or state. All you have to 
 do is to bring that question to the jiulgment-seat of principle, and 
 it is decided. The anti-slavery leaders taught us the use of 
 these labor-saving tools, and 3'ou will fmd them very effective in 
 shortening the duration — and the speeches — of 3'our conferences 
 and convent ions. The AVoman's Suffrage question would be 
 settled in this wav in al)out live minutes. Woman's Suffrage is 
 
44 
 
 not anything ditlicult after we have worked on anti-bhivery. l"he 
 rights of one human being decided, then follow rights U)i- many 
 and all luinian beings. The Woman's Suffrage question is 
 liecided on the i)rinciple of individual right of judgment and of 
 settling matters of duty for one's self. I can jjrove that the 
 anti-slavery people were not agitators, but that on the contrary 
 those who opposed them were the agitators. The principle is this : 
 As truth is infinite the human perception of truth must always be 
 a progressive one. That being so, progress is in the divine 
 order. That lu'ing so, those who wish to progress are in the 
 divine order. The divine order was from slavery to freedom, and 
 those who went on in this divine order were going on in the right 
 way. Those who stopped them made the agitation. A stone in 
 a stream makes more fuss and agitation than all the little boats 
 that tloat with the stream. Thus 1 have proved to you by prin- 
 ciples that the anti-slavery people were not agitators, but that 
 those who opposed them were agitators. Then there is another 
 principle to be considered, namely, that every new idea or every 
 new presentation or plan has rights we are hound to respect. 
 One of those rights is a careful investigation without regard to 
 anybody's opinion, our own included, or to any authority how- 
 ever high and without regard to existing conditions. It must 
 not be decided by any of these ; it must just be brought down to 
 a principle. And remember that ''the new must be established 
 in terms of the new." Also, that because a thing cannot Vie 
 (lone now is no reason that it can never be done, and that 
 the improbable is not on that account impossible. This Co- 
 lumbian era is a good time to say that. It was very imiirob- 
 idde, all that came from what Columbus did, but although 
 imi)robable, it has proved to be possible. One strange thing 
 I have seen among people who have in a manner been liberated 
 by these principles. I have seen it in the narrowness of liberal- 
 ism as well as in the narrowness of conservatism ; that when 
 people have progressed a certain distance they say it is the end — 
 thus far and no farther. The next thing that conns up they are 
 not willing to accept or to thoroughly examine. They think they 
 liave got all there is. JNIany lil)eral people are more bigoted and 
 narrow than conservatives. I have in my mind some very liberal 
 and progressive people who have turned aside from tilings they 
 were not familiar with, condemning without full investigalion. 
 (Applause.) 
 
 Here Mrs. Diaz found her time had elapsed. 
 
 Letters of great interest were here read from Kev. R. S. 
 8t0!rs, D. D., Kev. Robert Collyer, Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher 
 
45 
 
 and Mis. Curuliue II. Dall, after wliicli the I'lXbident intiodiieed 
 Rev, Aaron Porter of East Alstead, N. H., the son of Hathorne 
 Porter, one of the original and most deserving of the old Danvers 
 abolitionists. -'Some of the latter, by way of lidienle, were 
 called 'The Seven Stars', by their proslavery neighbors. Per- 
 lia[)s onr friend, whose father was one of the saered number and 
 who well remeinl)ers these lights of former days and other hunin- 
 aries witii them, will let ns know how bright they were then aiui 
 how tlie}' have slione since." (Cordial greeting.) 
 
 ADDRESS OF REV. AARON PORTER. 
 
 JMk. President : — I ftdly agree with the statement aheady 
 made, that we are too near in time to the early abolitionists to 
 dispassionately j'ldge them on their methods. We are neither 
 artists designing nor skilled workmen Imilding their monument. 
 We are onl}' burden-bearers, bringing each one his share of the 
 raw material which he hopes will have its i)laee in the finished 
 structure that we are all sure the providence of God will cause to 
 be raised to their honor in the future. All who nj) to this timo 
 have l)een mentioned here are such as lived and wrought away 
 from Danvers. iMine is the work of speaking a word for tlios( 
 Avho in this imuiediate locality — yes, within tlie circuni>crilie<.l 
 Itoundaries of "Danvers Neck" — illustrated tiieir own peculiar 
 anti-slavery faith, in everyday life : lieing "come-onters" fi'om 
 church and state alike, accoiding to tlieii' own designation of 
 themselves, and constituting according to the (lesignati<:)n of 
 others, the "Seven Stars" and the nucleus of the "School House 
 Gang." When I first heard the terms "Seven Stars" and 
 "School House Gang." my father read them aloud from a letter 
 just received from William Endicott, while we were living in 
 what is now North Randolph, Vt., where I lived for three years. 
 Subse(|ueutly it was exi)lained to me that the "Seven Stars" were 
 represented by the following names : — .John Hood, Richard Hood, 
 Jesse P. Harriman, John Cutler, William Endicott, Joseph 
 ^lerrill, Hathorne Porter. In his answer to William l^iidicott's 
 letter my father wrote the following, which I extract from tiiat 
 very letter, kindly loaned tome by Mrs. Henry Hyde of Darners, 
 herself a daughter of William Endicott. 
 
 East RANnoi.rii, \''r., July 11, INJI. 
 FuiKND Endicott: — I receiveil your welcome letter of tlie 
 ."»th iiist. and was highly interested in perusing your vivid di;- 
 .scri[)tion of the scene in the anti-slavery meetings. If I undt-r- 
 
40 
 
 stand correctly, those throe meetings took pliu-e on the even- 
 ings of the Hi-'^t three days of July. I trust tile ••Seven Stars" 
 8huae witli greater brilliancy on those nights and added new 
 lustre to their accninnlated radiance. I hope also tliatthe "•Seven 
 Stars" have heeonie fixed stars, fixed in the eternal [)rinciples of 
 liberty, of truth and of humanity, and that they will continue to 
 let tlieir light siiine to clieer the down trodden — lights to illumine 
 the dark ways of oppression, and aid the children of adversity. 
 This appellation, ••Seven Stars," although intended as a term of 
 reproach, will ere long be considered a title of honor. I had 
 much rather be found with this faithful "Seven" who o[)pose 
 American slavery and act consistently with their piinci|)les, than 
 to be found applauding or approbating those who in 177G declared 
 that all men were born free, and of right ought to be free ; and 
 at the same time held hundreds of men in the most abject slavery. 
 Reckon me then as among the '•'Seven Stars," with all the aliase>< 
 annexed. Well, I am delighted with your report. I have some 
 idea of how Harriman looked when he made the charge of voting for 
 men thieves. 1 congratulate him and Bro. Hood and Sister Hood 
 in their self-em r,U'ii)ation from the corruptions of a in-oslavery 
 church. Where and liow is Bi'o. Cutler, the longest "star" in the 
 whole constellation? L.'t us hear about him in v'oui- next. How 
 pleased I should be, had I been present. It would have done my 
 heart good. Anti-slavery here in Vermont gains moderateU\ 
 Although it is the busiest time of the year, 3'et there have been 
 recently four or five conventions of al)olitionists in this region, 
 but I was unable to attend them. The tinn' foi' lalior in the 
 cause here, is in winter when people are at leisure and when it is 
 better travelling over these hills and mountains. There is indif- 
 ference, perha[)s ignorance, on the snl)ject of slavery here, but not 
 that bittsr opijosition — that determination to st )p free discussion, 
 which we have frequently seen exhibited even on old Danvers 
 Neck. Here are no nu)bl)ings nor threats of mobbing, and there 
 is not a church for miles around our region but wouhl be freel}' 
 granted for the diseussiou of al)olition. if applied for. I have 
 been invited to lecture in the IJrooktield nu'eting house all day of 
 a Sunday, and 1 think I shall try it in about tin-ee weeks. Bro. 
 Henry C Wright [)aid us a short visit and left last Monday for 
 Bost'):i. I hive ten th :);rsaud (jiiestions to ask y.)U, which 1 must 
 defer. 
 
 Youi^s for luimanHy, 
 
 Hathounk roKTicii. 
 
 Such were the " Seven Stars," as nearly as I can remember ; 
 but tiie.e come to me the nanus of others who were as worthy as 
 
47 
 
 these, i)erlia[)s, for the roll of honor. The early abolitionists 
 were religious — profouiidly and spiritually so — as religious ;is 
 Carver, or Biailford, or Winthrop or any of tlu; I'uiitans. As 
 religions as Lnther, or Melancthon, or ZwingU or any ot the 
 Protestant reformers ; and so far as they were critical, and 
 destructive and narrow, they were like all Pro-test-ants of every 
 age. 80 religious and sincere were they that tliey made the mis- 
 take of thinking that essential religion could live by its own inher- 
 ent and spiritual warmth without the aid of an>/ extraneous forms. 
 They said and rightly, that the common anti-slavery convention 
 was a religious meeting ; they said further, — and here the}^ were 
 mistaken, — that the religious forms of a religious meeting could 
 take care of themselves ; and so it came about, at last, that while 
 provision was made beforehand, as to who should address the 
 meeting, the matter of vocal prayer was left to be exercised on 
 the spur of the moment, l)y any one who might volunteer so to 
 do when the managers of the meeting announced the opportunity. 
 Of course it soon followed that the opportunity was seldom im- 
 proved. While I was away for tliree years in Vermont, occurred 
 the intrusion of Beach and Foster and others upon the usual 
 worship to deliver their testimonies for the slave, an intrusion of 
 which many abolitionists — [)rominent among them. Garrison and 
 AVendell Phillips — did not approve. Then also occurred for a 
 short time, probably a year or so, the regular meeting on the 
 Lord's day of these Danvers abolitionists in the school house, and 
 hence the term, tiie '•'•School House Gang." These meetings 
 were at first opened with reading from the Bible, and with [)rayer. 
 But soon these were discontinued, because they were regardetl as 
 formal, while the addressi's and exhortations were consid- 
 ered practical. John Peed, one of the "Come Outers," was 
 about my age, and when I leturni-d from Verintjiit he was slowly 
 dying of consumption. lie imd I talked over these tilings, and 
 both of us wislied the abolition meetings had kept in our time 
 the old religious feature of tiie formal worshi[). .John grew sicker. 
 One night I sat U|j with him in company witli his brother Augus- 
 tus. How I longed to say something religious to iiiui in (Con- 
 nection with our devout anti-slavery feelings and hopes, but I 
 was dillident and reticent and felt that his brother would not sym- 
 l)athize with our views, and i)ossibly it might not be best. But I 
 have been sorr}- that I did not, ever since. At his funeral the 
 minister toUl of his recent cc^nversion to Clirist on his dying bed, 
 after the fashion of the denomination to which his family belonged. 
 Was not .Tolui converted to Christ when week by week he gathered 
 witii the '• Come Outers" to remember those in bonds as botnid 
 witli them, in the spirit of him who said, Inasnui^h as ye have 
 
4S 
 
 done it, or done it not unto one of the lea^^t of these my brethixMu 
 ye have done it or done it not unto me. 
 
 And here I wish to put in a few renuniscences of the " Old 
 Anti-Slavery Days." The order in which I mention thenv is of niy 
 own memory, and may not be ehronologieally correct. 
 
 My earliest anti-slavery remembrance is of coming honir 
 from school and tinding that Rev. Alexander A. St. Clair, agent 
 of the American Anti-Slavery Society, was being entertained at 
 my father's house. Nest 1 remember a meeting for forming a 
 Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society, held in the house of Richard 
 Hood. He and Rev. S. Brimlilecom. the Uuiversalist minister, 
 were the only adults present. The former offered prayer at thr 
 commencement and the latter at the close of the meeting. Next 
 is the coming of the Grimke sisters to advocate anti-slavery vitw- 
 in the Baptist meeting house on a week day. They were born in 
 the south and had emancipated their inherited slaves. The meet- 
 ing-house was crowded. Nest is an anti-slavery library, ke[it 
 over A\ illiam Alley's tailor shop, open every Saturday evenings 
 with Alfred Ray Porter for librarian. He was my uncle, and 
 often did I, at his request, officiate in his place. Then I remem- 
 ber one or two anti-slavery conventions held in the Baptist meet- 
 ing-house on week days. Then the coming of the ''Liberator." 
 followed all too soon by a rival sheet, the '-Emancipator," and 
 then the "Xew Organization" with the woman question and the 
 Sabbath question and the voting question ! I suppose all the>e 
 questions and discussions and cleavages were somehow necessary. 
 They always have been. They came when Christianity separated 
 from Judaism. They divided the church into Jewish Christians 
 and Gentile Christians in Paul's time. They divided the chureli 
 when Luther came. From them were evolved the Puritans and 
 the Pilgrims. They are with us now in the "new departure" of 
 modern Congi-egatioualism and Presbyterianism. They still 
 abide, but they do grow less bitter and vmchristian. May the>e 
 features of them disappear altogether in future progress. Whit- 
 tier was on both sides after the division. So I suppose were 
 Pierpont and John T. Sargeant and Dr. Hunt and John A. Inuis. 
 But can a man be rightly on both sides? I think he can, when, 
 as was the case with the early abolitionists, the dift'erences con- 
 cern only methods of action and do not involve fundamental prin- 
 ciples. I think there is a sense deep, true, spiritual, holy — in 
 which Paul's saving about being '' all things to all men that some 
 may be saved" is to be apprehended and studied and practiced in 
 conduct very Christian indeed. Paul was not a time-server I 
 
 I have followed with appreciation and interest the paper of 
 
49 
 
 my friend. Mv. (Janibou, in vindicalion of iiis iioimri'd father's- 
 Christian courage and logical consistency timing those evil days 
 when he stood so stoutly for the eternal righteousness. Uut the 
 foundations on whicli the early alx litionists themselves Wuildcnl 
 were deeper and firmer than logical consistency or courage. They 
 were, for their time, the true, the real church I And one's- 
 motive, purpose, spiritual desire, religious aim, must determine 
 his anti-slavery standing. Before the inward majesty of these 
 tests the verbal repudiation of church and state becomes external 
 and incidental. Among the abolitionists arose a little company 
 that declined to use the products of slave labor, pai'ticularly cot- 
 ton. Mv. Garrison by one ex cathedra paragraph in his '-JJber- 
 atov" op[)osed their course and annihilated their organization. 
 But why was not their aim as obvious and practicable as the 
 moral battle cry, "No union with slaveholders":"' Not that I 
 condemn Garrison. I only seek to vindicate some whose methods 
 he condemned. I, myself, heard iStei)hen S. Foster declai'e iu 
 Citizens' Hall, on Danvers Neck, '-No man is an abolitionist 
 unless he belong to the American Anti-Slavei'y Society or to one 
 of its auxiliaries." Much as I would like to do it, 1 know no 
 process of abstract reasoning or method of concrete devotion to 
 those whom he represented, which can i)urify his saying from all 
 taint of a bigotry and sectarianism as intense as any that has 
 ever tainted ecclesiastical declarations. There is a moral and 
 spiritual i)arallax for whicli we must make allowance ere we can 
 determine the heavenly position of the ''Seven Stars," and when 
 we have determined it, as high as they, will shine such local 
 abolitionists as Ur. Hunt and John A. Learoyd, to say nothing of 
 snch distinguished abolitionists as Kev. Charles Turner Torrey, 
 who died in the IMaryland State Prison, where he was confined 
 for aiding slaves to escape ; James (i. Birney, first and only can- 
 didate of the Liberty party for the Presidency of the United States ; 
 Lysander Spooner, who tried hard to make the Natio)ial Constitu- 
 tion what only the logic of the slaveholder's rebellion could 
 make it — an anti-slavery document. And this the slaveholder's re- 
 bellion did through the rendings of the civil war, thus enabling the 
 si:)iiit of the framers of the constitution to shine through the letter 
 of their iunnortal production. (Applause.) 
 
 The President next called upon Mr. (Jeorge W. Putnam, of 
 Lynn, as still another of the tried and honored veterans, who, 
 from the beginning to the end, had been associated with the great 
 anti-slavery leaders, and had done much and suffered not a little 
 in behalf of the righteous, but once unpoi)ular cause. ]Mr. Put- 
 
50 
 
 aiani, also, was warmly received. The audience had already 
 heard the Iliitehinsous slug one of his old Liberty songs. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. GEORGE W. PUTNAM. 
 
 Gray-haired and bent with age — we, a portion of the vet- 
 erans of the "old guard of freedom" who still linger on earth, 
 have come here today by the kind invitation of the Dan vers His- 
 torical Society, to exchange our last greetings, and, with our 
 rfellow citizens to commemorate the most sublime event in human 
 liistory, the a1)olition of American slavery and the emancipa- 
 tion of four millions of chattel slaves ! Go back in memory only 
 some sixty years and call to mind that, at that time, two and a 
 half millions of slaves were held in bondage by a nation which 
 made the heavens and earth resound with its boasted love of 
 liuman freedom ; a nation which stood forth a colossal hypocrite 
 before the world; a nation whose ''religions sense," the founda- 
 tion of all human advancement, had been so long perverted by 
 slavery, that it had well nigh become extinct; a nation whose 
 Congress, state legislators, pulpit, forum, bar, press and people 
 were all arrayed against the idea of the emancipation of the slaves 
 of the country, then counted by millions, the most honorable ex- 
 ceptions to this !)eing very few and far between. These things 
 are hard and unpleasant to think of and to say, but we, the mem- 
 bers who remain on earth of that "old ouard of freedom," stand 
 today too near cur own graves to be willing to falsify history or 
 to flatter anybody. ButT still let me say, I have spoken of these 
 dark facts of the past mainly to impress on your minds the 
 tremendous nature of that undertaking which sought, with 
 every adverse element possible existing, to accomplish the stu- 
 pendous work of the emancipation of the enslaved millions of 
 America and by so doing to save a grand nation — the light and 
 iiope of the earth — from the inevitable perdition to which it was 
 rapidly hastening. AYho were the wretched victims in the case? 
 I answer — they were the most poor, ignorant, degraded and help- 
 less human beings on the face of God's earth ! They had no 
 grand history, no literature, no art, no civilization like tliat of 
 Greece and Rome to fall back upon. Nothing in fact to arouse 
 the iutei-est and awaken the enthusiasm of the intelligent world 
 in their behalf. Seized and brouglit to this land and enslaved ! 
 A hundred and more years of suffering, wretchedness, toil and 
 degradation had been their lot at the time that the ''yeomen went 
 ;to Concord" on that never to be forgotten April morn and inaug- 
 urated that '"Great Revolution" which created this nation and 
 made it free and independent, but which, sad to say, Ijrought to 
 
51 
 
 tlio faithful I'hicki? who li:i(l done their pait well in the wnr for 
 Independence, no relief from their chains and their degradation 1 
 A few atteiut)tis at insnrrection were afterward made hy them, but 
 they had failed and the insurgents were terribly punished. Occa- 
 sionally some humane soul spoke a word for the slave. Jefferson 
 said: '•! tremble for iny country when I remember that (lod is 
 just, and that His justice will nc^t sleep forever!" The good 
 ijenjamin Lnndy and a few others made some efforts for tlie 
 gradual enn\ncii)ation of the slaves. l)Ut they had but little success. 
 About the year 1820 Rev. Samuel Worth was imprisoned in 
 Kentucky for preaching the right of th;' slaves to their freedom. 
 
 "l")arkiiess coverefl all the lanl 
 Ami jir()s> il;irkiie>s tlic ) eoplf." 
 
 when in the year 1830 — a year never to be forgotten in the hi>- 
 tory of the world — a young man named William Lloyd (iariison 
 opened at Boston his thunder batteries upon chattel slavery, and 
 ai'oused the monster and its adherents north and south to ilh- 
 tiercest rage. Never will be forgotten the words of that yoinv^ 
 man when lu' said : — "I am in earnest! I will not excuse! I 
 will not equivocate ! 1 will not I'etreat a single inch and I will be 
 heard !" and then in the name of God and humanity demanded 
 the immediate emanci|)ation of the American slaves. Very 
 slowly came the friends (jf liberty to his support, but those 
 who came were giants in their way, and the slave power south 
 and north soon learned that Garrison and his faithful ones 
 "meant business." Of the storms of rage, of the mobbing, 
 rioting and murder, yon all know well, and 1 need not 
 recapitulate them here. The abolitionists were in earnest, and 
 reacliing far down into the darkness where lay the wretched 
 slaves, thev said, 'H)uis is a death grip! Take hold of our 
 hands, ami, Hoil helping us, we will l)ring you up to light, life 
 and liberty !" 
 
 What was the chaiacter of these early abolitionists? Were 
 they all harmonious in their views and (lid they always agree? 
 l»y no means. On the contrary, like all reformers who amount 
 to anything, they had their sharp angles of character, and they 
 disputed vehemently over the ways and means of cari-ying on 
 their warfare with slavery. Some of them declared it the height 
 of sinfulness to vote under the constitution of the United States, 
 and others declared it a crime not to do so, and in their contro- 
 versies they were often very sharj) and severe npon each other. 
 They reminded oiu^ strongly of the army of Cromwell. His sol- 
 diers were terribly in earnest and were '"Theologians" to a man. 
 By the light of their cami) fires they read their llibles, and they 
 
52 
 
 disputed violently in relation to tlie doctrine^; which they held of 
 "■election," '•stmctitlcation," -'buptifem," "oi'iginal sin," etc. 
 Their disputes were many aud violent. "But when the trumpet 
 sounded, they all went up to Naseby together!" So with the 
 abolitionists; they disi)uted vehemently, earnestly and honestly 
 in relation to the means of doing the great work they had under- 
 taken. Hut every man and every woman had a dagger of some 
 shape ready for the heart of slavery, and wlien tlie hour came 
 they drove it to tlie iiilt ! The abolitionists earnestly desired that 
 slavery should be al)olished without bloodslied ; but another and 
 a higher power ordained it otherwise. 'J'he hour of I'etribution 
 of which Jefferson had spoken had come at last, when for the 
 bouudless wrong and unspeakable oppression of the slave, the 
 guilty south and guilty north had the "cup of trembling" present- 
 ed to their lips by the hand of God, and were made to drain it to 
 the dregs. Sad, indeed, it is to remember that the human race 
 learn no lessons of justice unless they are written in human blood. 
 We saw the vast paraphei'ualia of war gatliered in our streets, in 
 our valleys and on our hillsides. We heard the peal of thousand 
 bugles, the roll of thousand drums ! The parks of artillery 
 thundered along our highways aud the suidight, fn^n morn till 
 night, flashed back fiom the loug, long lines of northern stee! 
 gleaming on its southward way. We saw that uiispeakablj 
 grand array, 
 
 '•When the northern states, like giants, 
 
 .Southward moved in awful form, 
 With voices of all nature 
 
 And God, behind the storm I" 
 
 what turn the armed millions gathered to the "Armageddon," the 
 great battle of God Almighty. And then, when the salvation of 
 the Union was accoinplishecl, when the earth and ocean had been 
 reddened by the blood of white and of colored men, also, for they 
 had done their part nobly on land and sea, the wide earth 
 resounded with the crash of breaking chains, and the astonished 
 nations saw four millions of most wretched aud abject human 
 slaves, slaves, come up from the pit of despair and. crossing as of 
 old a crimson sea, take their places before the world, free men 
 and free women forever! As to the noble character of the race 
 thus redeemed fiom slavery, I have not time, nor words, even if 
 I had the time, ade(piately to express it. Scarcely had the sound 
 of clanking chains, the shrieks of the victims under the lash and 
 tlie cries of the wretched ones separated at the auction block die*! 
 away, when we saw, with astonishment, these newly emancipated 
 slaves, slaves, in the schools aud colleges of the land ; many of 
 
tiiesi' victims of :sl;iV(M'y with tlu> iiiniks of the hisli and tiu' hi'and- 
 iuo-iron still ui)on tluMii, taking their places in the pulpit, the 
 halls of leoislatioii, in Congress, at the b:ir, in the jury l)ox and 
 un the jtidieial iH-iich, and already vast amounts of wealth, hon- 
 estly aecpiired. in theii' possession. Nothing like this has the 
 world ever liefore witnessed. The colored lace has shown a 
 ^ireatness of chaiactei' and an innate power to rise from the load 
 t>f cruel and ini.>("ial)le oppression which no words can fullv 
 vxpress. And now for myself and all the old aliolitionists pres- 
 ent and absent, I would say that to each of us the iemeinl)rance, 
 that in the hour of darkness when there seemed to be no help, 
 (iodgave us strength to espouse the glorious cause of emancipa- 
 tion, and to rally with that "hope forlorn of lil)erty" which gath- 
 ered upon these northern hills, is now, in our old age, the sweet- 
 est recollection of our lives. It was, indeed, but a cup of cold 
 water which w'e had to give the wretched outcast, the chattel 
 slave, but God knows it was given freely and with pure intent. 
 A word more and I have done. There is a grand and glorious 
 nation, the light and hope of the world, yet to be saved ! The 
 emancipation of the four millions of slaves, great as it was, after 
 all was only the prelude of that unspeakably mighty wcnk of sav- 
 ing this nation from destruction I Had slavery continued there 
 had been toda}' eight or nine millions of slaves ui our land and 
 t-lie doom of our nation had been sealed forever. The tyrants of 
 Ihe old world are eagerly watching and longing for our downfall. 
 IJut it must never come ! This nation, again and again blood- 
 bought, must fulfil the high destiny which the hand of God has 
 marked out for it. The great struggle for human liberty must 
 still go on. The blood shed u[)on hundreds of battlefields from 
 Lexington to Yorktovvn, from Sumter to the Appomattox:, nnist 
 not have been shed in vain. 
 
 riiESiUENT PcTNAJi : — We shall now have the |)leasui'e of 
 hearing Mr. Downing, of Newpoit, K. 1., a colored gentleman 
 who will very fitly represent his race in our meeting toda}'. We 
 <;ould not think of holding a meeting like this, without some words 
 from such a source. Known to all anti-slavery people, Mv. 
 Downing is sure of your sympathetic interest l)eforehand, and 
 ke always has something worthy to say. (Earnest a[)plause.) 
 
 ADDKESS OF IMR. GEOIJCJE T. DOWNING. 
 
 When I got the invitation from the Dan vers Society I sat 
 t^own and wrote a few remarks, knowing that there would be little 
 time on such an occasion. I wrote my remarks down so as not 
 
 to 1)(' led off bv the thought suggested bv such a gathering as this 
 
54 
 
 and that I might keep within the lines allotted to the several speak- 
 ers. Aside from these remarks, I want simply to state that, 
 while I am presented as a representative of the race that were 
 freed through the efforts of the anti-slavery society, I myself was 
 born free. Yet I feel that 1 may assume to myself the duty of 
 s])eaking in behalf of the millions in the South who were once 
 .slaves, but who are now emancipated, and to say as their mouth- 
 piece that they feel grateful for youv work in their behalf. 
 
 M}' friends, I am here at your nivitation, but not with that 
 lightness of heart and freedom from care with which in all proba- 
 bility most of you have come; I come not with the fitting pleas- 
 ure with which I would have come, but fur a circumstance, — the 
 n)ost sad of all sad events that have occurred within many 3'earg 
 of wedded bliss. I come in part to obtain some relief, 1 come, 
 shall 1 not say, for au honora])le diversion ; to mingle with those 
 having joyous feelings in connection with a moral accorai)lishmenl 
 that reflects hon<M" ; tliat affoi'ds sweet satisfaction. IM}' thoughts 
 cari'y me in the direction of cemeteries, of monuments, of caskets 
 which contain the remains of beauty, associated with love, witlt 
 elevated viitues and most tender concern. But in my trend I 
 stop — and worship at shrines that bring up happy lecoUections as 
 to devotedness to truth and justice ; to a self-sacrificing spirit^ 
 even unto martyrdom. I bend lowly on my knees on the grass, 
 at this season of the violet and the lily, over spots where lie Gar- 
 rison, Phillips, Sunnier, Wliittiei', John Brown, Walker, JNlay, 
 Nell. Hayden, and other valiant defenders of the right; and 
 dwelling there find an inspiring feeling come into me. 
 
 Our gathering of a small remaining part of the old anti- 
 slavery guard is in many respects cheering. AVe can point to 
 accomplishments, to having freed not only a race which is i)art of 
 the nation from unjust servitude, but to the disenthralment of all 
 its people; to their l>eing freed from accountability in connection 
 witli a great and blighting sin that was upon the nation. It must 
 not be foigotten in transmitting to our children that of which we 
 are proud, that the obligation is upon us to consider not simplv 
 that our work, so far as it has gone, is highly connnendal)le, but 
 further, whether it is complete, I lead the Constitution of the 
 American Anti-Slavery Society ; it tells me that all who allied 
 themselves thereto pledged their lives and their sacred honor not 
 only to lal)or without tire for the abolition of slavery, but to aid 
 in passing the Freedman along and upward on the line of man- 
 hood and elevated citizenship without which attainment he is not 
 in reality free. When William Lloyd Garrison and his followers de- 
 clared for no alliance with political parties, because of a Slieolic 
 
00 
 
 agreement true of these parties, I admired their coiisistenev ; hnv 
 Avhen one is found outside of this fold and enters a politieaf arena 
 lie can be justified as a moral adherent to party only in consider- 
 ing what is politic in aid of what is light. 
 
 I observe a party which has been regarded as being most 
 deeply dyed in wrong, attracting to it as a reform party the sons 
 of old abolitionists ; a party to be made by tlie infusion of this 
 young and fresh blood not only the defender of equality before 
 the law, but the main guard of other just reforms. fliere is hope 
 in the fact ; there is satisfaction in its having selected as its chief 
 executive a man who dares have convictions and to act thereon. 
 I may have been wrong in ad\ocating him ; I may have been 
 worthy of the censure that has been abusively used, but I have 
 my convictions as to the same ; 1 glory in them. I am willing to 
 have them recorded with the rest of my anti-sin vcrv I'ccord" of 
 which I feel proud. (Loud applause.) 
 
 TiiK Piu:sii)ENT : — Mr. Downing was born free and was 
 never a slave. Rev. Peter Kandolph, of Charlestown, Mass., was 
 born a slave but is now free. Such a man may fitly conclude the 
 proceedings of this occasion. Most gladly do we welcome him. 
 and it is not necessary for me to l»es[)eak your interest in him and 
 in what he may have to say. 
 
 Mr. Kandolph was greeted with special sym[)athy and his 
 simple and heartfelt words went directly home to the hearts of 
 his hearers. 
 
 ADDRESS OF RE^^ PETER RANDOLPH. 
 
 Gentlemen, one word fiom me who was l)orn a slave, not 
 free. I will not detain you. I have lieen intensely interested in 
 the speeches. When T I'eceived your invit.ition to be ]iresent at 
 this meeting I was struck I)}' a peculiar feeling that I was going 
 to look into the faces of the heroes of emancipation, and 1 was 
 glad when I received the invitation at the thought that I should 
 see those men whose names were upon the programme. No one 
 can speak of slavery. You can speak of it as an idcji, but I could 
 si)eak of it as a reality, had I time to tsilk to you. 1 want to return 
 to you my sincere thanks, Mr. President, and the Societ}'. and all 
 these friends, for the noble work that you have done in behalf of 
 my race. T remember all you have suffered for us, all you have 
 endured. I renieinlier listening to the speech of old Governor 
 Wise lief ore the United States Court, while I was serving as pas- 
 tor in Richmond, Va., and a number of my people had gathered' 
 
56 
 
 in the Court room. He looked and pointed his finger at us and 
 .said, "■Thank God, there is the cause of the bone of our contention. 
 Thank God it is gone." Yes, I bless God for all that you have 
 done for us and all you have endured. All the insults that you have 
 received, everything that has been spoken against you, was sim- 
 ply aimed at the black man, the colored race, and therefore I 
 think you have stood between us and this terrible outrage, and it 
 is due to you that we are free. I am now writing up a histor}' of 
 my work in the north and south, and 1 called upon an editor the 
 other day and was repeating to him some of the topics I had 
 written upon — and some of them about the race problem — and he 
 said to me, ''•If you could solve those problems j^ou would be 
 Moses." I said "If you would hear what I have said, the prob- 
 lem is already solved. Over 1800 years ago God sent his son 
 into the world to teach men tlie fatherhood of God and the 
 brotherhood of men. That will solve the whole question and the 
 problem of our race." That is the solution you have aimed at, 
 my friends, and God bless you. (Applause.) 
 
 Other well known veterans on the platform the audience de- 
 sired to hear, among whom were Miss Sarah H. Southwick of 
 Wellesley Hills, and Rev. I). S. Whitney of Southboro', but there 
 was no time. The former was obliged to leave for home during the 
 later proceedings of the afternoon. Both of them afterwards 
 kindly Avrote out, by request, the remarks which they had it in 
 mind to make, had they been called upon to speak, and their 
 words are introduced here, like portions of other written, though 
 unspoken addresses, as constituting a proper part of the testi- 
 mony and recollections which belonged to the occasion and of 
 which these pages are designed to contain a record. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MISS SARAH II. SOUTHWICK. 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Friends: — I have been asked to address 
 you, but I cannot make a long S|)eecli. I will try, however, to 
 say a few words. I was very glad to come to this meeting, for 
 I am interested in an3'thing that psrtains to the history of Dan- 
 vers and Salem. Danvers, which was in early times a part of 
 Salem, was for two hundred and twenty-five years the home of the 
 Southwick family — from 1630, when they landed at Salem and 
 were given two acres of laud by the Colony' of Massachusetts 
 Ba}', to the death of my grandmother. Abigail Southwick, in 
 1856. I think there are not man}' families who have lived on 
 .:the same land and carried on the same business for over two 
 
hundred j'cars. They were taimers, and the eld tanm-iy sitill 
 remains and I uni told is still active. The histoi'y of the Sonth- 
 wick fanuly too is almost the history of the persecution of the 
 Quakers. That old house which stood till 1857, just opposite 
 the Soldiers' INIonuinent iu Peabody, was the home of Lawrence 
 and Cassandra, who were fined, despoiled, whip[)ed, imprisoned 
 and finall}^ banished into the wilderness in the inclement winter 
 of lG5t), whence they found their way to the house of Nathauiel 
 Sylvester on Shelter Island. Shelter Island is a small island at 
 the easterly end of Long Island, where they died witiiin three 
 months of each other. This little island is owned by the family 
 of the late Prof. Horsford wlio claim to l)e direct descendants of 
 Nathaniel Sylvester, and it may interest you as it did me, when 
 I tell you that in 1884 I received an invitation from Prof. Hors- 
 ford to be present at a meeting of the descendants of Nathaniel 
 Sylvester and of the ''Friends" whom he had harbored, for the 
 purpose of erecting a monument to their memoi-y. And prom- 
 ir.ent among these were Lawrence and (Cassandra Southwick. 
 Oil that sam3 place lived also their son, Josiah, who was also 
 dreadfully psrsecuted, and Daniel and Provided, the two young 
 peoi)le who were put vi[) at auction to ba sold as slaves to Virginia 
 or Barbadoes and whom Whittier has commemorated in his poem 
 -of " Cassandra Southwick." It is from that Daniel that I am 
 directl}' descended. 
 
 I have also heard my grandfather relate how his mother, 
 Quaker though she was, took the hot loaves of bread from the 
 oven and carried them and hot coffee to the soldiers, who were 
 about starting, on the morning of the battle of Lexington, and 
 who had congregated in the square at the foot of Boston Street, 
 -where the raonumsnt now stands just opposite their house. 
 
 At two different periods in my life, too, I have resided in Dan- 
 vers. In 1834, when I attended Master Henry K.Oliver's school, 
 whom many of 3'ou will remamber as thj educator of so many 
 Salem girls ; and again for three years |)receding my grand- 
 mother's death, 185(), and I well know the valm the Peabo ly In- 
 stitute was to us. 
 
 Just after we moved to Boston, in 18)'). ocf.irred tlu' m )!> in 
 Salem of the house of Mr. Spencer on Buftiim Street, where 
 George Thompson was then staying and from whence he nai'row- 
 ly escaped, being sent to the house of Isaac Winslow in So.iJi 
 Danvers. Then came, Oct. 7, the mob of '' gentlemen of property 
 and standing." ]Mr. Thom[)sou had b.uMi invited tospjak at that 
 meeting of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery -Society, but tlie 
 threats of violence to him were such that the women siuit woi'd ti> 
 
58 
 
 liliu not to come and it was in conseqnenee of not finding him 
 that the mob attacl<ed Mr. Garrison. I was not present at that 
 meeting, but ni}' mother was. ^ly sisters and myself were late and 
 encountered tiie crowd of men and wers told we could not pass. 
 As we loitered the crowd parted and the women came through in 
 single file. We joined them and went to the house of Henry G. 
 Chapman, 11 West Street. There we vvere told that Mr. Garrison 
 was in the hands of the mob and every one was very anxious. 
 The meeting was turned into a prayer meeting and the prayers 
 you may be sure were very fervent. 
 
 At that time Mr. Thompson came to my father's house at 36 
 High Street, and remained there concealed for a fortnight, his 
 whereabouts being kept so secret that nobody but a few trusted 
 abolitionists were permitted to see him or know where he was 
 until he was sent privately to a sailing vessel bound to St. John 
 from where he went to Halifax and then to England. His wife 
 and family afterward stayed and were comfortably fitted out for 
 the return voyage in a packet ship from New York. 
 
 ADDRESS OF REV. D. S. WHITNEY. 
 
 Ma. PuKSiDENT A\D Assembled Friexps : — On one occasion 
 when the taunt was thrown out that we had not freed the slaves, 
 Oliver Johnson promptly replied that if we had not freed the 
 slaves, we had freed ourselves. It is well at such a time as this 
 to give a little thought to what was accomplished in behalf of 
 themselves and the world by those who were so greatly absorbed 
 in the abolition of chattel slavery. Chattel slavery was a condi- 
 tion so horrible to humanity that, until it was removed, the lesser 
 wrongs endured by other sufferers vvere very naturally held in 
 abeyance. It was clearly seen by our noble anti-slavery women, 
 while the}' were giving heart and soul and life for the deliverance 
 of the slave, tliat they themselves and all their sisters were 
 suffering grievous wrongs, but with a magnificent magnanimity 
 they put their claims aside until tiie slaves vvere delivered. liut 
 now that great undertaking is accomplished; the black curtain 
 hanging over humanity is raisel. IJefore the law, the color of 
 the skin has no significance, and we can c.ilmly look about to see 
 what remains to be done and what to do next b3fore the point of 
 greatest perfection can be reached in our efforts to establish here 
 in America "a government of the People and for the People and 
 by the People." We ought never to lose sight of our peculiar 
 position. Providence has clearly appointed tcs to lead the 
 oppressed and benighted i)eoples up to Liberty and Light. What 
 is the next thing to be done? Clearly to restore her natural 
 rights to woman. What are her natural rights? The rights that 
 
')0 
 
 1 claim for myself and that the hiw allows are clearly hers. I 
 know of no natural rigiit that belongs to me that does not behjiig 
 to wife and daughters. But they cannot vote for the servants 
 whou) we appoint from time to time to execute our laws. Why ? 
 Because 1 and my brother, legal voters, hold the power to'grant 
 that right and a majority of us refuse to do so. Year after year the 
 women have asked us to do this piece of justice, which oni' most 
 cherished political principles require of us. '•'Taxation without 
 representation is tyranny," exclaims Otis. Is it less so now thau 
 a hundred years ago y If the man George, called King by the 
 vain ones, was a tyrant, what are we? O brothei- legal voters ! 
 
 Let us hasten to right this great wrong and then we will sec 
 what next to undertake. We may be sure, O brothers and sis- 
 ters, that there is a great work before us in this gf)odly land of 
 ours ; l)ut our working team is not yet full}' made up. We have 
 tlie ))hysical and intellectual force of men, but we need and lack 
 the moral and spiritual force of women, joined with the physicaJ 
 and intellectual, before we shall do the best work for our country 
 and the world. 
 
 The Ilutchinsons now favored the audience with still another 
 
 of their favorite songs, "The Old Granite State," which perhaps 
 
 was the most popular of all their [jieces, unless the "Car of 
 
 Emancipation" was an exception. It had a special interest from 
 
 the circumstance that its numerous verses rang so much with 
 
 "The Tril)e of Jesse," to which the singers themselves belo\iged, 
 
 and with the hills of the native home of the famil}'. It was 
 
 largely comi)osed by Jesse, one of the best known of the musical 
 
 brothers, in 1843, John adding some lines to the original form 
 
 during the war. We take fi'om it the following characteristic 
 
 selections : — 
 
 SOXG— "THE OLD GKANITE STATE." 
 
 We have coine from the iiiDiuitains, 
 We're come down from the moiuitaius, 
 Ho, we're come from the mountains 
 Of the old Gnunte State! 
 
 We're a hand of brothers, etc. 
 
 And we love our lilorious nation, 
 lloklinu; firm its lofty station ; 
 "I'is the i)ride of all creation, 
 And our baimer is nnfiirled. 
 
 Men should love eacli otiier, etc. 
 
GO 
 
 Yes, the good time 's drawini:- iiiyluT 
 And our nation, tried by tire, 
 bliall proelaini tlie good Messiiali, 
 Second coming of the Lord. 
 Heart and hand together, etc. 
 
 Now, farewell, friends and brothers, 
 Fathei>, sons, sisters, niotliers, 
 Lynn people and a I others. 
 In the land we love the best. 
 May the choicest blessings, etc. 
 
 The meeting was brought to :ui end witli tlie binghig. by the 
 Hatehinsons and the audienee, of the fa\orite National hymn, 
 "My Country, 'tis of thee," a copy of wliich, written Iiy the 
 author himself. Rev. S. F. Smith, was subsequently presented 
 to the Societ}'. 
 
 Other welcome offerings to the Society marked the occasion : — 
 A fine portrait of William Lloyd Garrison, from his son, Mr. Francis 
 J. Garrison ; valuable anti-slavery books and pamphlets from 
 Rev. Samuel May and Mr. Parker Pillsbury ; a book on slavery 
 from Mr, Lewis P^ord, of Abington, of which he himself was the 
 author ; various anti-slavery tracts, given and sent by Mr. Charles 
 K. Whipple, of Newburyport ; newspaper articles about the Lib- 
 erty Party by Hon. M. M. Fisher, of Medway, and presented l»y 
 liira, with photographs; a i)hotograpli of ^Ir. John W. Hutchin- 
 son, fi'om Dr. Gaston W. Fowler, of Lynn ; a piece of a slave's 
 M'liipping-post at Charleston, S. C, from Mr. Luther S. INIur.roe, 
 East Candia, N. H., and an ancient lire-screen that once ))elonged 
 to Rev. and INIrs. Peter Clark, of Danvers, from Miss Mary J. 
 Loving, of Wobnrn, a descendant. 
 
 Of the three other portraits that graced the stage, besides 
 tl'.at of Mr. Garrison, the one of John G. Whittier was kindly 
 loaned by the ladies of his household at " Oak Knoll," Danvers. 
 that of Charles Sumner l)y Mr. Alfred Fellows, of Danvers, and 
 and that of Rev. Samuel J. May of Syracuse, N. Y., by INIr. John 
 J. May, of Dorchester. 
 
 The thanks of the Society were presented to these several 
 parties for the interesting and generous gifts wdiich they thus 
 donated for its collections, and also to the many good friends 
 
01 
 
 fioiu l';ir ;iiiil ncni' who Imd liy tlu-ir ntlt'iidniiris siit'i'clic^ :;:;(.l 
 son^s. coiitrilmti'd so imich lo tlie success of llic ('oiiiiiiuiiioiation. 
 And grntt't'id nckiiowledginents nic ;d>o diic and iii'c here It'Si- 
 dci'rd lo tliosv' of the uu-mlx'r.s and lu-i'^hliors. wlio tastefully 
 decorated the philfonn of the Town Hall with llaus and [)ictures, 
 and tloweis and plants, and snpeiintended the tallies and enter- 
 tained the iiiiest.s at the Society's IJooms : and also lo the editors 
 of the JJ (J tw ''/■■•< J/i/-i-(>r and other local papeis fov their hi'lpfnl 
 service and synipath}'. 
 
LETTERS FROM FRIENDS. 
 
 Ill response to the eiieular of imitation, a lai'ge nnnilier of 
 letters were received from friends, many of whom were present, 
 Vfhile others were prevented from attendance b}' previous engage- 
 ments or l)y distance, or by illness or the infirmities of age. They 
 are of so much interest that we have given place to a very eon- 
 j>ideral)le portion of them, or extracts from them. Nearly all of 
 them are from men or women who were long identified with anti- 
 slavery work, and not a few of those who here send their greetings 
 or express their sympathy with the occasion, or relate their own 
 experiences and recollections, were among the most conspicuous 
 and zealous of the I'eformers. These letters, as well as the 
 speeches, abound in pertinent facts and illustrations and seem to 
 us strikingly representative of the faith and spirit of the earlier 
 time. 
 
 FROM HON. FKKDERICK DOUGLASS. 
 
 Ckdak Hill, Anacostl\, T). C, ) 
 March 29, 1893. ^ 
 
 I have duly received your kind invitation to meet in Danvers 
 the few remaining Aeterans of the anti-slavery ciuse, and it 
 would give me great pleasure were I al>le to respond favoral)!}' to 
 that invitation. I should be happy to once more see the forms, 
 look into the faces and heai' the voices of those whom you have 
 invited and who expect to be present at this, proltably last of 
 such meetings on earth. 
 
 Yes, I remember Danvers, and the Essex County Anti-Slavery 
 Society, and the persons you have mentioned as active in those 
 early days. Those times required men and women of strong 
 convictions and of courageous and independent character, and 
 there were many such. 1 remember my first visit to Danvers 
 when I was made welcome to the home of Abuer Sanger, a man 
 of high standing, who, in the state of public sentiment then exist- 
 ing, could not entertain me without incurring from his neighbors 
 much ntifavorable comment. But he was not of the make to set 
 
63 
 
 aside his couseieuce and siipprt-ss liis noblf. luiiuauc st'iitiinents 
 in order to please his neighbors. He stood high above tlie preju- 
 dices of the hour and treated me as a man and al)rother. I like, 
 too, to remember the Merrills, the Endicotts, the Harrimans and 
 others. Could I be with you, J would bear warm testimony to 
 the manliness and brothei'ly kindness which met me in Danvers, 
 in the earlier and darker hours of my career. To see Parker 
 Pillsbur}', the man who was perhaps the source of more terror to 
 the i)roslavery church and clergy of his day than any other, and 
 to see John Hutchinson, the only remaining one of the Hutchin- 
 .son Family which gave its youth, beauty and transcendent 
 musical genius to the cause of the slave, would compensate me 
 for any tiouble a long journey would require at my hands. 
 
 I am very sorry not to be able to be with you. There would 
 be deep pathos in such a meeting, for we are all changed in body, 
 if not in spirit. Some of our eyes are already dim, our hair 
 white, our faces wrinkled and our bodies bent, and soon, as you 
 say, there will be no more meetings on earth. 
 
 There will, however, be a bright side to 3'our assembling. The 
 recollection of deeds well done, of lives well spent, of wrongs 
 successfully combated, and of a race redeemed from slavery, 
 will make old eyes swim *in young tears of joy. Believe me 
 present with you in spirit, even if compelled to be absent in body. 
 
 * * * Mrs. Douglass joins me in wishing to my Danvers 
 friends a happy and profitable meeting with the veterans of the 
 anti-slavery cause. 
 
 FROM MPv. CHARLES K. WHIPPLE. 
 
 ! NEwniKYPORT, Ai)r. f), 1S!>;5. 
 
 I rejoice to hear of tlie proposed commemoration of old anti- 
 slavery days by the Danveis Historical Society on the 2(Jth inst., 
 and am grateful for 3'our courteous invitation to attend its meet- 
 ings. It would be deliglitful to meet the old friends and fellow- 
 workers who, 3'ou tell mt', are expected there. l»ut various cir- 
 cumstances combine to prevent my personal attendance. I will 
 gladly, however, say a word of greeting and of suggestion to the 
 friends who will assemble there. 
 
 In New England, from which most of the Abolitionists came, 
 a new generation is arising who "know not Joseph;" to whom 
 the names of Garrisou. Phillips, Quincy, Weld, Burleigh, Foster 
 and Pillsl)ur3', and of those noble women, Abby Kelly, Lucy Stone, 
 INTaria Weston Chapman and Sojourner Truth are getting to be 
 only names, with very little understanding of the dillicuUies and 
 tlangers they encouiiteretl and the heroism they displayed in hi- 
 
04 
 
 borino- f(jr the sluve, wIkmi the chief representatives of Church and 
 State, coninierce antl literature, were combining to ol)struet their 
 laboi's. To collect, preserve and diffuse the records of those 
 labors for the instruction of future generations is one of the most 
 important functions of a Historical Societ}'. 1 hope the one in 
 Danvers will not fail to obtain, while it is yet possible, such 
 books as Richard Hildretli's "Archy iMoore" and ''Despotism in 
 America;" Mrs. Chapman's •'Right and Wrong in Boston" and 
 •^"Right and Wrong in Wlassachusetts," and Theodore D. Weld's 
 "Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses." Also, some of those 
 school reading books which, in the early years of the present 
 century contained dialogues, verses and stories, inculcating anti- 
 slavery sentiments, such as the "American Preceptor" and the 
 "Colnmbian Orator." 
 
 Since there still remain, at the north, as well as the south, 
 persons disposed to misreprese'nt and calumniate both the aboli- 
 tionists and the colored race, and since efforts of this sort still 
 occasionally appear in our periodical literature, it is still needful 
 to keep an eye on those manifestations, and to answer such of 
 them as are worth answering. Work of this sort has been very 
 faithful and judiciously done for many -years past by our lately 
 deceased fellow-laborer, Oliver Johnson of New York, as well as- 
 by Rev. Samuel May of Leicester; but the field is large, and 
 many more such reapers are needed. One recent manifestation 
 of the proslavery spirit appeared in an article in the September 
 Wor til American Itevicio, eui\i\e(\ "Lynch Law in the South," 
 by W. Cal)ell Bruce. This writer excuses the cruelties inflicted 
 upon negroes by Lynch Law in the South on the ground (which 
 he assumes as true) that the assaults of black men upon white 
 women in that region are increasing in frequency. He proceeds 
 to ask and answer as follows : — 
 
 " Why is it that the negro has become an habitual offender 
 against female virtue in the South? * * * Wg answer 
 unhesitatingly, much as we are gratified that the incubus of 
 slavery has been forever lifted from the South, because the negro 
 is no longer subject to the authority of a master, and is yet subject 
 to 710 other form of moral discipline that can take its place to as 
 good or better advantage." 
 
 Mr. Bruce here made the impudent assumption that the 
 methods actually used by slaveholders before the war were 
 " moral discipline," and also shows the desire to re-establish as 
 much of it as may be i)racticable. Hoping to address the same 
 audience in the North American Hevieic, I wrote a rejoinder to 
 Mr. Bruce's article, suggesting a probable ex}>lanation of the 
 
65 
 
 sensuality, niul the l)i'ut:vl indulgence of it, atti-ibuted to the col- 
 oied people. 
 
 After stating that the negro raee are adniitted to l)e espec- 
 ially imitative, disposed to copy the language, dress, morals,, 
 manners and customs of the class reckoned superior around them, 
 I made an abstract of the abundant evidence that that superior 
 class, for more than a century past, have delil)erately and elabor- 
 ately set before their imitators a model in regard to sexual indul- 
 gence as follows : — Hy habitual custom, sanctioned and foitified 
 by legal statutes, and allowed to ministers and church members 
 l)y the silent acquiescence of ecclesiastical bodies, they so (organ- 
 ized their communities throughout the slave states that any toldte 
 man could ravlt^h with impunity any colored v^otnan. These 
 things being so, I asked : — Can you wonder that among tlie class 
 who have been kept ignorant and brutal by the deliberate policy 
 of the slaveholdei's through so many generations, cases should 
 still be found of such extreme brutality as the slaveholders habit- 
 ually practiced? And could a renewal of their form of ''moral 
 discii)line" be expected to furnish better results? 
 
 As the editor of the North Avierican lievie\o declined to 
 print my rejoinder, Mr. Bruce's article remains unanswered. 
 
 I recpiest the Danvers Historical Society to accept, with my 
 best wishes, four anti-slavery tracts, -which I post to you with 
 this letter. 
 
 I hope that all whcj join your gathei'ing have read or will- 
 read an excellent article on •'The Burning of Negroes in the 
 South," l)y the editor of the Arena, in the April number of that 
 periodical. 
 
 FROM MRS. KATP: TANNATT WOODS. 
 
 " Maple Nest," Salem, Mass, April 7, 1893. 
 
 I am greatly interested in j'our efforts for the abolitionists'" 
 meeting under the auspices of our Danvers Historical Society. 
 If this wounded limb of mine will only be merciful^ I hope to l)e 
 with 3'ou. Did you know that my parents when in New York 
 city were shielders and ))rotectors of run away slaves in connec- 
 tion with some good Connecticut (Quakers? 
 
 Old " Aunt Dinah," whose story Mr. Garrison was fond of 
 telling, was my nurse, a run away slave, cared for, loved, and 
 humanly speaking, saved by my own another. One or my lirst 
 articles was the story of the "•Coming ok Aunt Dinah," and 
 when Mr. Wm. Lloyd Garrison found that I was the author, he 
 was ever after my kind friend. How strange it all seems that 
 my gifted and handsome mother, who was fond of societ}' and. 
 
66 
 
 3'et tenderly philanthropic, shonkl be the rescuer of the poor 
 slaves in the city of New York without one of her own friends 
 Jcnovoinf/ aaghl of it! How strange, also, that her child, who 
 had never seen New England then, should come to be one of a 
 committee, composed of Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, 
 Lucy Stone, and other brave souls who were striving to emanci- 
 pate woman, as they had done the black man ! 
 
 If 1 am able to do so, I shall attend the meeting. 
 (Mrs. Woods was present.) 
 
 FROM MR. JOSEPH A. ALLEN. 
 
 Newfii:ld, Mass., April 9, 1893. 
 
 The letter of April G, which yon wrote to my brother, 
 Nathaniel T. Allen of West Newton, was forwarded to me. 
 
 He is on a trip to California and he will regret very much, I 
 am sure, being obliged to decline vour polite invitation for the 
 26th. 
 
 Please accept my thanks for the invitation. I anticipate 
 much pleasure in meeting some of the few remaining anti-slavery 
 veterans. 
 
 FROM REV. THOMAS T. STONE, D. U. 
 
 LoLTON, April 10, 1893. 
 
 Few things could give me more i)leasure than your invitation 
 to meet the veterans of the anti-slaveiy conflict. But if there 
 were no other hindrance, the age of 92 years may serve as an 
 apology for my absence. And yet I can hardly forbear to write 
 some of the thoughts which the occasion brings up. What a 
 progress, — what a movement in evolution, as the word is now-a- 
 days, — this nineteenth century has made, if it were in nothing 
 but personal liberty. When it began, slavery was almost univer- 
 sal ; its last decade is passing without a slave in Christendom. 
 When within so short a period a revolution so great? We ought 
 with all our hearts to thank God, and if we feel discouragement 
 to cheer ourselves with the hope of sure victoiy for freedom and 
 righteousness. 
 
 Not a slave, I have said, in Christendom. But the spirit of 
 slavery and the influences which it has poured into the hearts and 
 habits of men, naturally survive the institution. Among the out- 
 ward and palpable effects which still remain, we cannot readily 
 overlook the violence and the fraud by which our enfranchised 
 countrymen are deprived of their political rights. Directly we 
 can do nothing with these evils. But indirectly, and in what is the 
 most effectual way, we can all of us do some thing ; we can 
 
67 
 
 clu'risli ill our own souls :uid express in oiii deeds and onr words 
 
 true love and earnest sympathy for those who are wronged, and 
 
 can do all in our power to deei)eu the indignation which should 
 
 glow in every heart and which could sooner or later reach the 
 
 couscienee of the oppressor. \\\' may not live to see the end : 
 
 indeed there is no end ; when this and a thousand other evils are 
 
 passed into oblivion, the Su|)reme Father will have other work for 
 
 f>is children to do. putting away evils which are now hidden 
 
 and striving for good of which we now have little foresigiit. So 
 
 let us gird ourselves continually for each new conllict, for each 
 
 new victory ; for in this warfare there is never such a thing as 
 
 I lefeat ; seeming reverses often, l»ut these ai\' si'cn at la^t to Ik- 
 
 i<^ ictories. The cross has hecomc to us symliol of the greatest 
 
 7 ictory which has been won on earth. Wiiat was it l)ef>»re the 
 
 .le Sufferer made it the promise of God? 
 
 ]f I could well be with you at the gatheiing. -luit h't that 
 ss ; iny heart is still with you, with all who in the daikest hour 
 'ked for the coming d ly. May we all be faithful t » thi- last. 
 The blessing of tli/ Highest be with eacii and all. 
 
 VUOM HON. FKANCIS AV. lUIM). 
 
 Kast Walpoi.e, Mass., April i;!. 1S;»;'). 
 
 It would give me great pleasure to attend the meeting for 
 the commemoration of the old anti-slavery days. I like to refresh 
 my fading recollections of those good times and g<K)d men. I 
 CouUl contribute Init very little to such a gathering, but 1 should 
 enjoy meeting those of fewer years and better memories than 1 
 am ; but I could not be with you and get home before uight, and 
 I must defend my evenings. 
 
 FPvOM HON. SIM HON DODGE. 
 
 INfAitni-KiiEAii, Apiil 14, 181»;>. 
 
 Absence from lionie is the reason for my not receiving yours, 
 dated April (Jth, until today. 
 
 Please accept my thanks for your invitation to attend the 
 meeting on the "iOth, at Danvers Plains. I hope to be present on 
 rithat occasion if I am in this vicinity at that time. 
 
 I think that all of the earli/ al)olitionists of INIarblehead, with 
 the exception of myself and wife, have either died or removed 
 fiom town. There are others who came into the moveniLMit at a 
 :ater date. I will notify them, or some of them, of the meeting. 
 
G8 
 
 FROM REV. JOSEPH MAY. 
 
 Philadelphia, April 15, 1893. 
 
 I received tlie other da}', in Boston, yonr kind letter about 
 the interesting meeting 3'on are planning. While eveiTthiug 
 connected with the grand movement for abolition is deeply inter- 
 esting to me, for itself, and for its personal associations, and I 
 shonld rejoice to attend the meeting, 1 am just now so very busy 
 that I cannot think of it. I have assumed several pieces of extra 
 work, which must, for two or three months, moi'e than occupy 
 all my leisure, of wdiich I have little. 
 
 >So I hardly tiiiuk I can even write a letter as you kindly 
 propose. I must be content to send only m\ assurance of deep 
 sympathy in all that you do and in all the memories your meeting 
 will call up. I esteem it perhaps the greatest good fortune in my^ 
 own lot, to have been born and brought up under the influence of 
 a movement, morally so noble, and of the group of men, not only 
 morally, but intellectuall}', so able and inspiring. The person- 
 alities of all the leaders are most familiar to me — they all seemed 
 like kinsmen — and 1 am deeply conscious of Itie indelible impres- 
 sion for good they and their cause made upon my chai'acter. I 
 revere them and their pure, unselfish zeal. 
 
 P^ROM MR. JOHN CURTIS. 
 
 RoSToN, Apr. 16, 181)3. 
 
 I am in receipt through you of an invitation from the J)aii- 
 vers Historical Society to attend a meeting on the 26th, commem- 
 orative of Old Anti-Slavery Days. You may be assured of my 
 l)resence at so interesting an occasion as the assembling of the 
 few veteran abolitionists yet spared from the destiny that awaits 
 all mankind. It was my fortune to be simply a private in those 
 stirring times, and though past " three score and ten," I have the 
 most pleasurable recollections of the events and the renowned 
 men and women who labored and led in the historical Anti 
 Slavery struggle. I trust your meeting will be most successful. 
 
 FROM REV. WM. H. FISH, SEN. 
 
 Dediiam, April 17, 1893. 
 
 1 am very glad and grateful that The Dauvers Historical 
 S(X'iety has had the thoughtful kindness to inaugurate a meeting 
 commemorative of the Old Anti-Slavery Da^'s, and to make gen 
 erous preparations for it. At that meeting I hope to be present 
 having received a kind invitation to it from vour committee of 
 
Git 
 
 nrrangemcnts, puilicuhirly through lu}' esteemed friend Dr. A. 
 1'. Putnam. I wish that my neighlxji-, the noble and faithful 
 Theodore 1). Weld, could also he present, l)ut at ninety years of 
 age. and quite feel)le, this seems hardly praetieahle, if |)ossil)le. 
 
 My interest in the Anti-Slavery cause and Ganisonism dates 
 hack almost sixt}' years — now eighty-one — and I am as thankful 
 now as then that 1 was ever l)rought into a close and active union 
 with it and with its lepresentative men and women, es])ecially in 
 Massachusetts and New York — in New York in active association 
 with those truest, n<)blest, divinest of men, Samuel J. May and 
 Uerrit Smith, they themselves standing evidences of Immortality, 
 for such men can never die, or cease to be. 
 
 1 shall be glad of the opportunity to look once more into the 
 faces antl to take by the hand of an enduring friendship and 
 fellowship, the very few of my generation and age that may be 
 present at the meeting, as Samuel May and Parker Pillsltury — 
 •ever " faithful among the faithless found" — and to see also the 
 children and children's children who cherish the faith and honor, 
 the devotion and zeal of their i)ioueer fathers and mothers, the 
 most of whom long since rested from their labors and entered into 
 rest in the world " where the slave is free from his master," and 
 their good works have followed them. 
 
 FROM RE^^ PvOBEKT COLLYEK. 
 
 New Y'ork, April 17, 1893. 
 
 I would love to come to the gathering of the Old Guard of 
 Freedom, but have no time or strength to spare just now or then. 
 I should delight to see your faces, clasp your hands, and listen 
 while you tell the grand old stor}' so far as it may be told that 
 day. My dear friend, PLdward M. Davis, used to say that "the 
 cause" had done more for you than you could ever do for the 
 cause, and in what small measure I could be one with it along 
 through the fifties, I know this was true. And it will be true 
 always, but esj)ecially of the old abolitionists, be they among the 
 living or those we call the dead. 
 
 "Those heroes who could ii-ran(ll\- do as they could sfieatly dare, 
 A vesture very glorious tlieir shining spirits wear." 
 
 They stand within the greatest movements on the life of the 
 Repul)lic while it has a name to live. If 1 could come and was 
 worthy to say an}' word in such a gathering, this would be my 
 word. I am sure it would not be needed, for the good scripture 
 will be true of you all— " the word is nigh thee, even in thy 
 heart." 
 
7J 
 
 FROM MRS. C. II. I) ALL. 
 
 Washix<;tox. 1). C, April 17, 1893. 
 
 Into llie midst of all the tiresome spring cnies which beset 
 tiiose who live in hot climates, comes the circular of the Danverf- 
 Historical Society, like a refreshing northern breeze. When I 
 stood with Mr. May and Mr. Pillsbury at Whittier's funeral wlieii 
 I heard Abby Hutchinson sing her swan-song for herself and the 
 dead Poet, 1 thouglit I was standing for the last time with my old 
 companions in Anti-Slavery work. It rejoices me to think that 
 Danvers will not i)ei mit their memory to perith. that theie ar«^ 
 still men and wonun who hold tiie "Old Guaid" piecions aii^I 
 sacred. Those of us who iive(l tluough those perilous tiniec 
 cannot help smiling now and tlien, as we enconntei' on our roll 
 names unknown or given only at the eleventh hour, and I'ead tlit 
 frequent assei"tion that Garrison and his men kept liack tiie wort 
 and accomplished nothing. Let tiicjse laugh who will, for well we 
 know who held the key of the situation! Much lemains to be 
 done before our country will hold the position before the world 
 that all her true sons desire for her. Instead of Columbiai* 
 Expositions I would ratlier see truth and honor in high places ; 
 instead of Palaces of Invention, I would rather see the u[)bnilding 
 of a State whose foundations shall be laid in truth nud righteous- 
 ness. We are free — let us learn to be upright. 
 
 FROM MR. AVENDKLL P. GARRISON. 
 
 Ni;\v York, April 17, 1893. 
 
 It would give me much pleasure to attend your commemora- 
 tlon Anti-Slavery meeting next vveek, and I desire to acknowl- 
 edge with thanks the invitation extended to my wife and myself. 
 But it will be impossible for us to attend, and for my own pait I 
 feel that ten years given to reviewing and icporting the h'story of 
 the cause — so far as that could be done in the lifi' of my father — 
 entitle me to a long exemption fi'om i-eminiscence, an(l certainly 
 make it seendy to liold my i)eace for a while and let others take 
 the floor. 
 
 FROM MRS. ELIZARETII B. CIIACE. 
 
 Valley Falls, R. I., April 18, 1893. 
 
 It is with extreme regi-et that I am ol)liged to deny myself 
 the great happiness it would be to me, to unite with the dear old 
 friends, and the friends of the younger generation, in commem- 
 orating the great struggle for human freedom, in which it was mj 
 
71 
 
 Ijlessed priviloii'e to hear uii ImmliU' [)ait. Uut iiTcvocahle cir- 
 cumstances muko it iiiiito.ssiblc for iiic to sliai'c in tliis coinin<>' 
 blessedness. 
 
 Tliere is no portion of my life, lo which, now, in my eighty- 
 seventh year, 1 revert with more satisfaction, than that which I 
 gave to the cause of the slave. 
 
 No guests were ever more welcome to my door, than were 
 those who came in the darkness of night, to escape from the 
 human ])loodhounds who were seeking for pi-ey. Ko ministers 
 of the Gospel brought me so acceptable insti-uction as did 
 tlie self-sacriticing teachers of the Gospel of freedom. To me, as 
 to many others, it was a liberal education. There we learned the 
 injustice, the degradation of the condition of woman, and were 
 thereby prepared, when the slavery of the black man was abol- 
 ished, to enter on the warfare for the emancipation, the enfi-an- 
 cliisement and the eIev;ition of the subjected, the dependent half 
 of humanity. That so njany of tiiose early workers liave passed 
 away, will cast a shadow on the bi-ightness of the occasion, but it 
 is safe to indulge the belief, that, wherever they aie, they are in 
 full syuii)ath3' with it there, and are i)articipating in the enjoy- 
 ment thereof. 
 
 Those t)f us who still i-emain on the earth, Init are denied the 
 pleasure of this reunion, will miss the hearty hand-shakings and 
 greetings of the day, but we will enjoy them in si)irit, and we 
 will wish for you all, the brightest of skies, the loveliest of south- 
 westerly breezes, the warmest remarks of friendsiii|), and the 
 ha[)piest remembrances of this memoralile event. 
 
 FROM REV. RICHARD S. STORRS, ]). D. 
 
 RiiOOKi.vN, N. Y., Ajiril ISth, l.SDo. 
 
 How faraway seem the days which you aie to recall in Dan- 
 vcis I And what memories of cUxpicnce. self-dcvol ion, sacrilice, 
 success, are awakened by your reference to llicm 1 1 should be 
 most happy to be present at your proposed ( clcliration, even to 
 take part in it in some subordinate way, lint it will be as impossi- 
 ble for me to go to Danvers next week as it vvou'd be to carry 
 thitlier the sunrise, in my hands. I can only thank you for your 
 kind thought of me in connection with the occasion, and wish for 
 3'our Society, in this work and all others, tlu' largest pros|)erity. 
 
 FROM MRS. EMILY AV. TAYEOR. 
 
 (iKRMANTOWN, 1*A., April E'^tll, l<S!)o. 
 
 I have just reccivec] a circular inviting me to attend a meet- 
 ing commemorative of old anti-slavery days, to be held at Dan- 
 
72 
 
 vers. AVere it possible, I sliould deliglit to do so, to meet once 
 more so many of tlie prominent speakers wiio are to be there and 
 to recall memories of onr three years' residence in Danvers when 
 my father, Isaac Winslow, was very actively interested in the 
 anti-slavery cause, harboring fugitive slaves at our house ; also 
 entertaining George Thompson at about the time that he was 
 being watched for and hunted in Boston. I also recall with what 
 'interest my father aided in getting up a meeting at which his co- 
 religionists, Sarah and Angelina Grimke, were to speak against 
 the institution of slavery, in the midst of which they had always 
 lived. Oh, those were days to which I look back with enthusi- 
 asm — days which were worth living in. 
 
 FROM MRS. EDNAII D. CHENEY. 
 
 Jamaica Plain, April 18, 1893. 
 
 It grieves me very much that, owing to a severe attack of 
 lameness, I cannot promise myself the pleasure of responding to 
 3'our kind invitation in remembrance of old Anti-Slavery Days. 
 I love these reunions of those who took part in that glorious 
 -struggle for right and liberty, and small as my part in it was, I 
 am proud to be recognized as always having been with them in 
 heart and soul. 
 
 But happy as we are in the great deliverance that was accom- 
 plished thirty years ago, and proud as we are of the wonderful 
 progress, and admirable conduct of those who were then emanci- 
 pated, the hour has not yet come when we can fold our hands in 
 satisfaction without considering the evils that still remain, and 
 threaten the permanence of the blessing we have gained through 
 bitter contliet. 
 
 The outrages on helpless negroes at the South by lynch law, 
 the indignities put upon thera in defiance of the principles of the 
 Amendment to the Constitution, the hindrances in their pursuit of 
 various emploj'ments, in short the inhuman prejudice still power- 
 ful against them, ought to arouse us to vigilance and make us 
 feel that we have not yet paid our debt to them, l>ut must stand by 
 them until the}' are really " through the woods." 
 
 If our hands are sometimes fettered in regard to direct work 
 for them at the South, at least we can cast out the evil spirit 
 from among ourselves, and by our own fidelity, send a current of 
 bracing air ever down to those who are laboring for them at the 
 South, and keep up the hearts of the new generation who knew 
 not slavery, but who sometimes feel the degradation of their 
 present condition as keenly as their forefathers did the miseries 
 of actual bondasfe. 
 
73 
 
 But you all feel and know these things, and so I need only 
 say that I shall be with you iu sympathy, and rejoice to know 
 that you will be encouraged in your work by again joining hands 
 in friendship and uiemor}' of old days. 
 
 FROM MRS. HENRY WARD BKECIIER. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., April 18th, 1803. 
 
 It is very kind in you to remember me and invite me to this 
 commemoration of the old anti-slavery days. Nothing coukl 
 give me greater pleasure than to be present on an occasion so 
 closely connected with the memory of my husband. But, if I 
 can leave home and the work I have on hand, I am booked for 
 the Pacific Coast, Puget Sound, where my youngest son is. 
 
 I may not accomplish all that I have plannetl, but as you 
 can well imagine, long to see my boy and his famil}' once more, 
 and if I can compass that, 1 inust not venture on any other 
 engagements. 
 
 FROIM DR. W. SYMINGTON BROWN. 
 
 Stoneham, Mass., Apiil 18, 1893. 
 
 Other duties will prevent me from enjoying the anti-slavery 
 celebration on the 2()th instant. I would like to see Parker Pills- 
 liury once more, who, I believe, is the last of the old anti-slavery 
 orators I delighted to hear. 
 
 When I came to the United States in 1850, I had letters of 
 introduction to Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Theo- 
 dore Parker ; also one to Charles Hovey. They are all dead ; 
 l)Ut the sacred cause of human freedom still lives, and will never 
 die. I still try to do the work it demands. 
 
 FROM MR. D. L. BINGHAM. 
 
 Manchester, Mass., April 18, 1893. 
 
 We shall be most pleased, my wife and I, to attend the meet- 
 ing commemorative of those old "Anti-Slavery Days." and to 
 look once more in the faces of those who weie true to God and 
 humanity, when it cost — to be true. 
 
 In a letter written a few days later, (April 22)^ Mr. Bingham 
 most properly asked if a circular of invitation had been sent to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel W. Friend, of Manchester, and stated that 
 their home had once "gladly leceived" and greatly comforted 
 and aided a poor fugitive slave, who had come to it, " wet, cold 
 and hungry." In answer to a request for more particuhirs con- 
 
cerning the case, the foUowuig couiinnnication has come to hand. 
 It records an act of certain " good Samaritans," which, like 
 countless other similar deeds of the abolitionists, shoidd be held 
 in " everlasting remembrance." 
 
 ]\[anchestek By-tiie-Sea, Aug. 8, 1893. 
 I should have answered your letter earlier, but my brother 
 Friend was away, and 1 wished to hear again the story of the 
 fugitive slave before writing. It was sometime in the fifties, in 
 the spring of the year, the weather rainy and cold, when the poor 
 fugitive came to the house of the Baptist minister. Brother 
 Friend, going home in the gloom of the evening, saw the minister 
 on the street, looking for one of the hielectmeu to take charge of 
 the poor wanderer, a very imprudent thing to do at that time. 
 Brother F. said, "I will take care of him." The minister gave 
 him supper, but was unwilling to shelter him over night. Brother 
 Friend took him into a warm room, took off his soiled and wet 
 clothes, bathed his feet in warm water, gave him clean, dry 
 clothing, put him in his own bed, and treated him with hot drinks 
 until he was warmed. He was trembling with cold when he 
 entered brother F.'s house. The next morning brother F. came 
 to me greatly pleased that he had violated an unjust law, by 
 showing mercy. The fugitive was a good-looking, intelligent 
 man, about 30 j'ears old. He had been body servant to a wealthy 
 Baltimorean. As he was thinly clad, my wife, Emeline Bingham, 
 worked nearly all day Sunday, repairing an overcoat that hap- 
 pened to fit hiin. Mr. Thomas P. Gentlee, a near neighbor, came 
 in Sunday evening with a purse of mone}'. This was increased 
 by brother F. 1 added some. So the poor man was in good 
 condition to start for Canada very early Monday morning. It 
 was Mrs. Hannaii Friend, now dead, a most excellent woman, 
 who helped receive the fugitive. But Mr. P^i'ieud's pi'csent wife 
 was also " in at the starts'' as I wrote. * * * 
 Ivcspectfully and truly yours, 
 
 D. L. BINGHAM. 
 
 FROM MISS ANNA L. COFFIN. 
 
 Nkwhuryport, Apr. 19, 1898. 
 
 When I was calling at Mr. Whipple's a few weeks ag >, he 
 si)oke of the contemplated reunion at Danvers on the 26th inst., 
 of the old abolitionists, and how much my father, the late Joshua 
 CotRu, would have enjoyed such a meeting. 
 
 He was alwaj's a lover of freedom, showing it in his boy- 
 hood by buying caged wild birds from his mates and enjoying 
 
the suiucine pleasure of frci'in<i' tlicin ; iiiul in his enrly iiKiiiIiood 
 1)}' outspoken and cainest words against slavery. Later in life 
 he joined the Anti-Slavery Society, risking his life \)y going from 
 riiiladelphia to Memphis in 1838, and resening from shu-ery a 
 free colored man who had been kidnaj)))ed and sold. These 
 events occurred before my recollection, but many years after he 
 used to tell us about his ''south-western tour," as he called it, 
 always finishing by saying, ''A war between the North and 
 South will surely come and the slaves will l)e freed. I may not 
 live to see it, but you undoidjtedly will." To his great joy, and 
 ours with him, he lived to see it. During all the daik days of 
 the civil war he never lost his faith in the goodness of (iod and 
 His over-ruling providence. 
 
 FROM MRS. LILLTE B. CIIACP: WYMAN. 
 
 A'alley Falls, R. I., April U), 18'J3. 
 
 ^Iv hnsban<l and I regret very much that we can not l)e with 
 tlie anti-slavery friends in Danvers on the 2Gth. Mr. Wymaii is 
 now in Chicago, and I am going West on the 2 ttli. 
 
 Mr. Wymau was one of the younger members of the group 
 of Abolitionists in Worcester from 1846 or 1847. He was 
 earnestly and enthusiastically devoted to the cause, was a 
 si)eaker in anti-slavery meetings ; and during most of the dozen 
 Years preceding the Civil War he was a non-voting (rarrisonian. 
 He has many interesting and happy memories of Theodore Par- 
 ker, Wendell Phillii)s and Wm. Lloyd Garrison. He served 
 three years in the army, because he believed that the war was an 
 opportunity to i)ut an end to slavery. As Provost Marshal of 
 Alexandria, Virginia, he gave the negroes equal justice with the 
 whites, and was the lirst United States otHcial in that position, 
 who proved himself the friend of the slave. His last military 
 sei'vice was to accompany the l)ody of Abraham Lincoln to its 
 I'csting jjlace in Springfield, Illinois. It was a real regret to him 
 that lie was obliged to leave home before your reunion. 
 
 Too young myself to |)articii)ate in the anti-slaver}' warfare, 
 1 was the inheritor of the traditions of freedom from my father 
 and mother, my grandfather Arnold Buffum, and his father 
 William Buffum, a Quaker Abolitionist in Rhode Island. INIy 
 earliest memories are of anti-slavery speakers entertained as_ 
 guests in our house, of fugitive slaves, and of childish iudigna 
 tion at the assault in t\w Senate upon Charles Simmer. The 
 mild smile of Wm. Lloyd Garrison was one of the benedictions 
 that fell ui)on my chihlliood, and the kindness of Stephi'ii au I 
 Abby Kellev Foster made me an intimate guest in their home. 
 
76 
 
 I have no words to tell all, in tlie way of mental and moral 
 education, which I owe to the Abolitionists, and my soul lionoi's 
 their memory. I hope that every thing will pass pleasantly and 
 satisfactorily at yonr pi'oposed reunion and 1 wish 1 conld he 
 with you. 
 
 P^KOM MR. AARON M. POWELL. 
 
 New York, April 20, 1893. 
 
 It would give Mrs. Powell and myself much pleasnie to 
 attend the anti-shiver}' reunion to which y(ju kindly invite us. 1 
 regret that our engagements are such that it will be iin[)racticable 
 for us to do so. 
 
 It is not too much to say of the American anti-slavery 
 conflict that it was the grandest moral movement of modern 
 times. To have known and touched hands with its noble, self- 
 sacrificing leaders, men and women, and to have shared to any 
 extent in their labors, gives to those of us who 3'et linger on this 
 side of the border added significance to life itself. More and 
 more, too, as the years go on, do the early Abolitionists become, 
 as an object lesson, helpers and teachers to younger workers of 
 this generation in dealing with the prevalent evils of our time. 
 
 I am rejoiced that just now Boston comes again to the front, 
 and characteristically, to protest agaiust our oppressive treatment 
 and scandalous injustice iu dealing with the Chinese ; and with a 
 timely demand upon the supreme judicial tribunal of the nation 
 to vindicate their legal rights. 
 
 FROM MLS8 MARY GRE^V. 
 
 PiiiLAUELPiiiA, April 20, LS93. 
 
 To l)e with you on this occasion, to listen to 3'our voices and 
 clasp your hands in fraternal greeting, would renew the inspira- 
 tion of our years of struggle, of hope; when, side by side and 
 heart to heart, we fought, with the sword of the Spirit, the 
 battle of Freedom for the American slave. 
 
 The years which have elapsed since we sang together the 
 Jubilee song have been so full of earnest work in other fields, so 
 nuieh has been accomi)lished in Moral, Social and Political 
 Reforms, that, looking Ijackward to that joyous hour, the interim 
 seems very long. How many ecclesiastical barriers have been 
 broken down, how many more are tottering today ! What les- 
 sons in the brotherhood of Nations have been taught by World's 
 Expositions ! And how marvellous has been the i)rogress of 
 woman's emancipation from the bonds of church and statute law 
 and enthralling: customs I 
 
To the Aiiiciicjui Anti-Slaveiy Society l)t'l()ii<is the honor of 
 liein^' the pioneer in this Keforni. Women should never fofget 
 that in 1.S40 that Soeiety stood alone in its assertion of perfect 
 e(iuality of its ineuihers, without distinction of sex. It was a 
 very radical, veiy startlin<i asM-ition and piactice then ; and 
 tlieie were aliolitionists who could not stand this test ; and they 
 '• walked no more with us." What would these timid conserva- 
 tives have thought if they could have looked across these intv'r- 
 veniuii' y.'ars and cvjuld h:iv-_' si'cn women in the pulpits, at tli.^ 
 liar, in professors' cliairs in colle^^es, voting at the polls, and 
 tilling state and municipal olfices? 'M'*}' ^^'^' '^*^*f' respected 
 friends, gratefully and humbly rejoice today that in oui- arduous 
 Avork as al)olitionists we were permitted to give an impetus to this 
 newer cause now speeding to its triumph? 
 
 If I could be wdth you in person, as 1 shall in s[)irit, 1 think 
 that the audience would seem to me youthful. Should you call 
 the roll of our "Old Guard," how few would be the audible 
 i'es[)onses ! The names of many absent ones (not dead. butmoi'C 
 alive than we,) will be in your thoughts, and their faces will be a 
 vivid memor}'. Let us thiidv of them ho|)efulIy, ay, rejoicingly, 
 that they "' fought a good light, and kept the faith ;" and having 
 tinished their course here, have gone onward and upward to 
 larger life and work. They are enshrined in our hearts : — Garri- 
 son, Phillips, May, Lucretia Mott, Lydia Maria Child, and the 
 host of faithful souls wdio with them endured unto the end. And 
 some still here. l)ut far advanced in years, will doubtless send 
 you greetings. As I write, our venerated Dr. Furness is receiv- 
 ing the congratulations of his friends on his ninety-tirst birthday. 
 He gave to us the benediction of his presence at a similar ALerao- 
 rial Meeting recently held in this city. And R )bert Purvis, tried 
 and true, is too feeble to ai)i)ear among you otherwise than in 
 cordial sympathy. 
 
 Another aged abolitionist, ^Irs. Kosanna Thompson, long 
 and Avell known in Pliihulel|)hia, unfaltering in the darkest and 
 most perilous hours of our conflict, wishes to send, from her bed 
 of sickness, gieeting to her fellow-laborers, and to say that she 
 has " never ceased to be grateful that she was counted wortiiy to 
 be a soldier in that thirty 3'ears' war; — a war in church and state, 
 in commerce and in society ; a war which was not all peaceful in 
 its methods, as the violence and martyrdoms of that period will 
 show." 
 
 To the 3'onng generation, foi- whom the woi'k of the twen- 
 tieth century waits, 1 would say : — Let the achievenu'Uts of the 
 )>ast stimulate and encourage you to carr}' on bravely the work 
 
78 
 
 which your fathers and mothers bequeath to you. To each nation, 
 to each period, comes its own task, its own tes-t of ticlelity to trutli 
 and right ; its own peculiar phase of the old conHict between 
 justice and injustice, liberty and slavery ; and. ever the same 
 assurance of ultimate victory. 
 
 FROM MRS. CAROLINP: M. SKVKRANCK. 
 
 Los Angeles, Cal., A[)r. 20th, ''J3. 
 
 It is a sore temptation which your kind invitation biinys me, 
 to be present at the coming commemoration of the old anti- 
 slavery work and days. Almost no temptation could be stronger. 
 But the time would be too short, since your letter reached me only 
 yesterda3\ the 19th. Too short time for this to be in season for 
 the occasion, I fear. And so I can only mourn my own absence 
 in the distance which does not lend encliantment to the scene, the 
 l>eloved faces and voices outdoing all conjui'ing of the imagination. 
 
 You do me great honor in remembering me. who was so late 
 a comer and so feeble a helper, in your noble woik. But it was 
 one of the nc^blest fellowbhips. and most valuable experiences, of 
 my life, — covering largely, also, 1 he kindred work for woman's 
 education and recognition as citizen. I have just now had the rare 
 pleasure of listening to John W. C'hadwick's admirable paper on 
 Theodore Parker and his work, which revived delightfully for me 
 those wonderfully pregnant days under his ministry to all good 
 causes in Union Hall, which was the great awakening to so many 
 blinded eyes, and inspiration to so many hungry hearts. 
 
 Ah yes, how tenderly I recall the fine old times, and the be- 
 loved friends. Give them my heartiest greeting at this end of 
 their memorable gathering, and my hope to see them face to face 
 before they '^ join the choir invisi!)le." 
 
 FROM MISS MARY J. LORING. 
 
 WoBUKN, Mass., April 20, 1893. 
 
 I have received the Society's ciicular. I tiiink your meeting 
 Avill be a grand affair. There can be nothing higher for man or 
 woman taan to take an interest in humanity. M3' father and my 
 mother were strong anti-slavery people and by their influence 
 their daughter has ever hated oppression in any form. 1 intend 
 to be present anti shall bring for your Society a fire-screen which 
 the Rev. Peter Clark and his wife Del)orah held in their hands 
 many times ; and one of their descendants is more than pleased 
 to return it to its old home in Danvers. Ilo])ing to have the 
 pleasure of meeting with yon again, I am yours for the elevation 
 
79 
 
 of huniniiitv and for llic prospeiity of tlu' Danvt'is Ilistoiicnl 
 Society. 
 
 [Rev. Peter Clark was luinister of the First Cliiircli of Daii- 
 vers from 1717 until 17G8.] 
 
 FROM MR. FRANCIS J. GARRISON. 
 
 4 Pahk Stkekt, Boston, April 20, 180o. 
 
 It will give Mrs. Garrison and myself much pleasure to 
 accept the invitation of tlie Danvers Historical Society for the 
 26th inst., if no unforeseen obstacle prevents, though it may not 
 be practicable for us to remain through the entire afternoon. 
 My business duties make it difficult for me to speak with cer- 
 tainty, but I shall be nmch disappointed if they prevent my meet- 
 ing the friends whom you are to gather at your next meeting. 
 
 FROM MR. CORNELIUS WELLINGTON. 
 
 F^AST Lexington, April 20, 1893. 
 
 I thank the committee for the kind invitation to be present 
 at the commemorative meeting on the 2Gth lust. 
 
 I will take the train which leaves Boston at 10.4.5, accom- 
 panied by one and perhaps two of my sisters, all members of the 
 Lexington Historical Society, and old active members of the 
 Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. 
 
 It will indeed be a })leasure to us to meet once more any of 
 the few remaining workers in the anti-slavery field in years gone 
 by, and to meet again and become better acquainted with the 
 members of the Danvers Histoi-ical Society which you represent. 
 
 FROM MR. JOHN J. MAY. 
 
 DouciiKSTKK, Mass., April 21, 1893. 
 
 You have my cordial thanks for the invitation to the gatlier- 
 ing at Danvers, which 1 cannot doubt will be a most interesting 
 occasion. 
 
 An accumulation of work, caused partly by confinement tit 
 home by the prevailing inttneuza, will probably prevent my going 
 thither, although 1 do not altogether forego the hope. 
 
 It occui's to me that if you seek for portraits of the anti- 
 slavery heroes whom you commemorate, you may like the loan 
 of a crayon portrait, liy Kimberly, the best likeness extant, I 
 think, of Samuel Joseph May. late of Syracuse, (born 1797, died 
 1871), of whom I always have felt, as Andrew D. White ex- 
 pressed his feelings at the grave, — tiiat he was "the best man I 
 ever knew, the purest, the sweetest, the most like tiie Master." 
 
80 
 
 If the loan will l)c acceptable, I will readil}', on learning this 
 from you, carefully box the picture and .send it by express, as 
 yon may direct; and 1 will bear the risk and charges, glad to be 
 of some small service for tiie good work. 
 
 FROM PROF. GRANVILLE W. PUTNAM. 
 
 PosTOX, Mass., April 21, 1893. 
 
 I regret to say that school duties will detain me from Dauvers 
 on the 2(3th. I cannot doubt that yon will have a most interest- 
 ing occasion. 
 
 In my early boyhood I used to hear with interest the earnest 
 anti-slavery talks of Deacon Howe, as I visited his shop to get 
 the horse shod ; of Mr. Learoyd, and Allen Knight of District 
 No. 4. 
 
 I was not old enough to understand the merits of all that was 
 said, but the strong convictions of these men made an impression 
 which Avill never be effaced from my memory'. 
 
 P^ROM HON. MELLEN CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 Chelsea, Mass., April 21, 1893. 
 
 I esteem it a great privilege to be invited to participate in 
 the commemoration of old anti-slavery days, to be held by the 
 Danvers Historical Society next Wednesday. 
 
 I personally knew some of those in Danvers who were most 
 active by their votes, their gifts, and their personal influence, in 
 bringing on these days in which no slave l)reathes our air. They 
 were noble men and women, and their lives ought not to be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 FROM MR. LUCIAN NEVVHALL. 
 
 Lynn, Mass., April 22, 1893. 
 
 Please accept my thanks for 3'onr kind invitation to attend 
 the '^ meeting commemorative of old anti-slavery days." 
 
 It will give me great pleasure to be at such a meeting, as I 
 have been familiar, and in sympathy with, the anti-slavery move- 
 ment for the last half century, having had the pleasure and satis- 
 faction of hearing all the anti-slavery speakers of that period, and 
 the personal acquamtance of many of them. 
 
 My wife and myself hope to have the pleasure of attending 
 the meetins:. 
 
FROM MK. G. L. STKEETER. 
 
 Salem, IMass., April '22, 1803. 
 
 I shall be pleased to attend the meeting of the Danvei's ■ 
 Historical Society in commenioration of Old Anti-Slavery Days, 
 if I am able to, as I hope to l)e. Those days I recall with great 
 interest, as do all who were engaged in the bitter struggle with 
 the slave-power, in however Imnihle a ca|)acity. At that time 
 it was necessary for the friends of freedom to stand by each 
 other, shoulder to shoulder, and in that way mutual symi)athies 
 wei'e excited and strengthened which have served as a bond of 
 union down to this late day so long after the battle and the 
 victor3^ This, I supi)ose, explains your historical meeting, and 
 in this spirit I shall be glad to meet the survivors of the conflict 
 and theii' friends and sympathizers of the i)resent time. 
 
 FROM DR. JAMES C. JACKSON. 
 
 North Adams, Mass., April 22, 189o. 
 
 I would that I were able to take the journey and sliarc with, 
 the friends who will be present the pleasures of the meeting. P>ut 
 I cannot go. The invitation has stirred my heart tuniultuousl\'. 
 It was in the early autumn in 1838 that I accepted an invitation 
 from the Mass. State Anti-Slavery Society, to become one of its 
 anti-slaver}' lecturers. My home at that time was in Peterbor- 
 ough, Madison County, New York. I had up to that time for 
 nearly five years been devoting my time as an anti-slaveiy agent 
 in different parts of the state of New York. I arrived at Boston 
 on the first of October, and met the State Committee at the anti- 
 slavery ofPice in Cornhill street on the afternoon of that day, I 
 think. There I met INIr. William Lloyd Garrison, Mr. Francis 
 Jackson, Mr. Joseph Southwick, and all of (he tSiate Committee^ 
 if 1 remember rightly. I also met the Rev. John A. Collins, 
 who came to my residence in New Yoik state to engage me, and 
 there I met Mr. Parker Pillsbury, to whom, if he shall l)e present 
 at your meeting, I desire to liavi; you give my affectionate remem- 
 l)rance. 
 
 My first si)eech in the sei'vice of the Society was made at 
 Lynn. If I recollect rightly the meeting was held in the L'niver- 
 salist clmi'ch ; the Congregational church could not l»e had. 
 ol)iection l)eing made by the pastor, the Rev. Parsons Cook. I 
 went thi'ough Ess(;x County that fall, speaking wherever the Stale 
 Society a|)[)ointed a meciting for me. One of the places where i 
 s;ioke was Danvers. [ have tried to rcM'ollect at whose house I 
 was a iriiest, but I cannot recall the name of the man. After I 
 
82 
 
 li:ul ht'eu tlu'oagli Essex county, the State Committee took me 
 out of tlie general field and placed me under the care and over- 
 sight of the Rev. John A. Collins, its general agent. From that 
 time onward till the spring of 1840, I attended meetings with 
 Mr. Collins only, wherever in the state he might be present. 
 
 In the spring of 1840 1 attended the meeting of the American 
 Anti-Slavery Society, when the Abolitionists divided on the ques- 
 tion whether women should be i)ermitted not merely to hold 
 membership, but to hold oHice. That was the Orst public meeting, 
 so far as 1 know, held anywhere in the world to discuss publicly 
 the question whether a woman possesses inherently the right to 
 discuss [)ublicly any intrenched public moral evil. 
 
 After I became Secretary of the American Anti-Slavery So- 
 ciety, my public labors in Massachusetts essentially ceased. The 
 friendships which 1 there formed remain fresh in my memory. I 
 have never ceased for one moment to love Mr. Garrison, Wendell 
 FhilHi)s, Francis -Jackson, Joseph and Thankful Southvvick, Rev. 
 Edwin Thompson, lion. George Bradburn, Henry C. Wright, 
 Stephen Foster, Abby Kelly, Parker Fillsbury, James N. Buft'um 
 and Ruth his wife, William Bassett, George W. Benson, Charles 
 Lennox Remond, Lewis Ilayden, and a thousand other men and 
 women whom 1 loved and who I feel sure loved me. 
 
 So much for matters personal. Now for '* The Cause.'" 
 As rei)resenting the rights of the Negro to his freedom, full and 
 entire, as a man, I find nothing in history to equal the devotion 
 of al)olitionists of all grades and shades of opinion, in any other 
 direction. That there were differences among them the records 
 which were made and which form the history of the great struggle, 
 ])lainly show ; but these differences were as to methods rather 
 tiian to [)rinciples. I had favored opportunity by my position as 
 secretary of the National Anti-Slavery Society to know that 
 apostasies from the underlying, essential idea that a nu\n is a 
 man wherever you lind him, were veiy uncommon. 
 
 1 have always felt that the great element of safetv to the 
 cardinal principle of the movement, as agitation went on, was the 
 introduction into it, as an essential element, the membershii) and 
 active labors in every department of it, of women. As I observetl 
 what were the conservative effects of their presence in our socie- 
 ties, local and general, and of their wise perception of what 
 should be done and should not be done. 1 felt sure that the cause 
 would be carried on safely and to ultimate triumph. 
 
 The greatest and most snl)tle element we had to fight was 
 the existence of caste. It took a great deal of the fire of the 
 Holy S[)irit to burn u^) and forever extinguish this wicked, miser- 
 
83 
 
 fibli!, wri'tcliL'cl hrii'.sy thai one innii is lietlL-i' lliaii miullicr Ij^'caiise 
 of the color of tin- piiiineiit tluit undurlifs his skin. As tiu- truth, 
 liowevcr, is mighty and will prevail, so in linic tlu' aliolilionists of 
 the country came to re^'ai'd thi' man and the woman who were 
 negroes, no les.s entitled to their honor, re.s[)ect a,nd love because 
 of their color than they would have hi'ou if they were white. How 
 thorou2;hly interwoven into the fabric of American society this 
 .feeling of cast,; is, can be t'usily s/e:i in the feelings of southern 
 white men and wonu'n towaid negro men ami women, notwith- 
 standing the latter are no longer by Liw regaitU'il as cliattel 
 slaves. It will take, I fear, a Iran livd vears and p -rhaps two hun- 
 dred 3"ears to rcjot out from the minds of tlu' southeiai pe(^|ile the 
 idea that manhood in any peisou knows nothing detiimeiital to 
 another's nmnhood because of the physical dirfei-entiations wliich 
 exist between the two persons. ^leanwhile in ord;'i- tli.it lhi> 
 should be brought aliout, every human being who piizes lii> own 
 manhood as of Divine origin, should set' to it t!iat in iiis inrei-- 
 coui'se with other hum in !)eings. lie should recognize the !)i\ine 
 origin of their manhood and i)ut himself into fi'llow^Iiip with t'aem 
 on that basis, for it is true that only as men can illu.-.trale in their 
 persoruil [lives their se ise of the dignity of their m inhood can 
 they I)e made influential and helpful in the extii[iatiou of caste. 
 
 A religion that recognizes and justities the exist.^nce of caste 
 in its members may be successful in securing to itself I'epresenta- 
 tives who will openly profess their l)e]ief in it, but it nt'\er should 
 l>e permitted by any of its votaries to be den(jminated Christian, 
 for in Jesns Clirist there is neither Jew nor (ireek. bond noi- fi-ee, 
 male nor female, black uoi' white, but all art' one man in Him. 
 
 1 KO.AI 1H-:V. WM. W. .SILVESTEK, S. T. D. 
 
 riiiLADicm-iiiA. Ai)ril 22, l.S'Jo. 
 
 I should ptirticularly like to be present at the commemora- 
 tion meeting of old Anti-Sla\-erv Days to l)e held in Danvi-is on 
 the 26tli inst. Hut I cannot accojni)lish it. 
 
 I never was a,n auti-slasei-v m ri from a politic d standp >int ; 
 always, however, 1 thorouglily disliked slavery and was as glad as 
 3'iy one that eireuniitaiici's so fell out that its overthrow lu'came 
 lawfully possil)le and its hlmik i<i<iln no longer disgra;H'd our 
 nation or satiriz'd the uauu' of freedom. 
 
 1 have no doubt you will have an enthusiastic and nieinora- 
 ' 'i- meeting. Such a meeting some years hence will be im[)Ossi- 
 and I am glad it has occurred to some one to call together 
 ', .i.> commemoration assembly. 
 
84 
 
 FROM REV. WM. H. FURNESS, D. U. 
 
 PHiLADELriuA, Apiil 23, 1893. 
 
 It would l)e :x pleasure beyond words, my dear friend, to meet 
 the first apostles of Freedom for the Slave with whom my friends 
 associate me as one of that honored Band. But I have always 
 considered myself an eleventh hour man in the sacred Cause with- 
 out the excuse of the men in the Parable whom no one had called 
 to work. I was called by the Divine Voice and I ran and hid 
 myself, for I was a long time afraid. Happily I learned that no 
 one who serves the truth, even if he sacrifice his life for it, can do 
 as much for the truth, no, not by a hundred fold, as the service of 
 the truth will do for him. I learned also that Slavery was as 
 much more hurtful to the white race than to the African as it is 
 to do wrong or abet it than to suffer it. When the War broke 
 out we expected to hear the yell of Insurrection at the South, but 
 there came the plaintive sound of prayers and hymns, and the 
 Slaves continued to work for the families whose heads were 
 fighting to keep the Slaves in bondage. 
 
 Elmerdon said that " eloquence was dog clioap at the Anti- 
 Slavery Meetings before the War;" and for tli' i)jst of reasons 
 the Abolitionists had possession of the fountains whence flowed 
 rivers of the waters of life. But I am growing garrulous. May 
 Heaven liless the Meeting on the 26 inst., and make it a season 
 of i-efresliing to all attending it ! 
 
 FROM MR. .JOHN M. LENNOX. 
 
 Boston P. O., April 23, 1893. 
 
 Please accept my sincere thanks for your kind invitatioii to 
 the Anti-Slavery Reunion. I feel i)roud of being one of the old 
 Garrison Abolitionists, and also that my cousin, Charles Lennoj 
 Remond, of Salem, was one of the active workers in the cause. 
 I hope and expect to be present on the occasion. 
 
 
 FROM MRS. MARTHA WALDO GREENE. 
 
 East Gi!ef.navicii, R. I., April 23, 1893. 
 
 I thank you most sinct'rely for your circular letter whic 
 reached me yesterday, but I am compelled to foreso the pleasur 
 it would l)e to me to connncmorate with you the old Anti-Slaver 
 days on the 26th inst. 
 
 Those old Anti-Slavei'y days 1 There never were sucl 
 before ! Thei-e can never be such again ! Tiiey were da3'S whe 
 we forgot ourselves in our wish to serve the poorest and mo^ 
 
85 
 
 dest-rted of ;iU God's creatures, and wlien to do this cost rei^uta- 
 tion and life. 
 
 But even tiien, as God so wills it, the law of eompensatiou 
 was true to itself. 
 
 In my father's house no pleasure eould exceed ours, if 8. 8. 
 Foster, Parker I'illsbury, Abby Kelly and others, tired from the 
 contliet, eould visit us for some days, or even for an hour's rest, 
 and tell us of some new recruit of the Anti-Slavery Anny or of 
 the safe escape by the under-ground railroad of some [)Oor 
 fugitive. 
 
 1 do not forget how the story of Amos Dresser roused my 
 indignation, as he told of the tar and feathers, and his Bibles 
 wrapped in old copies of the "Liberator;" and later on, when 
 Henry B. Stanton hardly escaped a similar fate at the hands of 
 our own citizens, being sent b}' my father to Providence at an 
 hour when the mob were off their guard, I, as driver, being 
 unsuspected of complicity in the case. Then there were re- 
 proaches for riding and walking with Frederick Douglass, ston- 
 ings by the boys when attending Anti-Slavery Conventions at a 
 neighl)oring town, and charges of infidelity because of denying 
 the Christianity that bought and sold human beings. Yet none 
 of these things moved us. Never was service rendered more 
 freely in behalf of any truth that brought richer reward. Years 
 afterwards Abby Kelly said, '-Talk of what we have done for the 
 Anti-Slavery Cause I ^Vilat has not the Anti-Slavery Cause done 
 for us/' ' 
 
 Ye do well, dear friends, to keep the memory green of such 
 times and such men. God bless you I 
 
 FROM MRS. FANNY G. VILLARD. 
 
 Nkw Yohk, April 2od, 181)3. 
 
 1 an) extremely soiiy that 1 am unal)le to be present at the 
 meeting to be held in Danvers on A[)ril 2(), in commemoration of 
 "Old Anti-Slavery Days." 
 
 The present generation can hardly be made to realize the 
 intense excitement that attended the anti-slavery movement and 
 the spirit of self-sacrifice and of mart\rdoni that aidmated the 
 men and women who saw in the |)erson of tlie drspised slave, 
 Christ himself crucified. 
 
 If l)y frecpiently recalling the devotion to conscience, the 
 "(inflinching determination and the heroic forgetfulness of self of 
 the abolitionists, it will be possible to inspire i)eo[)le to imitate 
 their noble exam})le, great will be the gain to humanity. 
 
8G 
 
 FROM MR. DANIEL RICKETSON. 
 
 New l>F.DifOUD, Mass., April 24th, 1893. 
 
 Wliile I cordial!}^ unite witli the " Dnuvers Histoineai 
 Society" in the eouiiiiemoratioii of "•Old Anti-Shivery Days." 
 I regret that my advanced age and its attendant infirmities will 
 prevent my acceptance of jxiur kind invitation. 
 
 Among the honored guests named in your circular as expected 
 to be present, I remember Parker Pillsbury, a " true son of 
 thunder," who never spared friend or foe in his eloquent apjjealt! 
 for down-trodden humanit}'. I remember also in one of our 
 conventions in old " Liberty Hall." he declared that these " cof- 
 ton aristocrats." then in complicity with the slave holders., 
 '''• could turn all Heaven into Birmingham, make weavers of the 
 Angels, and drown the music of the morning stars with the eter- 
 nal din of Spindles :" at wdiich one of the audience, who sat a 
 little before me, rose fi'om his seat and walked out of the hall. 
 Among the older members of our ftLnssachusetts Abolition Society, 
 I remember with respect. Rev. Sanuiel May, JNIrs. Lucy Stoni", 
 and Mr. John W. Hutchinson, the last of the "• nest of brothers 
 with a sister in it," whose united voices so charmed all, and did 
 such good service for the cause of human freedom. I doubt not 
 the sainted name of John Greenleaf Wliittier, whose ringing 
 notes so often sounded the prophetic voice of Freedom, will be 
 among those wdiose spirit will be recognized as with you. I was 
 but an humble lal)orer in the great Anti-Slavery struggle, though 
 to the "manner born." 
 
 FROM MR. WALTER 15. ALLEN. 
 
 Lynx, April 24, 1893. 
 
 To l)e reckoned a friend of liumanity worthy of an iuvitntion 
 to vour pi'oposed connnemorative feast, is indeed a compliment. 
 To meet on that occasion a few of the remaining veterans of the 
 great Anti Slavery Conflict, and to heav their voices once more, 
 w'ill be a crowning joy. 1 therefore accept your kind invitation 
 with thanks, and shall endeavor to ])e present . 
 
 FROM MR. ROBERT ADAMS. 
 
 Fall Rivkr, Mass., April 24, 1893. 
 
 ILivinu' received your cii'culars, through Mrs. LivermoreV 
 kindness, 1 hereby wish to express my gratitude for the same: 
 also to congratulate your Society in their effort to call together 
 the survivors of that great battle for jioor humanity. By this 
 
87 
 
 movement you will affoid much jilensure to the vetei'nus, and also 
 have jx siiatoh of history, which is daily liein<i luuicd in ohscuiitv. 
 
 The histoiT. of the fugitives, if written, would lill nianv 
 volumes of exceedingly interesting literatuie, which might form a 
 new series of " tiction founded on fact," f(jr the young genera- 
 tion, who are entirely ignorant of the sufferings of the slave, as 
 well as the hardships endured by the pioneers in the struggle for 
 freedom. 
 
 I I'ecentl}' visited '•'Freemason's Hall,'" in London, where 
 the P^irst World's Convention was held iu 1840, and was shown 
 the gallery where Lueretia Mott, with the delegates from America 
 (n)y father being one of them), sat^ while the question was ilis- 
 cussed ii-fieflier to admit her ax, a dtle(jate! 
 
 I will take pleasure in being [)reseut at your meeting. 
 
 FROM MIJ. WILL1A:\I D. THOMPSON. 
 
 Lynx, April 2-t, ly.lS. 
 
 I I'xpect to be at the meeting, as I belong to a fa mil v that 
 was eaily identilied with the cause. My father, the late William 
 D. Thompson, was one of the oldest abolitionists, and our house 
 was always open not only to those who were engaged in Anti- 
 Slavery work, but to all other icforniers as they came along. 
 M}' brother, Kev. Pklwin Thompson, as every one may know, was 
 one of the lirst to organize societies, in connection with the Kev. 
 Mr. Torrey who lost his life in a JNlaryland prison. As many 
 who may l)e present at the meeting will remember, j\li-. Thomi)son 
 was also an active worker in the 'J'emperance cause. Our house 
 being one of the first to entertain agitators of e\-ery soil. I had a 
 good chance to know something of what was done at Lvnn. T 
 well remember the mol)bing theie of (Jeorge 'I'honipson ol' Imiu- 
 huuL and was present at the meeting: and I recall the wav he 
 got out of the church. As he wore a wliiti' liat, of c</Uisi' he 
 would be easily identified ; so one of the friends, who took in th(> 
 situation, removed his own and put it on IMr. 'I'liompson's head. 
 Thus no one knew him as he wenl out and passed through the 
 lines that were formed to tlu' Imnse of iMr. Henshaw on the 
 opposite side of the street. Lynn was a hot bed of agitations, 
 and it was the lirst place of the negro car trouble, which began 
 W'ith the putting of Douglass out of the train, an act which led to 
 great excitement. * * * * As the friends of the ;U)olition 
 movement have mostly gone, it is well for the few who remain to 
 meet and talk over the doings of the |)ast and icvive the old 
 memories. Their labors were not in vain. A great work has 
 
88 
 
 ^■been aceoinplished. I hope that your meetiug will be a success 
 aud that those who ma}' be present will have a day of rejoicing. 
 It cannot be long before the last remnant of the Old Guard will 
 have gone, and let those who are now left have a full share of 
 
 ..the glor}'. 
 
 FROM MR. GEORGE VV. CLARK. 
 
 Detroit, Mich., April 24, 1893. 
 
 ' I have received from your Secretary an invitation to be an 
 attendant upon your contemplated meeting on the 26th inst., in 
 commemoration of " Old Anti-Slavery Days," for which I am 
 sincerely grateful. It would give me great pleasure were I able 
 to attend and participate in what 1 have no doubt will be a 
 gathering of intense interest. But untoward circumstances will 
 deprive me of the happiness of being one of such a noble com- 
 pany on such an eventful occasion. I was converted to the 
 Temperance and Anti-Slavery Reforms when a boy about 16 — by 
 the first address on those questions I ever heard — by that eloquent 
 and powerful orator, that Demosthenes of America, Theodore D. 
 Weld. 1 entered heart and soul into the Reforms I had thus 
 oarly espoused. I had inherited from my father and mother — 
 both good singers — a soul for music ; aud saw its power and 
 mtluence in social circles where I was called on for " Songs" 
 when a mere boy, and at once conceived the idea of introducing 
 this influence and power in connection with my lectures on Tem- 
 perance and Anti-Slavery, which I did, aud I was not only not 
 disappointed, but highly gratified with the effect. Many scores 
 of drinkers and drunkards came to hear the songs^ and were 
 converted. I had set music to the best songs I could then find 
 on these subjects, from (Jowper, Mrs. Hemans, Massey, Douglas 
 Jerrold, Pierpont, AV'hittier, Longfellow and other poets. It took 
 like "■ wild-fire" as the}' used to say, and I was invited to all 
 parts of the country to render these songs in the great reform 
 conventions, and at the close of these gatherings was called on 
 for copies of them and was urged to publish them, which I did in 
 "The Temperance Songster," "The Liberty Minstrel," '••The 
 Free Soil Minstrel," "Songs 'of the Free," "Clark's Reform 
 Song Book," " The Harp of Freedom," '' Lyrics of the Lodges," 
 "And Songs For The Times," etc. 
 
 I have now traveled and lectured, rendering these songs, in 
 24 of our states and in Canada, and my interest and zeal in these 
 Reforms is as ardent and unabated as ever. I used to be told 
 .forty and fifty years :igo, if I lived to be as old as that gentle- 
 
8U 
 
 miiu whose iiaiue i>s so fuiailiar, the venerable Fatlier Methuselali, 
 I would never live to see the day when slavery would be abolished 
 iu this Country ! Thank God I have lived to see that day and 
 nearly thirty years beyond and am some years behind Methuselah 
 yet ! And 1 congratulate you, fellow workers, that you have 
 lived to see, and now to celebrate, the Glorious but Costly Vic- 
 tory I 
 
 1 am now as eager iu the fray and as anxious to see the over- 
 throw of the liquor power as J was to see the overthrow of the 
 slave power ! The same God of justice and righteousness rules 
 and reigns, and — 
 
 "Come what tliere may to stand in the wav, 
 That day the Workl siiall see, 
 Wheu the Mialtt with the lii{fht 
 And the Trittlt shall be ! ' 
 
 And now I desire to be affectionately remembered to my old 
 friends, John W. Hutchinson, Parker Fillsbury and Mrs. Lucy 
 ytone. 
 
 FROM DEACON JOSHUA T. EVERETT. 
 
 Westminster, April 24, ''Jo. 
 
 I have received your circular inviting me to the gathering of 
 Anti-Slavery friends of the days of " Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 It would give me inexpressiljlc pleasure to meet the dear old 
 friends named in your circular next AVednesday. But I cannot 
 do so for two reasons. First, I am just moving and as busy as 
 the honey bee iu June. Second, I intend to visit Providence, 11. 
 I., on Tuesday or Wednesday this week. And my age, 87 years, 
 would seem to be a barrier, but it would not, as I enjoy pretty 
 good health. 
 
 r>ut nearly till our co-laborers iu that Philanthropic and 
 Godly enterprise have gone to their rest and reward in Heaven. 
 In my generation nearly all have gone. Sixty years ago 1 was 
 chosen to rei)resent my native town (my lirst election), Prince- 
 ton, in the legislature of Massachusetts. In the lowei- house 
 there were 540 to 550 members. Today there are only three of 
 us living. I must confess to a sort of loneliness, but iu)t of 
 tuelancholy. J formed the acquaintance of l)rother (iarrisou soon 
 after that period and enjoyed his intimate frieudshii) till his 
 death and I attended his funeral. For some lifteen to twenty 
 years I was elected President of the County Anti-Slavery Society. 
 Then we held more than quarterly meetings. And in the north 
 part of the county we constructed a number of unseen highways. 
 
90 
 
 over which the poor shive was helfied ou to Canada. Yo,^, fleeing 
 to Canada to escape the infernal cUitches of tlie shwe-holder ! I 
 remember one very fine young woman about thirty years old, with 
 her babe nearh^ a year okl, V)rono;ht to our depot in Everettville 
 by an Abolition friend in the part of our county south of our 
 depot. The woman was almost as white and good lool^ing as a 
 certain very fine lady in onr neighborhood, to whom she bore a 
 striking resemblance. And the neighbors were invited in to see 
 how exactly the slave woman looked like Mrs. Beaman, the neigh- 
 bor. Then after giving her a good dinner and some things she 
 wanted, we helped her on to another depot, and so she got on to 
 Canada. I wish I could shake the hands of all the true souls that 
 will gather at the Danvers Convention. I received a long and 
 very interesting letter from John Hutchinson a few months since. 
 And I wish I could listen to his charming songs next Wednesday. 
 I trust your Convention will be an interesting and happy 
 gathering. I have snatched the half hour from the cares and 
 laboi's of the day to answer your kind invitation to be [)resent. 
 
 FROM MR. WILLIAM STONE. 
 
 New York, April 24, 1803. 
 
 I am in receipt of your circular of April 13, inviting me to 
 attend the meeting to be held on Wednesday, commemorative of 
 "Old Anti-Slavery Days." 
 
 T regret that I shall be unable to accept j'our invitation, as I 
 heartil}' approve of your gathering. 
 
 The present generation knows so little of the great move- 
 ment which prepared the North for its successful conflict with the 
 slave power and which resulted in the destruction of the slave 
 S3'stem in this country, it is well that it should, before it is too 
 late, hear the story from tlie lips of those who were actors in that 
 movement and who endured and suffered for its sake. 
 
 FROM MR. DAVID MEAD. 
 
 Daxversport, April 24, 1893. 
 
 Your kind note of special invitation to attend the meeting 
 "Commemorative of Old Anti-Slavery Days," was gratefully 
 received, and it would give us gi'cat pleasure to be able to be 
 present on tliat occasion. But 1 fear that neitlier Mrs. Mead or 
 myself will be able to attend. 
 
 The object of the call is truly a laudalile one ; and as T 
 nnderstand it, it is for an expression of sacred rememl)rance of 
 the worthy men and women who in times of great peril willingly 
 
riski':l tliiMi' lives and Li:i\-e of tlu'ii- uicaiis for the abolition of that 
 curse, and sum of all iulminaii cruelties — southern >laveiy. 
 (iMr. and ]Mis. Mead were lioth present at the nieeting.) 
 
 FROM :\I1{S. ANNK E. DAMON. 
 
 CoNcoKi), A|)iil 'i'), is;);5. 
 To save you the trouble of a fruitless call on Aunt liinelow, 
 I wi'ite to say that I called there this moi-ning and found she hud 
 btu'ii ill, and from weakness was unable to hear or see as well as 
 usual. I do not think you could eomnuinieate with her at all. I 
 succeeded in lettin<j' her know of the celebi'ation :it Dnnvers to- 
 morrow, and she said she would like to send her love to nil the 
 survivors of the first organi;cation of anti-slavery workers. 
 
 (•* Aunt Biffelow," now eighty years of age, was Ann Hagnr, 
 of Weston, Mass., and INIrs. Damon is her niece. She married 
 Francis F. Bigelow, also of Weston, and removed with him to 
 Concord, where she has continued to reside since her husband's 
 death in ISTo. With Mr. and Mrs. Minot Pratt, Mrs. Al)iel 
 AVheeler, Miss Sophia Thoreau, Mrs. Emerson, and others, she 
 was a most earnest, devoted, and iuflueutial al)olitionist from the 
 start and to the end. She welcomed to her house most of the 
 well-known anti-slavery orators and friends, and also mnny a 
 fugitive slave. It was there that '' Shadi'ach" was seci-etly 
 In-ought l»y Lewis llayden and a JMr. Smith in the inght or very 
 early morning, when he had escaped the clutch of his pursuing 
 master, and of the wicked officers who had arrested him and con- 
 fined him in the Boston Court House. Through the kindness of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow, and Mr. and JMrs. Nathan Brooks, he was 
 tendei'ly cared tor nnd safely spii-ited away to Montreal, where 
 sometime afterward 1 sought him out in one of my vacation trijis 
 and found him keeping a small store, and bi'ight Jind cheerful. 
 In a late int(>i'view witli Mrs. P>igelow, who had come to lie more 
 comfortable in lie:dth than in A])ril. she g;i\-e .Airs. Damon and 
 myself a most thrilling account of all the circumstnuces of the 
 escai)e and welcome refen-ed to, and of the rem:irkal»le w;iy in 
 whi(!h the peeled and hunted bondman gained his freedom liy tlu; 
 " Undergrounrl Railroad.'' a. v. v.) 
 
 FROM MK. J. M. W. VERKINOTON. 
 
 Chelska, Ai)ril -2'), KS9;i. 
 
 I thaid\ von most sincerely for the invitation to attend the 
 meeting in conuuemoration of old Anti-Slavery Days tomorrow. 
 
02 
 
 It would indeed be refreshing and delightful to me to be i)resent 
 aud to listen to voices which I heard nearly half a century ago, 
 in the storm aud stress of the Anti-Slavery struggle, but I fear I 
 must deny luyself the pleasure, as I have been unable to make an 
 arrangement, as I had hoped I might do, by which to escape from 
 official duty on that day. If it is possible for me to get to Dan- 
 gers, even at the eleventh hour, I shall rejoice to do so. The 
 idea of such a gathering was a hai»py one aud the occasion can 
 liardly fail to be one of surpassing interest and enjoyment. 
 
 (Mr. Yerrlugton, so long the printer of Mr. Garrison's 
 lAberator, was present at the meeting, notwithstanding his fear 
 that he might not be able to attend.) 
 
 FROM COL. THOMAS W. HIGGINSON. 
 
 Cambridge, INIass., April 25, 1893. 
 
 1 am sorry to be prevented l»y another engagement from 
 takino' part in your commemoration of Anti-Slavery days. Judg- 
 ing by your list of speakers it will be a good and genuine meet- 
 ing. I'have l)een invited to several such meetings Avhere some of 
 the most prominent si)eakers had either known nothing of the 
 Anti-Slavery movement, or had bitterly opi)Osed it. 
 
 FROM MR. THEODORE D. WELD. 
 
 NouAvooD, April 26, 1893. 
 
 Dear Old Abolition Friends : — IJeloved brothers and sisters. 
 I send you all my ferveut '' All Hail" and "God-speed," and am 
 with reluctance al)sent from your midst. 
 
 FROM MR. CHARLES E. GRAVES. 
 
 Hartford, Conn., April 2G, 1893. 
 
 Many thanks for your kind invitation, which I was unable to 
 accept. I should have enjoyed seeing you at Concord and joiu- 
 iug you for the convention of old abolitionists at Danvers, espec- 
 ially in memory of my father (George Graves, of Rutland, Ver- 
 mont.) He was an oi'iginal Anti-Slavery man from about 1840, 
 and was therefore under the political ban through all his earlier 
 manhood. I can remember having my fights when a small l)oy 
 for being charged by my mates with belonging to the " nigger 
 party." So that the names of all those brave men of principle, 
 the original Anti-Slaver}' men, were household names with me. 
 I can remember my father's attending a great Anti-Slavery con- 
 
93 
 
 veiition at 15uston whon Saini.el Fessoiulcn, of ]\[aiiu', lucsidcA. 
 and his i'ei)ealin>2; come of the words of his address. When I 
 got to be a young man 1 used to Ik; rather disgnsled witli my 
 father's faith — a blind faith as it seemed to me — espeeially when. 
 I ones heard him say. " I hope to live to see Ameriean Slavery 
 swept from the Eartli." 1 thought his zeal made him rather 
 wild. ])Ut 111' lived to see it, all the same. 
 
 . FROM REV. S. F. SMITH. 
 
 Davenpout, Iowa, April 27, li^l);!. 
 
 Your esteemed note of invitation was forwarded to me here 
 and received this A. M. Of course it was out of iny i)ower to 
 accept, but I thank you none the less for the invitation. Some 
 of the names on 3'our i)rogram are well known to me and highly 
 honored ; and it would be a i)leasure to me to join them. It is a 
 worthy object to cherish the remembrances of the great pastj 
 prophetic of a greater fntui'e ; and as the names of the workers 
 in those early days grow fewer, with the lapse of years they grow 
 dealer. The lives of such a band have not been in vain. 
 
 At your I'equest, I enclose for your use an autograi)h cojjv of 
 the hymn, "My country, 'tis of thee." Please present it to tl.'e 
 Historical Society, with the assurance of my higli esteem. 
 
 FROM MRS. HARRIET M. LOTHROP. 
 
 ("MARGARET SYUXEV.") 
 
 Boston, Mass., A[iril 28, 181)3. 
 
 Your invitation to the Danvei's Historical Society's celebra- 
 tion of old anti-slavery days on April 2Gth, was received the day 
 before and should have been answered at once. I could not pos- 
 sil)ly go, as you know that 1 am fastened at my desk. t»nt I should 
 have written you a letter, as all my sympathies are witii you and 
 your society. 1 was brought up in an atmosi)here that was wholly 
 in accord with this object. Some time 1 want to tell you how 
 much and how far this sympathy of mine extends to the '' old 
 anti-slavery days." I should have written you and the society a 
 letter expressing my sympatliies, lint 1 had not a minute at my 
 command. I congi-atulate you ii|)on tiie success which 1 see by 
 the })apei's that your society achieves, and I trust you will make 
 this an annual affair, as we are too apt to foiget the struggle of 
 those earlv davs in the success that has been achieved by it. 
 
 Among many other letters, also I'cceived liy the I'resideiit 
 or Secretary, were similar comnuuiications from Hon. E. L. Pierce? 
 
94 
 
 IJev. lulwiiid K. Hale, D. I)., Kev. Chailes G. Ames, and Miss 
 Mary Willey. of Uoston ; IJev. 1'. A. llaiiaford, of New Yoi'k ; 
 Eicliard II. Dana, P'.^q., of Cainl)ii(l;ue ; ^iiss Eli/ubeth A. Clapp, 
 of South Boston ; Mr. Ciiarles Bnffiun, of Lynn ; Mr. Lewis Ford, 
 of Nortli Abington ; Rev. C. A. Staples, of Lexington ; Mr. and 
 Mrs. R. P. Ilallowell, of West Medford : Henry I\I. Brooks, 
 Esq., .Secretary of the Essex Institute, of Salem ; ftlrs. Marcia 
 E. P. Hunt, of Weymouth; Rev. O. S. Butler, of Georgetown, 
 &c., etc. 
 
Biographical and Other Notes. 
 
 'J'liosi' who took :iu nctivt' part in the i)roi'C'e(liiiiis of the 
 nioethig had iiioi-e or less to say, as they had been paitieuhirly 
 requested to do, aljout their own personal experience in eonneetion 
 with anti-slavery work or times. However well known to the 
 pul)lie many of them, at least, may be, perhai)s it will lie grateful 
 t(j friends who may chance to read these pages, if we give here 
 some brief l)iographical details res[)ecting them all, partially to 
 supplement whatever accounts they gave of themselves, and so 
 complete, as well as we may, the story of the Reunion. Each one 
 of them had a right to be heard, and it is only to be regretted tluit 
 that there was not space for others who weie present and who 
 also had important testimony to l)ear. 
 
 IJEV. WILLIAM H. FLSII, SEN. 
 
 I\Ir. Eish is a native of New[»ort, 11. L. where he was born 
 on the •2')th of ]\Lirch, 1812. His parents were Eeleg and Alice 
 (Sisson) Eish, lioth natives of Portsmouth, near Newport. At 
 the age of 15 he went to Providence to leain the jeweller's trade, 
 and made aood use of the lil)rai'y and lectures of the i\h'chanic's 
 Association in that city. In .lune, IN;;.'), he nianied y\nua I'diza 
 Wright, daughter of I'^bcn and Penelope U'right, all ol' Pi'ovi- 
 dence. 'I'liei'c Mi'. l"'isli, (hiring the previous year, had heai'd tlu' 
 eloquent (ieorge rhonipson speak on the subject of shixciv, and 
 from that tinn' he dates liis active interest in the abolition cause, 
 as the friend, who was to be his wile, could likewise date herown.. 
 I\Ir. Wright having decitled to remove witli his family to Fremont, 
 111., where some Provid.'ncc f i iends had already settled, IMr. and 
 ]\Irs. Eish accompanied them and thei'e taught together in the 
 village a private school. Erom time to time, earnest discussions 
 of slavery took place in tiieir school-house and naturally had the 
 effect to intensify their zeal for emancipation. Here also IMr. 
 Eish studied for the ministry and occasionally pi'eaclu-d as oppor- 
 tunit V otfcicd, ha\ing some time |)rc\iou.sly piiiposed to make that 
 his calling. In 1S;>7, after tv»o vears at the west, he returned 
 
96 
 
 with his wife to New Eiighmd, passing tlirough Alton, III., only 
 ti few days before Lovejoy was shot by a pro-slavery mob, and 
 arriving at the east in time to be in toucli with the great indigna- 
 tion meeting at Fanenil Hall, at wliich Dr. Chauning spoke 
 and yonng Wendell Phillips delivered the maiden speech that 
 gave him immortal fame. 
 
 Mr. Fish was soon called to lie the jiastor of the societ}^ of 
 Universalists (of the Restorationist school), in Melville, Worcester 
 Connty, Mass. The invitation having been accepted, he was 
 dnly ordained to the ministry. Rev. Panl Dean of Boston, Rev. 
 Adin Ballon. Rev. Charles Hndson (afterward member of Con- 
 gress), and Rev. Samuel Clark (Unitarian) of Uxbridge, taking 
 part in the services. The society had been under the fostering 
 care of Mr. Ballon, and was therefore of decided anti-slavery 
 sympathies. Gariison and his more noted co-laborers came from 
 time to time and were gladly heard by the people. Jleanwhile 
 Mr. Ballon's Hopedale community was giving promise of its good 
 success as one of the better class of socialistic experiments of the 
 period. Mi-. Fish was one of its original members and was con- 
 ferred with from the first by its noble founder, l)ut still he re- 
 mained at Melville and continued his work there for 9 years, or 
 until 184G, when he went with his family to reside in Connecticut, 
 where for nine years more he did missionai-y work and occasion- 
 ally lectured in the service of the Massachnsetts Anti-Slavery 
 Society, sometimes speaking at social gatherings in company with 
 Lucy Stone and other advocates of reform. Then followed still 
 another term of nine years, spent in central New York, while 
 preaching Liberal Christianity, and lecturing on slavery and the 
 Hopedale Socialism in as many as fifty different towns, being 
 aided by the American Anti-Slavery Society, and by Rev. Samuel 
 J. May and his Unitarian friends. His principal point of work 
 and care was Cortland, where he gathered an Independent Liberal 
 Christian Society, but where there was a dominant pro-slavery 
 sentiment of the most bigoted and virulent character, the Presby- 
 terians excommunicating one of their church-members for going 
 to hear on Sundays such " infidels" as Garrison and Phillips and 
 Emerson and Starr King. But other brilliant men came in long 
 succession, to give light in the darkness, Greeley, Pierpont, Beech- 
 er, Foster, Parker, Horace Mann, and many more of like spirit 
 and renown, and our Cortland minister's hand is sufficiently seen 
 in what was done to provide such a dispensation where it was so 
 nnich needed. Yet the New York Presbytery and Synod con- 
 lirmed the action of the local cimrch and did all that was possible 
 to terrorize the faithful and keep tlicin in al)ject submission to 
 their Avill. 
 
07 
 
 Central New York witnessed to the most activt'. stiiriiii:" 
 period of Mr. I-"i--irs litV'. Gei-rit Sniitii wanted iiini to srt'le at 
 Peterboro, N. Y., wlieii' he liad liis own home. Imt he ciiosc 
 rather to make .Seituate, JNIass., the seene ol' his next pastorate, 
 and hither he came in ].S()5 to toil on I'or Christianity, lor Free- 
 dom, for Temperance, and for Woman's Rights, for twenty yi-ais 
 more, in the same spirit of brave and conscientions ticUdity to 
 duty as had marked eaeli and all of his previous terms of serviee. 
 His ministry has extended over iialf a century, and the whole of 
 it has been consecrated to Christ and Christianity, to many noble 
 reforms and to the best movements of his counti'v and a<ic. The 
 wife of his youth has gone l>efore him, and he now li\es with his- 
 son, Kev. William H. Fish, Jr., pastor of the Unitarian Churcli 
 in Dedham, an object of love and veneration with all who know 
 him, but with none moi'e than with those who faithfully wrought 
 with him in all the "Thirty Y'ears' War" against Slavery. It is 
 grateful to hear their warm and acconUint testimony t<j the high 
 worth of this venerable man, and to his long and arduous devotion 
 to Truth and Kight. Few are more deserving than he. 
 
 .JOHN W. HUTCH INSON. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson was born in Milford, N. H., .Tan. 4, 1H21. 
 In coming to Danvers to attend the Commemorative meeting, he 
 visited the home of his first ancestors in America. His earliest 
 progenitor in this country, Kichard Hutchinson, emigrated fi'oni 
 Finglaiid, and in 1G34 settled in that part of the original townshi]> 
 of Salem which first took the name of "Salem Village" and 
 afterward the name of Danvers^ with whose First Parish many 
 of his descendants have ever since been most honorably con- 
 nected. One of these, Col. Israel Hutchinson, liaving fought at 
 Lake George and Ticonderoga in 17')8 and scaled the Heights of 
 Abraham under Wolfe in 1759, commanded one of the Danvers 
 companies in the Battle of Lexington and served with great dis- 
 tincti(jn through the Revolutionary war. Another descendant, of 
 the fourth generation, bought a tract of land in Middleton, IVIass., 
 (adjoining Danvers), and another in Amherst, N. H. A son of 
 the latter, also named Joseph, was born in "Salem Village," but 
 settled in Middleton, and one of his children was Klisha, who was 
 born in Middleton, l)ut removed to Amherst and lived in that pait 
 of the town whi('h in 1794 was incorporated under the name of 
 INIilford. A son of Klisha was Jesse, who was born in Middleton, 
 in 1778, but went with his father to New Hampshire in the follow- 
 ing year. At INIilford he married Polly Hastings in the year 
 IhUO, and it is said that " it was while she was singing one day in 
 a village choir that she first bv her voice attracted the attention 
 
98 
 
 of lior futiue husb;iiKl." Both gave early indications of unusual 
 musical talent, and it is not strange that so many gifted vocalists 
 api)eared amongst their sixteen children : Jesse, Daniel, Noah B., 
 Polly, Andrew B., Zephaniah K., Caleb, Joshua, Jesse, Benjamin 
 P., Joseph Judson, ^Sarah Khoda, John Wallace, Asa Burnham, 
 Elizabeth and Abby J- 
 
 The first quartet of the family seems to have consisted of 
 Joshua, Judson, John and Asa. Very early in life they began to 
 evince a passionate love of music and a real genius for it, and 
 the songs which thus soon they sang in the home and the village 
 church, with violin accompaniments and the added voices of 
 Rhoda and Abby, and doubtless others of the family circle, awak- 
 ened much interest in the neighborhood and were a presage of 
 their future success. Ere long we find the four brothers engaged 
 in giving concerts in Wilton and Nashua, New Hampshire, and in 
 Lynn, Mass., and in several or more of the eastern towns and 
 cities. Salem, Newbuiyport, Portsmouth, and Kennel)unk, Abby 
 and Jesse joining them in their public performances at some of 
 these places. Paltry returns rewarded them for their exertions 
 and at length they all returned to Milford at the earnest request 
 of their father, except Jesse, who settled down to other kind of 
 work at L3'nu. But this was not to be the fate of the Ilutchiu- 
 sons. The way for a more fortunate campaign was bye and bye 
 .opened to them, though not unattended with failures and disap- 
 pointments. They sang in many places in New Hampsshire, Ver- 
 mont, Massachusetts and New Yt)rk, Abby still being a compan- 
 ion. After another return to their home, their interest in the 
 nuti-slavery cause was aroused by a convention held at Milford 
 and conducted by William Lloyd Garrison, N. P. Rogers, and 
 others. They now began to sing for freedom, and thus they 
 entered upon their great life-work. '"• These songs, in connection 
 with their Temperance Melodies," says a writer, "brought them 
 into great repute, and during a subsequent visit to New York 
 they complied with an invitation to be present at the Anniversary 
 of the American Anti-slavery Society, and afterwards at the 
 Anniversary of the American Temperance Society, where they 
 were greeted with the utmost enthusiasm." Thence they pro- 
 ceeded to Philadelphia and Washington, and subsequently sailed 
 to England, giving concerts in such cities as Liverpool, London, 
 Manchester and Dublin, and making the acquaintance of Dickens. 
 Macready, the Howitts, and other notables. This was in 1845. 
 The delighted crowds that greeted them abroad only added to 
 their fame in America and their hosts of friends and admirers 
 >iiere were oidy too glad to welcome them back to the service in 
 
Rhich they li:i(l Iktc enlislccl :iik1 which lu'vcr iicLnled their voices 
 more than tlieii. 
 
 And still their betuitil'iil work went on, nor is it i)ossiI)le to 
 measnre the good they wroiiiiht, as they went throngh the north- 
 ern states, everywhere inspiring the nmltitndes with a deeper and 
 more ardent love of lihert}' by their wondei'ful ])Ower of song. 
 Their \ersi's were <;f the |)oi)ular sort, dashed off at once as thu 
 iiecasion prompted or called, and modest in their claims to poetic 
 3iierit, but admirably adapted to })lease tlie people who heard 
 Uiem and kindle their enthusiasm. Popular assc'mblies ne\'cr lind 
 of hearing them sung by the IJntidiiusous, and the announcement 
 Ihat these friends would be i)resent and sing at any appointed 
 meeting was (pnte enough to secure a full and eagi'r audience. 
 Abby, whose recent death has touched with sadness so many 
 hearts, was married in 184'.) to Mr. Ludlow I'atton, a, broker ;ind 
 Itanker in New York, and in consequence ceased from her moic 
 public work, but John and Asa and Judson clubbed together anew 
 and still continued their mission in behalf of the slave until 18."i,"), 
 TS'hcn, with others, they established a new town in Wisconsin ami 
 tailed it ILUc/iiason. J i 18G2, the settlement was destroyed by 
 a band of oOO Sioux Indians, whereupon the brothers for a time 
 divided their care betw^-en farming and giving concerts. The 
 iyi'e was struck to unwonted music, as John, with his son Henry 
 and his daughter \'iola, children by his wife Fanny Buruham, of 
 Lowell, whom he had m uried Feb. 21, 1843, went down to the 
 Potomac and sang their songs to the soldiers in camp during the 
 war, the younger generations of the family, as the Danvers meet- 
 ing also bore witness, i)i)sses.sing an abundant share of the divine 
 gift of the eldiMs ; and even while we write the veueral)le and 
 special subject of our sketch, still fresh, and earnest, and active, 
 is plying his loved vocation at the great World's Fair, and is 
 •doubtless gladdening human hearts there, also, wich new strains 
 »f the •• good time coming." For more th;in fifty years he has 
 given voice antl pen, body and s(jul, freely and unreservedly, to 
 the service of humanity- 
 It was our privilege to be one of his guests as lie celebrated 
 the seventieth anniversary of his birthday at his pretty residence 
 ©n High Rock, Lynn, a commanding eminence which he himself 
 and his brother Jesse were among the first to settle. The wife had 
 died several years before, but the children and grandchildren were 
 there, with Abby and her husband from New York, and a great 
 aumber of old friends from the city and from places more or less 
 femote, not a few of whom had long been his distinguished asso- 
 «iates in his philanthropic labors. The music was as delicious as 
 
100 
 
 we had found it a luilf ctMitui'v Ijefore, and the greeting-.s wrre us 
 lieaity as the bright tlovveis were profuse and fragrant. The ho&t 
 was as genial and buo3'ant and jo^'ous as ever, and nothing could 
 have l:)een lovelier or more engiiging than that picture of the 
 "■Hutchinson Family" at their charaiiug home, on that memorable 
 evening. Few of our countrymen who have appeared in public,, 
 liave given more of pure pleasure to the })eople, or broken or dis- 
 solved more of slavery's chains by the human voice, than has 
 he ; and it is the consciousness of a life so spent that makes old 
 age at once happy and interesting. 
 
 . WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 
 William Lloyd Garrison, the second son of the great Reformer 
 whose uame he bears, was born in Boston, Januaiy 21, l<So8, and 
 was educated in the public schools of that city. The earlier years 
 of his ))usiness life were spent as teller in a bank in Lynn, Mass., 
 which he left to become cashier of a bank in Dorchester. Subse- 
 quently he went into the wool business in Boston, and he is still 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was one of tlie victims of 
 the terrible railroad disaster at Revere, Mass.. in 1<S71 and nar- 
 rowly escai)3d with his life on that occasion. Since the death of 
 his fathei', in 1879, he has spoken and written much on social and 
 moral questions, in the intervals of his busy life, and is ever 
 promi)t to bear his testimony in behalf of justice and righteous- 
 ness. The woman suffrage movement, the temperance cause, the 
 persecuted Chinese residents of our country, all find in him an 
 ardent advocate and ready defender, and he is one of the ablest 
 disciples of Henr}' George in the agitation in behalf of free trade 
 and the single tax, as was abundantly attested by his addresses 
 on these subjects at the Cooper Institute, in New York, in 1887, 
 and at a dinner given in honor of Richard Cobden's memory, at 
 Cleveland, Ohio, last June. He has written most felicitously, 
 l)oth in pi'ose and verse, in tribute to some of his father's surviv- 
 ing associates. His address on John G. Wiiittier, delivered before 
 the Brooklyn, (N. Y.) Institute of Arts and Sciences, Dec. 17, 
 1892, and the poem which he read at a reception given by the 
 Whittier Club of Haverhill, in the old homestead, last October, 
 were in his best vein and were i-emarkably fine productions, while 
 his address at the Danvers Reunion, as printed in this book, is an 
 admirable specimen of his terse, vigorous and finished style. As 
 one of the veterans present remarked after hearing it, '• That in 
 itself would have justified this occasion ;" and cei'tainly no better 
 or more comi)act statement and vindication of the GarrisoniaiL 
 position against a slaveholding LTnion has lieen written. To the 
 few yet surviving who laltored in the great cause with the elder 
 
1)1 
 
 -.■wrisDii. .'iiiil tn till who I'l'XH'iT his iiuMUi irv, it is ;i protVumd satis- 
 wvclioii that thi; son lias iiihci-itc'd iiol iiiiMi'ly iiis naiiic, Iml his 
 broad hiiuianitariaii siiirit and [»nr|iosi', and ihat he wears liis 
 mantel so worthily. 
 
 KKV. SAMTKL .AIAV. 
 
 No one of th:' ol I ( inai'd of Lilierty is more nniversallv or 
 i'esei'vi'div lo\ed and i'e\ered tlian Kcw Samnel Maw of l^eices- 
 ler, JNluss. IL- was hoi'n in IJoston, A[)ril 11, l.SH), and is tiiere- 
 foro now in the ei;j,lity-fonrtli year of his a^e. His fatlier, wiio 
 (lied in 1870, agetl 1)4, was tlie excellent Sanuiel May, mer- 
 chant of Boston, and senior deacon of the llollis Street Clmreli in 
 that city during the long and determined battle whieli its then 
 minister, Kev. John Tierpont, forniitlal)le fo(! of Shivery and 
 Iiitemperunee, waged tigainst the rum tralllc of some of his 
 wealthy and intiuential parishioners. His motlier was Mary 
 Goddiird of Brookline, Mass., daughter of Joseph (ioddard. 
 Tlie famous Abolitionist, Rev. Samuel J. May, of Syracuse, sou 
 t;f Col. Joseph May of King's Chaijcl, was his cousin. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was for four yeai's in the scliool of 
 Dca. Samuel Greele, of Boston, for three at the Boston Public 
 Latin School, and for one at the Round Hill School at Northamp- 
 ton, whose principals were Jose[)li (1. Cogswell and George Ban- 
 croft. He entered Harvai'd College as a Sophomore in 1826, and 
 graduated in 1829. Having passed the next year in preparatory 
 studies, chiefly at Bi'ooklyn, Conn., with his cousin, Rev. Samuel 
 J. May, who was then settled in that place, he entered the 
 Divinity fSchool at Canil)ridge in 1830, wlu're he had the lienefit 
 t>f lectures by Andrews Norton, Dr. Henry ^Vare, Senior, Henry 
 Waie, Jr., and John G. Palfrey, and where he graduated in 1833. 
 He was settled in the ministry, Aug. 13, 1834, at Leicester, 
 Mass., where he remained twelve years, being at the same time a 
 niLMnber of the "■ Worcester Ministerial Association" with Dr. 
 Aaron Bancroft, Dr. Josei)Ii Allen, and other i>minent clergymen 
 of the county. 
 
 Continued intercourse witli iiis cousin had more and more 
 served to imbue him with Anti-Slavery sentiment, until, in the 
 year 1833, he was influenced to take a stand oi)enly with the 
 Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society by the reading of Mrs. Lydia 
 ISLiria Child's book, " An Appeal in favor of that class of Ameri- 
 pans called Africans." From the first he nniti-d with his minis- 
 terial work an earnest interest in what was soon to l)e the great 
 |)hilanthri)|)ic movem.'ut of the time. He helped to form a town 
 Anti-Slaverv Societv and was an active meml>er and oflicer. In 
 
1U2 
 
 1840 he uttended the nniuial meetiiio- of the Ainericjui Auti- 
 Shiveiy Society, in New Y«Mk, at which took phice the vveH- 
 remenibered secession of those wiio were opposed to woineK. 
 having any active pait in such gatherinos. The strong and wise 
 testimony which he bore from time to time against the colossal 
 fein of the hind gave sucli offence to several of the members of his 
 I'nitai-ian Society that they witlidrew fi-oni the chiii-ch. Another, 
 who was prominent and who fully shared their [)r() slavery feelings 
 remained behind, and was so strenuous in his opjjosition to any 
 treatment or mention of the subject whatevei', in the puli)it. that 
 IMr. May, unwilling to divide the Society, and being unaltle in 
 lake any other cours' as to Slavery itself, resigned his position at 
 the end of the eleventh year of his pastorate. Yet the result of 
 sevei'al meetings was a luianimous request that the resignation 
 should be withdrawn, his violent opponent joining in the vote, 
 i\Ir. May accordingly yielded to the wishes of his people for the 
 time, but as the hostility of the person referred to soon became 
 more pronounced than ever, he (inally, a year later. surren(lere<i 
 his charge. 
 
 Not long afterward he was appointed as the (xeneral Agent 
 of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. He acce|)ted the 
 position, and entered upon its work in June, 1S47, after having 
 finished an engagement of about six months with the BrooklyiE 
 (Conn.) Unitarian church, of which his cousin had some time 
 before been the minister. His office was at 21 Cornhill, Boston, 
 in conjunction with that of Tlie Liberator^ and his principal 
 work was to keei) the Society's lecturing agents as busy as their 
 strength w^ould allow, to correspond with friendly people in 
 jMassachnsetts and gradually in other parts of New P^ugland. t« 
 raise funds, establish county organizations, attend conventions, 
 and to see to the i)ublication and distribution of tracts. Other 
 important Anti-Slavery bodies and gatherings were also includeJ 
 in his official care, and after the passage of the Fugitive Slave 
 Law, his labors were htill more extended so as to protect as much 
 as possible the many imperilled colored peoi»le, in and about 
 Boston, who had escaped from their thraldom. Mr. May wa« 
 General Agent for 18 years, and only those who know his con- 
 scientious and consecrated fidelity to all duty can have any just 
 conception of the vast service which he lendered to the cause 
 dining that most momentous period of the Anti-Slavery struggle. 
 No work was more needed, and no man was lietter qualified for it 
 than was he. He brought to it eminent ability and the highest 
 character, the best intellectual, moral and religious training, and 
 a supreme love to man ami love to God. His sphere of toil was 
 a wide one and his labors were many and arduous. They neces- 
 
103 
 
 suiily rcciuired that lie slioiild be ahseiit from home f<n' much of 
 the time, his wife meanwhile haviiiLi; the i-esponsible care of the 
 family almost entirely. Their only serious interruption was when 
 his imi)aire(l health ol)liged him to ivturn to Leicester and spend 
 a year and a half in the recovery of his strenoth. As soon as he 
 was well enough, he was again in the held, nor ceased from its 
 claims upon him until the Anti-Slavery Amendments of the 
 United .States Constitution became law and the bondmen were all 
 free. It is enough to say that throughout his i)rotracted term of 
 service he enjoyed the most tnd)ounded eontidence and warmest 
 support and friendship of such men and women as Francis .lack- 
 son and Edmund (.^uiucy, Mr. Garrison and Mr. Pillsbury, Mis. 
 Chapman and Mrs. Stone, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen S. Fostei- and 
 Charles Burleigii, Wendell Phillips, Charles L. Kemond, aii<l the 
 rest. 
 
 In 1843, Mr. Ma}', in consequence of a severe catarrhal 
 affection, lost his voice entirel}', but I'egained it by a sea voyage 
 to England, extending his journey to the continent. Whih' in 
 the mother country he embraced an opportunity that was prescnte<J 
 to him to bring before the Unitarians there the sidiject of Slavery 
 in the United States, and while in Geneva, Switzerland, he wrote,, 
 in reply to a request from some English Unitarians for informa- 
 tion about the American Unitarian ministers and peo|)le, a lettei" 
 which afterward became more widely known, and which, as he 
 was accused of something like treachery, he read on his return, 
 home, word for word, before the Berry St. Conference in IJostoii. 
 Some of the brethren who were most unfriendly to the Anti- 
 Slavery cause were (piite embittered against him on account of 
 his courageous and truthful testimony, and Dr. (Jannett. so^ 
 greatly beloved and honored, told him that lie was "■ the most 
 dangerous man in Massachusetts I" Today, there is no man of 
 his communion who is more venei'ated by all who know iiim, 
 inside of it or outside of it. thiin Rev. Sanuiel M:iy. of L-'iccster. 
 Yet /<e lias not changed ; l)Ut the people, L'nit;iri:ins and others,. 
 have. 
 
 HON. I\r. M. FISHER. 
 
 Milton M. Fisher, son of Willis and Caroline (Fairbanks) 
 Fisher, was born in Fianklin, Mass.. Jan. 30, 1811, and through 
 his father and mother is a descendant of several English families 
 who immigrated to this country in l(!31-37. The earliest of these 
 were that of Thomas Fisher, of Winston, England, who settle(l in 
 Cambridge in ir)34 and icmoved with his family to Dedham in 
 1G37, on the arrival of Anthony and eleven others of the same 
 family name from Syleham ; and that of Jonathan Fairbanks, of' 
 
104 
 
 Tatterford. who removed to Dedhain from Boston in lG3G-o7. 
 With tliem came, also, Michael Metcalf, the first school teacher 
 in Dedham. Nearly all the families in New England and the 
 Western States that bear these several names trace their ancestral 
 lines back to some of the emigrants above mentioned. Fisher 
 Ames, the eloqnent orator of the Revolntion, Dr. John Fisher, L. 
 L. D., of Beverly, founder of a professorship in Harvard College, 
 and George P. Fisher, the eminent Professor of Ecclesiastical 
 History in Yale College, may all be referred to the Fishers who 
 first settled in Dedham, while r.mong those who have l)orne the 
 name in P^nglish history there have been such distinguished men 
 as Gen. Osborne Le Pecheur (Fisher), one of the Norman barons 
 of William the Conqueror, 1UG6, John Fisher, a martyr to his 
 faith who was beheaded by Henry Vlll, 1535, and the Arch- 
 bishop of Salisbury, 1613. 
 
 Milton M. Fisher completed his education at Amherst College 
 in 1833, and received the honorary degree of A. J\I. in 1S65. In 
 1836, he married Eleanor Metcalf, daughter of Hon. Luther 
 ISIetcalf, of Medvvay. Of their nine children four survive: Dr. 
 Thomas W. Fisher, superintendent of the iJoston Lunatic Hos- 
 pitals, Frederick L. Fisher, Treasurer of the Med way Savings 
 Bank, and two daughters, one of whom married and settled in 
 Harriman, Tennessee, and the other is resident at the family 
 liomestead in JNIedway. 
 
 At the early age of seventeen he vvas a teacher of public 
 schools for eight terms, and for two terms a teacher in a classi- 
 cal school for boys. On leaving college and on recovering from 
 ill health, he was a trader in Franklin and Westborough for live 
 years. Li 1840, removing to Medway, he established the straw 
 works, now owned by Messrs. Hirsch and Parks, and retired from 
 the business in 1863. Since then he has devoted himself chiefly 
 to insurance, banking, and real estate. During his long business 
 life of sixty years, for fifty-three of which he has been a resident 
 of Medway, he has been honored with various judiciary trusts 
 iind municipal and other public offices, and has taken a leading 
 part in numerous enterprises that concerned the prosperity or 
 welfare of his fellow citizens. In 1855, he was one of the com- 
 missioners appointed to divide Ihe town of Danvers (the portion 
 that was set off, first taking the name of /South Uanvers, and 
 afterward that of Peahody), and subsequently he was made a 
 special commissioner for other state purposes. For 185!) and 
 1860, he was elected state senator from the West Norfolk Dis- 
 trict, and was prominent and influential in introducing and carry- 
 ing through the Legislature several useful and important meas- 
 ures. From 1863 to 1872, a period of nine years, he was a 
 
10.3 
 
 member of the Board of Count}' Commissioners, and for throe 
 years was its chairman, while for many years he lias also l)een 
 <.>iHeially connected with several religions and liene\()lent oi'uau- 
 izations. 
 
 In the valnal)le [japer which this excellent and ureatlv 
 esteemed octogenarian presented at the Danvers Commemorative 
 ISIeeting, he brietly outlined a part of his extended anti-shvvery 
 experience or service ; but it remains to add, that, during his 
 long and busy life he has delivered many addresses, not only on 
 the subject of Slavery, Init also in the interest of the Temperance 
 cause, and upon political and other toi)ies, at the same time 
 conti'ibuting numerous articles for the public press. It is worthv 
 of special note, that he is, so far as is known, the last survivor of 
 the First Public Meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 
 held in New York, JNIay 5th and Gth, 1884, except the venerable 
 Ivobert Purvis, the highly-cultured and noted colored gentleman, 
 whom Philadelphia claims as one of its worthiest and most 
 honored citizens. And it should also be said, that Mr. Fisher, 
 Kev. Sanuiel JNlay, and Theodore I). Weld, of Hyde Park, who is 
 now in his 'JOth year and is of unsurpassed merit as a veteran 
 abolitionist, are the three, still living, of the five persons in 
 Massachusetts whom John G. Whittier, in 1891, called the " Old 
 Anti-lSlaverii G-uard.'' Mr. Fisher is in his 83d year, and yet in 
 various ways, however moderately, employs hiinself ten hours a 
 day in useful work and care. 
 
 GEORGE BRADFOPvD BARTLETT. 
 
 Ml'. Bartlett, who recited at the commemorative meeting some 
 vigorous and appropriate lines which he had written for tlu^ 
 occasion, was born in Concord, Mass., July 7, 1833, being the 
 sou of Dr. Josiah Baitlett, a practicing physician of that town 
 for fifty-five 3'ears, and the grandson of Dr. Josiah Bartlett, of 
 Charlestown, whose practice there extended through nearly the 
 same length of time. Of the former it is related, that he pei- 
 formed the first act of surgery in the American Revolution, on 
 the 19th of Ai)ril, 1775. The familiar tratlitions res[)ecting tlu- 
 latter mark him as one of the most prominent and honored imMi 
 of Concord in his time, and as a conspicuous re|)resentative of 
 that noble type of widely known and grt'atly b;'loved [)hysicians 
 wliich is almost peculiar to New England life and history. F. B. 
 Sanborn, in his exceedingly interesting l)iograi)hy of Thoreau. 
 quotes as applicable to him the liiu' from Dr. Johnson, '■ Of 
 every friendless name the J'riend,'' and atlds : *■'■ lie said more 
 than once that for fifty years no severity of weather had kei)t him 
 
106 
 
 from visiting- his distant patients, — .sometimes miles away, — ex- 
 cept once, and then the snow was piled so high that his sleigh 
 upset every two rods." 
 
 George, the sou, who has inherited abundantly the kindly 
 and helpful spirit of the father, was nearly ready for college 
 when he was but 15 years of age, but was obliged by failing eye- 
 sight to abandon study for business, which he left after earning 
 money enough for support in an unostentatious style of life, while 
 engaged in more congenial, though it might l)e less lucrative em- 
 ployments. His tirst literary work was for " Our Young Folks," 
 the best juvenile magazine of the time, and he has also contribu- 
 ted largely to the ''Wide Awake," for which he is now writing a 
 serial; for the "St. Nicholas," Harper's Young People," and 
 the " Youth's Companiou." Some of his articles for these maga- 
 zines have been collected and published in book form by Harper 
 Brothers, New York. 
 
 His verses may be found in Emerson's " Parnassus," Long- 
 fellow's "Poems of Places," and in many other publications. 
 He is the author of several pamphlets on Anuisements in London , 
 and New York, and his book about Concord has passed through 
 many editious and has found a ready sale in Euroi)e as well as in 
 America. Indeed uo one knows more about the beautiful old 
 historic and literary town, and the authors who have so much 
 added to its fame, than INIr. Bartlett, and visitors find his Guide 
 a necessary and most entertaining comitanion as they repair to 
 the many interesting ol>jects and places they want to see. He is 
 H favorite lecturer withal, and has instructed and charmed many 
 an audience, far and near, with his talks about the poets, essay- 
 ists and transcendeutalists of Concord and their haunts, and on 
 legendary lore. One of the most popular of these is his " Foot- 
 steps of Thorean," which he prepared only as, after his previous 
 knowledge of that remarkable " poet-naturalist," he had tracked 
 him in all his adventurous excursions uj) the rivers and over 
 the mountains, and through the fields and forests. Mr. Bartlett is a 
 zealous antiquarian, and is a life-member of the Pocumtuck An- 
 tiquarian Society of Deertield, Mass., as well as a charter member 
 of the Antiquarian Society of Concord. 
 
 HON. PARKER PILLSBURY. 
 
 Essex County has had the honor of giving birth to at least 
 three of the most celebrated of the old abolitionists : — William 
 Lloyd Garrison, born in Newburyport; John G. Whittier, born 
 in Ha\'erhill ; and Parker Pillsbury, a native of Hamilton. Gar- 
 rison and Whittier have gone to their exceeding great reward^ 
 but Mr. Pillsbury still remains, to the joy of his multitudinous 
 
107 
 
 friiiiuls and admirers, as lu'iiilit and sccinin;jly almost as vii>orous 
 at the a^e «»f SL as in tlic yi'ars when. a> Fri'di-rick Douglass 
 writes, he was the oni- terror of the [)ro-shiveiy ministers and 
 chuix'hes. (Jilted and distinguished sons of •• (Jld Essex," be- 
 sides, there have been, who rendered noble service for the right 
 in the great coutlict; .lames N. IJuffum, of Lynn, who was never 
 weary in well-doing, and who through the long years gave freely 
 and unfalteringly his voiee and pen and lieait to the w(jrk ; that 
 colored orator of tiery elociuence. C'hailes Lennox Hemond, of 
 Salem, whose maidiocxl was itself a sutlieient argument against 
 the system that enthralled his race; Hon. Leverett Sultonstall 
 and Hon. Stephen C. Thillips, also of Salem, and Hon. Daniel P. 
 King, of Danvers, all of lilessed memory, who, in Congress and 
 out of it, strenuously lesisted the alaiming encroachments of the 
 Slave Power, and in their love of freedom bravely withstood the 
 [lowei-fnl political party with wdiich they were connected, as it 
 connived at the iniquitous schemes of the southern propagandists 
 and their northern allies; that brilliant and accom[)iished states- 
 man, Hon. Robert Pantoul, Jr., of Beverly, whose career was so 
 suddenly and sadly cut off by death just as he had entered upon 
 his more conspicuous lai)()rs in tlu' National Legislature, but not 
 until he had brought his acute legal learning and masterly ability 
 to exi)Ose the unconstitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Law, and 
 given other gladdening promise of additional blows which, had his 
 life been spared, he would doul)tless have struck for the cause of 
 Liberty which at heart he had ever loved ; these too, and other 
 well-kmnvn reformers and philanthropists with them, attest that 
 Essex County had no mean share in the general work of emanci- 
 pation. But of all who have been mentioned, no one was more 
 courageous and faithful in the tight than Parker Pillsbury, no one 
 had a tougher mental or moral fibre, a more unselfish zeal for 
 humanity ,"a more determined and adamantine puri)ose to break 
 every yoke, or a loftier standard of truth and righteousness. ^ Per- 
 haps there was no other of them all, whom any apologist or 
 defender of slavery, whether it were priest or politician, would 
 have so dreaded to encounter in open public del»ate on the one 
 burning (piestion of the time. 
 
 He was born in Hamilton, Mass., Sept. 22, \H()9. His 
 parents were Oliver and Anna Pillsbury. Oliver was a native of 
 Newburyport and the old house in which he tiist saw tlu' light and 
 which has seen seven successive generations of the Pillsbury fam- 
 ily, still stands upon a lot on High street and near the old Tim- 
 othy Dexter mansion, where a yet earlier generation of the line 
 lived in a log cabin. In his early manhood he moved to Hamilton 
 and there carried on business as a blacksmith and chaise-maker. 
 
108 
 
 At the Dinnnier Academy, in l>_vH;4cl, he h;ul liibt met his future 
 wife, Anna ISmith, danghter of Philemon and Maty (l\)hind) 
 iSmith, of Essex (Chebaceo), Mass. In coming to Hamilton, lie 
 found himself nearer his fair school frieud and the acijuaintance 
 easily became more intimate, and ere long ri[)ened into mai'i'iage. 
 The first few years of their wedded life were passed under the 
 ministry of the great and famous Dr. Manasseh Cutler. Of their 
 eleven children three were liorn to them there, of wiiom Parl^er 
 was the first. When he was lint four years old, his father and 
 CaiJtain IMoses Foster of Wenham, fwlio had mai'ried Abigail 
 Smith, Anna's sister}, moved with their families to Henniker, 
 N. H., where they bought a large farm and wliere they lixed their 
 home about four miles from the village :uid the church, on a high 
 peak of rocks, whence in clear weather they could look afar and 
 see distinctly the White Mountains 120 uiiles away. The l)rief 
 winter schools, so poor at best, which he attended as he came to 
 be a lad, or youth, afforded him but the scantiest means of edu- 
 cation. Full early in life he knew what it was to work, there on 
 those wild, sterile hills, in removing stuuii)s, building fences and 
 stone walls, and helping to eke out a supp(jrt for the family from 
 the unwilling soil. Yet it was there, amidst the hard toils, the 
 free winds, and the glorious views of that New Hampshire home, 
 that he acquired the strong, i)hYsical frame and the stronger love 
 of liberty, which one day he was to carry with him into his great 
 service of enslaved and outraged millions. The late James Per- 
 kins, of Magnolia, who was his cousin, once said to us that he 
 was a remarkably blight, robust, and promising boy. He was 
 very fond of reading, and when he was al)ont twenty he became 
 intensely interested in the speeches of Clarkson and Wilberforce 
 in behalf of West India emancipation. About this time he went 
 to Lynn, Mass., where he was emi)loyed for three years as the 
 driver of a baggage and expi'ess wagon to Boston, before the age 
 of railroads, little dreaming that ere long he himself, with others 
 like him, was to make the old anti-slavery town and its neighbor- 
 hood resound with his thunders against the wrongs and woes of 
 his oppressed countrymen. 
 
 In 1832, he returned to Henniker, where he again engaged in 
 farming and also l)ecame active in the church, and at length de- 
 cided to prepare himself for the ministry. At the age of 27, he 
 entered a Theological School at Gilmanton, N. H., and graduated 
 there at the end of three yeai's, after which he still |)ursued his 
 studies for a long winter term at the Audover [Seminary. For 
 about a year he pieached in his adopted state, chietly at London, 
 a town adjoining Concord, and now and then, for a Sunday or 
 two at a time, in other places. His sermons were not of the 
 
ooniiiKiii-lihict' tvpi', liiit wcic >liMki:!i!; ami full of puwci-. Liiving 
 evitlvncc that lieic was a man who was (li-stim-d to make li'.s mark 
 and (U) Ills own thinkinu. lie was slill of the most luuiniv-lioiiod 
 <»rtlio(lo\v. and Mr. I'cikins once told ns liow \\v heard him 
 ])n'acli a \'<'ry able and \ i<i(.)ii;us dirseoiirsc which was followed w;'Ji 
 tile hvmn, 
 
 ' • '1 here is a fi)mitain lillcd with hluod :'" 
 
 liiit ills l)old and independent idtei'ances in rei^urd to variou> con- 
 troverted (juestions of the duy led some oi' his Inethn'n to give 
 him the cold shoulder, and their fear or di^^tiiist of him was sooa 
 to Itecome UKjre marked and manifest. Like so many of the- 
 earnest and i)roHiisii)g spirits throughout the North, he came 
 under the strong and resistless infiueiice of William l.loytl (Jar- 
 rison, and, al)ai)doning the pul[)it in liSMi). he returned negative 
 answers to ti\e invitations which then lay u^ion his tal)le from ns 
 many connti'}' or village clun-ehes to become their minister, and 
 threw himself, body, mind, heart and sold, into the light against 
 slavery. That was 'o be the one sui)reme work of his life. It 
 cost him dear, (ireat were the soi'row of his fiieiids and kindred, 
 find the sncrilice of personal popidarity and reputation. The Avay 
 before him was one of struggle and liardslii[), contem|)t and per- 
 secution. The crown was far in the distance, unseen to mortal 
 view. But never did soldier of the cross take up his burden and 
 bear it on, against foes and discouragements, more l)ravely and 
 lesolutely than he, through all the |)rotracted warfare. 
 
 The story is too long for any extended record of it here. 
 As the General Agent of the New Hampshire Anti-Slavery 
 Society, or in his more individual, independent cai)acity, he 
 traversed the Nortliern States for a quarter of a century, or until 
 Slavery was abolished, preaching (leliverance for the ca|)tives 
 wherever men would come to iiear, in church, hall, school-house, 
 private dwelling, or in the open air, and denouncing with terrible 
 severity the guilty secular and ecclesiastical powers for their 
 complicity with the " sum of all vilhunies." He was everywhere 
 recognized as one of the very ablest and most formidable repre- 
 sentatives of the Garrisonian platform, lie had no fear of maa 
 or devil. He had the real lighting quality. He never minced 
 mattei-s. He charged u|)on the enemy with the full force of his 
 powerful nature, and full often his enraged opponents acknowl- 
 edged their discomtiiure by hurling at him stones and brick-bats 
 and bad names in return for his trenchant logic, withering wit 
 and sarcasm, and unanswerable facts. But what were all such 
 missiles to men like Barker Billsbury? They were only cheering 
 symptfjiiis that evil si)ii-its were bidng exoi'cised, and that the 
 
110 
 
 process was liL-iiltlifiil, however hard, even as a famous revivalist 
 was aeeiistouied to say that the l)est way to convert some men to 
 Christian faith and life was first to make them mad. Not seldom, 
 ill moral as in physical cures, the severest surgical operations are 
 necessary and safest. 
 
 Mr. Pillshury's pen, as well as his voice, has been given 
 unstintedly to the cause. Sucli prudnetions as his '• Folorn Hope 
 of Slavery" (•• A brief exhibition of the American church «.s' ?7 /.-<■, 
 in reference to the felave System of the United States"), 1.S47, 
 but especially his hiter and laiger book, ''The Acts of the Anti- 
 Slavery Apostles," I880, not to speak of various pami)lilets 
 beside, nn(l numberless article.-, published in the JItrahl of Free- 
 dom and oilier |)ai)Oi's. reveal the spirit ;ind quality of the man 
 and cannot be passed by, by any one who would undjistand the 
 work of the nlx^lition reformers. 
 
 His ^^t^ong-minded and intelligent father died in 1S.")7. and 
 his remarkal)ly interesting and lovely mother in 1871), at the age 
 of 1)4. However they might not have shared his liohler anti- 
 slavery <)|- freer doctrinal views, the}' never lost theii' f;nth in their 
 first-born, but rested in his profoundly religious nature and lived 
 to be glad for all that he had done to set at libeity them that 
 were l)ruised. The aged mother was borne to her burial, at her 
 own request, by her four surviving sons, J'arker, J. Webstei-, 
 Gilbert and Oliver, all of whom rose to honorable distinction. 
 For the last quaiter of a centuiy our veteran friend has lived in 
 Concord, N. H., where he mai'ried, Jan. 1, 1840, Sarah Hall 
 Sargent. Their only child is Helen Bnffura, who married, Sept. 
 22, 1889, Mr. Parsons Brainerd, now mayor of that city. Wife 
 and daughter aie still with him, the solace of his more quiet old 
 age, even as they were the sharers of his stormier past, and any 
 one who should see him there, beloved by all who know him, 
 would hardly lealize that he was once the object of wide-spread 
 fear and hatred. His work, however, is not 3'et done. The same 
 spirit that animated him to battle for the slave, continues him in 
 the advocacy of many another noble reform which he espoused 
 long, long yeais ago, as each ap|)ealed to his understanding and 
 heart, whether Tem|)erance, Peace, or Woman Suffrage. In later 
 years, his Temperance prir.ciples cover entire abstinence from all 
 narcotics, and from the flesh of all creatures that walk the earth, 
 flj" the air, or swim or dwell in the waters. And he professes to 
 live and hopes to die, true to the Doctrine of N'on- liesistance , 
 as taught by Garrison, Adin Ballon, Lucretia Mott, and Lydia 
 Maria Child, and other brave men and women of their day. In 
 1854, Mr. Pillsl)ury went abroad and was gone about two years, 
 and there, as at home, he preached and practised his cherished 
 
Ill 
 
 viows in relation to :iU tlu-se uiatltTs. AVIioevtM' heard lii:n at 
 Danvers on the 2!5tii of April must have felt that his lust woril 
 has not been spoken and that his mission is iiy no means endod. 
 His still more I'eeent eloquent addresses at the celebration, on tiie 
 21st of June last, of the First Centennial of the Incorporation of 
 his native town, and at the unveiling of the statue of William 
 Lloyd Garrison at Newburyi)ort, are fresh illustrations of his 
 wonted activity and unwaniu!:^ power. The twentieth centui-y 
 waits for hiin and will need him. 
 
 KEV. GEUKGP: W. FOliTKlJ. D. 1). 
 
 Rev. Dr. Porter, a descendant of J(^hn Poller, one of the 
 original and most prominent and influential settlers of " Salem 
 Milage" (Danvers). Mass., was born in Beverly, of the same 
 neighborhood, June 21, 1817. His grandfather, Benjamin Porter, 
 married the widow of Bartholomew Brown, .Sarah (Ilea) Brown. 
 Of their seven children, the eldest vvas General Moses Porter, a 
 great soldier of the Revolutionary war, of the war of 1812, and 
 of the Frontiers, wliile the youngest was lOaniel, the father of 
 George. Daniel married Ruth Meacum of Topstield, a town 
 adjacent to Danvers like Beverly. Both were persons of large 
 stature and robust health, and lived to be more than fourscore 
 years old. They had ten children and George was the youngest 
 of these. When he was in his third year, the family removed to 
 (Janaan, N. H., where both the parents died. The son's primary 
 and pre[)aratory education was first in the common schools and 
 subsequently at Orange County Grammar School, Randolph, \t., 
 at Plymouth Academy, Plymouth, N. H., and at Philli|)s Acad- 
 emy, Andover, Mass. ; but there were interval* when he pursued 
 classical and scientific studies under private tutors. For three 
 years he taught school, in the English Department of Chaunc}' 
 Hall, Boston. His junior year in theological study was also 
 passed at Andover. At its close, already a candidate for Holy 
 Orders in the Pi'otestant Episcopal Church, he went abroad to 
 pursue his preparations for the ministry at several German 
 Universities. On his return, after an absence of two years, he 
 was admitted to Orders and afterward organized the parish of St. 
 Mary's Church, Dorchester, of which he was the Rector for sev- 
 eral years. This was his first parish ; and since his retirement 
 from the pastoral relation, his professional life has been passed 
 in New England and in the state of New York, with the excep- 
 tion of the |)eri(Hl of his diaconate in I*hiladelphia, as assistant at 
 St. Luke's Church. He received tiie honorary degree of S. T. D. 
 from Iloltart Free College, Geneva, N. Y. 
 
112 
 
 In 184!), he mai'iied a niece of Govei'nor William Eustis of 
 ]\r:issuchusetts. Elizabeth Eustis Langdon. of Portsmouth, N. H., 
 with w JKjm and an only daughter he now resides in Lexington, 
 Mass., occupied with such clerical and otlicr duty as claims his 
 attention and service, and glad to s|)end his remaining years 
 amidst the pleasant associations and his n)any cherished friends 
 in that beautiful old historic town. Eor the usual term of yeai's, 
 he was latel}' the ]*resident of the Lexington Historical Society; 
 and as a more recent mark of the great esteem in which he is 
 everywhere held, wdien it chanced that a regular meeting of the 
 Convocation of the Episcopal Churches of Eastern Massachusetts 
 for 1892 fell on his seventy-fifth Iiirthday, his assembled brethren 
 and friends passed congratulatory resolutions, expressive of their 
 affectionate regard and high veneration for him, and of their 
 earnest ap[)reciation of his long and -faithful ministry of the 
 Word. An excellent portrait of this distinguished son of " old 
 Essex." as well as another of Gen. Moses Porter, his uncle, 
 painted by INliss Elizabeth A. Clapp, of South Boston, has recently 
 heen [ilaced among the pictures of the Danvers Historical Society. 
 
 MPS. LUCY STONE. 
 
 A very interesting sketch of Mrs. Stone appeared in 7Vie 
 Woiuan'-s Journal, of April lo, 1893, and from it we gather the 
 particulars for the Ijrief story of her life presented here. Born 
 at West Brooklield, Mass., August 13, 1818, she was the daugh- 
 ter of Francis and Hannah (Matthews) Stone, and was the eighth 
 of their nine children. She is of noble ancestry, her greatgrand- 
 father having fough.t in the French and Indian War, her grand- 
 father having been an officer in the war of the Revolution and 
 afterward a Captain in Shay's Pebellion, and her father a re- 
 spected and prosperous farmer. She grew up a bright and 
 vigorous chikl, truthful, fearless, and very helpful to her parents 
 about the house and in the hard life which they, in common with 
 most New England farmers, knew only too well. Her observing 
 and thoughtful mind early saw around her the very unjust and 
 painful lot of woman and already began to recognize the need of 
 reform. Athirst for huowledge, she wanted to go to college, 
 l)icked berries and chestnuts for money to buy books with, and, 
 alternately with earnest study, successfully taught district schools 
 at very low wages until she was twenty-five, when she had earned 
 enough to take her to Oberlin College and enable her to begin her 
 course at that institution, the only one of the kind in the country 
 which then admitted women. There she met her expenses by 
 teaching in the preparatory department, and by doing housework, 
 
113 
 
 at tlii'ee ceuts an hour, in the Ladies' Boarding Hall, durin;j; most 
 of the time cooking her food in her own room and hoarding her- 
 self at a cost of less than fifty cents a week, so scant was her [lay 
 and so poor were the circumstances. 
 
 Oberlin was an Anti-Slavery stronghold and harhored and 
 assisted many fugitive slaves. A school was started to teach 
 them to read, and it is not without signilicance, as a testimony 
 to her sympathy for the unfortunates as well as her excellent 
 standmg in the college, that she was asked to take charge of it. 
 The colored men at tirst demurred at being taught by a. woman, 
 but were tiuall}' induced to yield the point and in due time became 
 so much attached to their instructress th:.t when one day the 
 Ladies' Boarding Hall took fire a whole string of them appeared 
 at the scene, eager, most of all, to save /«er effects. Such, indeed, 
 was the favor with which she was regarded by the colored jieople 
 of Oberlin, that, while yet a student at the college, she was 
 invited by them to be one of the speakers at a celebration tiiey 
 held in honor of the West India Emancipation. It was her lirst 
 public speech, made nearly a half century ago. She was sum- 
 moned before the Ladies' Board the next da}', when she was 
 admonished that it was ''■ unwomanly and nnscriptural" for a 
 lady thus to appear among men on a platform and speak at a 
 public meeting as she had done, Mrs. Mahan, the President's 
 wife, asking her if she had not felt " embarassed and frightened" 
 in her [)erformance in the very midst of such companions ; but 
 the brave little woman quietly gave her the assurance that she 
 *•' was not afraid of them at all," and, though the act was emi- 
 nently right and proi)er, the interview seems to have virtually 
 closed with a hint that she must not do it again ! At the end of 
 her course, she was appointed to prepare an essay for the com- 
 mencement exercises, but when it was niade a condition that it 
 must 1>e read by one of the professors, since it would l)e unbe- 
 coming a woman to do it, she declined to present it at all, and 
 awaited another and better opportunity at Oberlin, that was sure 
 to come at length. For nearly forty years afterwards, when she 
 had long been famous as an advocate, before the American 
 people, of the rights of her own sex and of freedom for the slave, 
 she was enthusiastically invited and welcomed back to the college 
 to be one of the speakers at its Semi-Centennial Celebration. 
 
 She graduated in 1847, and in the same year gave her first 
 woman's rights lecture in her brother's church, at Grafton, Mass., 
 and afterward lectured regularly for the Auti-Slavery Society, 
 not forgetting, in her devotion to the oppressed colored race at 
 the South, that other great cause which she so early esi)Oused, of 
 which she has been so shining a representative and so noble a 
 
lU 
 
 leader, and which she is living to see marching surely on to vic- 
 tory. Her labors for the latter as well as for the former met 
 with bitter opposition everywhere. For a long time she wrought, 
 as it were, alone. She herself put up the posters for her meet- 
 ings, which hooting bauds of young roughs were only too ready 
 to tear down. All sorts of rude devices were resorted to in order 
 to break up the meetings tiiemselves. On one occasion a hose 
 was thrust through a window behind the platform and she was 
 suddenly deluged with cold water. •' She put on a shawl and 
 continued her lecture." Her mission took her through many 
 l)arts of the country, where a woman's voice in public had never 
 been heard before, but where, with the strong prejudice that 
 existed against such innovations of established cuctom or rule, 
 there was at the same time a curiosity to see and hear her that 
 often lirought crowds at her call. She had a wonderful way of 
 taming mischievous and violent spirits, by her exceptionally sweet 
 and nuisical voice, her wise and gracious words, and her pleasant 
 and captivating manner. JJut the tumult was stilled and the tur- 
 ludeuce was shamed into silence, only that her message, in all its 
 plainness and power, might find its surer way into the mind and 
 heart. Many reformers, under such provocations and in such 
 excitements, often lose their teni[)er and self-control, or are be- 
 trayed into rashness of speech or folly of conduct, but Lucy Stone, 
 whatever the occasion, invariably maintained her simple dignit}^ 
 and Christian womanhood, and ruled the hour because she .s;^>oXe 
 the truth in, love. In all this service, she practiced an economy 
 and self-denial which attested her supreme devotion to her work, 
 but which the world knew little about. '* When she stayed in 
 Boston," for instance, "' she used to put up at a lodging-house in 
 Hanover street, where they gave her meals for twelve and a half 
 cents, and lody,ing for six and a quarter cents, ou condition of 
 her sleepino- in the garret with the daughters of the house, three 
 in a bed." 
 
 "Then to side with Truth is noble 
 
 When we sliare her wretched cnist. 
 Ere her cause brini;; fame anil profit, 
 
 Aud 'tis prosperous to be just." 
 
 In 185"), Miss Stone was married, at the home of her parents in 
 West Brookfield, to Henry IJ. Black well, a young hardware mej- 
 chant of Cincinnati, so long and so well known for his Anti- 
 Slavery zeal and laliors and for a like service to the Woman's 
 Rights movement. The ceremony was i)erformed by Rev. (now 
 CoT) Thomas Wentworth Iligginson, who was then a settled 
 minister in Worcester. '' At the time of their marriage, they 
 issued a joint i»rotest against the inequalities of the law which 
 
115 
 
 g:ive the liiisl)aiid the control of his wife's i)r()perty, jxM'son and 
 ehihh'en. This protest, which was widely pu!)lished in tiie i)apeis. 
 jiave rise to mucli discnssion, and hel|)ed to get the laws amended." 
 Moreover, '' she decided, with her Inishand's ftdl approval, to 
 keep her own name, and she has continned to be called hy it 
 din-ing nearly forty years of happy and affectionate mairi('<l life." 
 Togethei- they have labored in many states of the Union, and by 
 their lectnres, their addresses to the pi'ople and Legi.'shitnrc.s. anil 
 their nnnierous pnl)lislied articles, they have done niiicli to im- 
 prove the laws relating to woman, and still more to crcMtc a 
 public opinion by which at last her wrongs siial! he redic^^st'd and 
 her rights secured. In IHCfi. slie helped to orizaiiizc tin- .\inciicaii 
 E(pial Ivights Association, for the benelit of ncgiocs .-ind wonifn 
 both; and in 18(59 the American Woman Snttingc A^sociat i..n. 
 serving as chairman of the executive committee of cicli ot \]\x->r 
 bodies. Jn this capacity she served the latter for tlir .-,|..i(\- ..l 
 twenty years, desiring '• not tlie post of prDminciicc, l.iit tlic p(»t 
 of work." Jn 1(S72, slu' and her husband l)ecami' tln' I''.(lit )r.> ct 
 the '• Woman's Journal." for the establishmeni <f w hirli shf 
 raised most of the need'd money in 1870; and they liavc had 
 charge of the paper from then till now, ))oth of thrm gi\ ing to it. 
 with the aid of accomplished contril)utors, their .signal al.ilitv. 
 rare exi)erience, and eainest toil. 
 
 iMrs. Stone recently completed her seventy-tifth year, i-eceiv- 
 ing the heartfelt congratulations of a host of her grateful and 
 loving friends. One who sees and heais her finds it ditiicult to 
 believe that she has lived so long. It is still Spring with her 
 rather than Autumn, excei)t for her full store of garnered wealth 
 of wisdom and goodness, and for the yet more abundant and 
 ever-greatening harvest of her .sowing where '" the field is the 
 world." Her chaiacter and lite present one of the brightest and 
 most beautiful pictures in our American history, and there is 
 scarcely one that is moie fraugiit with invaluable lessons for 
 young and old alike. 
 
 MRS. AHBY MOKTON DIAZ. 
 
 Mrs. Diaz, so widely and favorably known for her earnest 
 interest and well directed labors in many a philantliro|)ic work, 
 was born in Plymouth, Mass., and was of the prominent and 
 honored family of the Mortons of that place, among whom Abo- 
 litionism early found some of its strongest and most ardent sup- 
 porters. She is a direct descendant of one of th(! P*ilgrim 
 Fathers, George Morton (bi-other of Nathaniel Morton, tlu; sec- 
 retary of the Plymouth Colony and author of '* New England's 
 Memorial"), and daughter of Ichabod Morton, one of the truest 
 
116 
 
 of Anti-Slavery workers, and a member, with liis famih', of tlic 
 famous Brook Farm Community. Of tlii;? father, her gifted 
 cousin, Edwin INIorton, son of Edwin Morton and author of a 
 vohime of very line poems, has wi'itten these lieautiful lines, sug- 
 gested by his uncle's own words, " We can have Heaven here, if 
 we Init live rightly :" 
 
 "Me dreamed tliat Heaven slionld come to Earth, 
 
 And ceaseless toiled thcday to view. 
 O'erbornc he sank before its birth — 
 
 And lo ! to him the dream is true ! 
 O weary heart! U weary hand I 
 
 No more the anxious strife renew — 
 A Powei' above the vision planned, 
 
 And Heaven indeed has come to you ! 
 
 Sweet May returns — with leaf and tiower 
 
 The irarden of his love expands I 
 Rewarding Autunni brings her dower, 
 
 But gives the fruit to other hands ! 
 So blest is he, and ever- blest. 
 
 Who patient sows where others reaji ; 
 And ever ripening fields shall best 
 
 His ever-growing memory keep I" 
 
 Ahby was the only daughter, and there weic live brothers. 
 In very early life she came nndei' the influence, not only of the 
 Plymouth Mortons and their kindred friends and associates in the 
 okl town of the P^orefathers, but also of such men as William 
 Lloyd Garrison and Horace ^[ann, and of the Hrook Farm Frater- 
 nity, and it is easy to see how much these privileges and ministries 
 had to do in shaping her character and giving bent to her life. 
 She, too, was caught by the magic i)ower of the great Reformer, 
 and in her pithy and suggestive address at the Commemorative 
 Meeting, she tells of some of her first and later anti-slavery work 
 and experience. In her ^outh she had been accustomed, in con- 
 nection with household duties, to write prose and poetry by way 
 of recreation, and her taste for literary composition, as well as 
 her capacity for other kinds of useful service, was to stand her in 
 good stead in the not distant future, when, not long after her 
 marriage to Mr. Diaz, she was left with two little sons dependent 
 upon her effoits for their support. She was quick to turn her 
 mind and hand to whatever sort of honorable toil most readily 
 presented itself, in a certain apt and healthy way that many might 
 well imitate. Now it was teaching a juvenile singing-school, and 
 then acting as a housekeeper or even as a cook at a summer 
 resort ; now giving out work from factories to needle-women, and 
 then making soap at home, and again writing stories. Such a 
 s[)irit as that knows no defeat and is sure of recognition, success 
 
117 
 
 nnd honor, :it last. Thii-ty years ago, Mrs. Diaz beo-an to write 
 nuigaziiu' articles and ItooUs of domestic and [xililie interest. It 
 has been said of her: "She is a I'liritan of the; Tnritans, 
 Piynioiitii horn and I'lyniouth leared ; the I'nritaii Idood that tills 
 her veins thr<>l)> for liberty, for virtue, for liiiih attainment in 
 thinking- and doing ;" and hei' writings are s) stioiigly marked by 
 these qualities and aic altogether so bi'iglit and iu'lpinl, tiuit we 
 can hardly forbi-ar to give in this connection a list of her books, 
 as i)nblished l>y I). Lothrop & Co., Hoston. Thev ai'e, ''The 
 William Henry Letters," " ^Villiam Henry and liis Friends," 
 " Lucy Maria," "• Clironicles of the 8tim|jcett Family," "The 
 Cats' Arabian Nights." '-A Story liook for Children," "The 
 Jimmyjohns," "The.Iolui Spicer Lectures," " I 'oily Cologne," 
 '• Story Fr.'e Series," " Tlie Sc'li > >lm ist 'r's Trunk," " Damestic 
 Problems," " Bybury to Beacon Street" ;ind "Only a Flock of 
 Women." These are not very Puritanic titles, to be sure, and it 
 is possible that sc^me of the old Puritans would scarcely have 
 found the pages fully in harmony with their sterner and less 
 sympathetic views an(l ideas, but what was best in Puritanism is 
 largely here and without it Mrs. Diaz's books could not have been 
 written. The}' abound in practical lessons and are ada[)ted to 
 the life of tcda}'. 
 
 The same may be said of her numerous "talks" or "lec- 
 tures." One of the papers well says of them: "The Gospel of 
 life, as promulgated by Mrs. Diaz, is inspiring tae most gratify- 
 ing attention. It is simply the Christianity of Christ that Mrs. Diaz 
 teaches, applying this higher enlightenment to education, econo- 
 mies, and social ))rogress. No one can listen to even one of her 
 ' talks' without rising to more enlarged and elevated views of 
 human life and destiny." The subjects which she treats are such 
 as tiiese : "Life, or What it is to live," ••Waste of Human 
 Forces and Their Wise Direction," " Caste, or Class Spirit in 
 America," " The True Work of Humanity for Humanity," 
 " Ethics of Nationalism," " lAIissionary Work Among the Upi)er 
 Classes," "Christian Socialism," "Application of Christianity 
 to Civilization," "Our Philanthropies, Charities and Reforms, 
 considered in the light of Reason and of Religion." "The True 
 Social Science," "Thought as Power," "Progressive Morality," 
 "Individuality," "The Woman (Question," •'Competition," 
 '•Intemperance," '•The .State's Undt'veloped (human) Resources," 
 " Human Nature," " Religion not sonu^thing imposeil on Human- 
 ity, I»nt a necessit}' of Humanity," " Educational Duty of the 
 .State to its Future Citizens in icgard to its own interests," 
 " C-haracter Work in Scliix^ls and :it Home," and "The Higher 
 Life." 
 
118 
 
 For twelve successive years Mrs. Dinz was elected Tresident 
 of the Women's Ediieationnl and Ind'istrial Union of Bostf)n, 
 which she had helped to estahlish, resigning the position in 1891, 
 on her removal to Belmont where she now resides., though she 
 still remains a Director of the institution and frequently visits its 
 looms to aid its practical work. During her residence in Belmont, 
 she has started a " Women's Cluli" there, for the study of history 
 and literature, and of such subjects as the public education of 
 school children, the punishment of criminals, the improvement of 
 streets, general sanitation, economy in use of public funds, etc. 
 
 Fi'om all such enumerations of her varied themes, publica- 
 tions, and laI)ors, it will be seen what a vei-y busy life INIi-s. Diaz 
 has lived and at how many [)oints she touches huuuin life and the 
 world's great need. If she writes charming storit's for the young 
 and gives useful talks to poor workiug-giils and timely sympathy 
 and aid to the friendless and lowly, n"t the less is her rare talent 
 or broad culture made to I'eacli those who are more highly 
 educated or who are in more favored circumstances; and so it i.s 
 that the light that blessed the Pilgrims still breaks forth anew, 
 and the mission of the Puritan still goes on for all. 
 
 REV. AAPvON PORTER. 
 
 Rev. Aaron Porter was born in Danvers, Mass., Aug. 10th, 
 1820. and like his kinsman, Rev. Dr. George W. Porter, a sketch 
 of whom has already been given in these pages, is a linea! 
 descendant of the first Amei'ican progenitor of the Essex County 
 race of that name, John Porter, the largest landed proprietor of 
 that part of the town which was formerly known as "Salem 
 \'illage," and -said by the Colonial I'ecords to have been a man of 
 "•good repute for piety and integ•rit3^" as well as "estate." 
 Aaron's father was Samuel Hathorne Portei', better known as 
 Ilathorne Porter, one of the noted abolitionists of Diinvers, wh<i 
 was greatly re»pecteil for his intelligence . and high Christian 
 character, and of whose virtues and Anti-Slaver}' principles and 
 sympathies the son is a woithy inheritor. The latter received hi.- 
 higher education at the State Normal School at Bridgewater. 
 Mass., and at the Theological School at IMeadville, Peun.. of 
 whose Alumni Association lie is a member. After graduating at 
 the Normal School, he taught in the Grammar Schools of Bristol, 
 R. I., for one year, and for live years in the Grammar ScIkjoI of 
 Fairhaven, INI ass. 
 
 lie was married to Martha Ellen Cassino, at Salem, Mass.. 
 IMarch 31, 18.57, and since that time has been settled over various 
 cluirches of ditt'erent denominations. Having been ordained to 
 
the iniiiiistiy at Soineiset, Mntis., in 18G0, aiul having been for some 
 time the pastor of a chnich of tiie " Christian" sect, in that town, 
 lie snbseqnently removed to Lewisbnrg, Penn., and was tlie 
 l)astor of a eluircli of the same connection there. He was after- 
 ward tlie minister of the Unitarian C'hnreh in Northnml>erhind, 
 Penn., (originally nnder the charge of the celebrated Dr. Joseph 
 Priestley), and then of Universalist Chnrches in Gibson, Penn., 
 and Mankato, Minn., whither he and his family Avent in 18(!1>. 
 In 1871, he entered npon a ministry-at-large, at JMonntain Lakt^ 
 and on the neighboring prairies, in iNlinnesota, but later returned 
 to the East and was settled, successively, over the Fiist Parish 
 (Unitarian) at Mendou, Mass., the I'Mrst Congregational Church 
 and South Congregational Society (Orthodox), in Grafton. Vt., 
 and the Orthodox Congregational Society' in East Alstead, N. H., 
 of which he is now the minister. 
 
 His numerous settlements in widely separated parts of tiie 
 country illustiate his missionary sjjirit, while the fact that his 
 services ai)pear to have been ei[ually acceptable to the seveiul 
 Christian communions in which he has labored from time to time, 
 without claim to any essential change of his doctrinal views, has 
 been due to the emphasis he has laid upon what is most central 
 in the Gospel of the New Testament and the comparatively small 
 importance which he has atta'/hed to matters of less moment. A 
 sincere and implicit believer in Jesus Christ, he has made love to 
 God and love to man the burden of his preaching. As his 
 Dauvers address showed, he was familiarly ac(piaiuted with the 
 early Anti-Slavery friends and work in that town and is justly 
 proud of them. too. cherishing the old traditions and spirit of the 
 "Seven Stars," yet holding to lioth the Church and the State. 
 
 MR. (;E0KGE W. PUTNAM. 
 
 I-'cw of the living old line Aliolitioiiists date Ihm k their nnti- 
 slavei'v interest and woik to so early a period, or have l)een liieiids 
 or ae(piaintanee.s of so many of the leaders of ditferenl eiiianci|Ki- 
 tion schools or parties, as Mr. George W. Putnam, of Lynn. 
 None have toiled in the field with greater lidelity or with a mort? 
 self-sacriticing spirit. He, too, like otliers present at the meeting, 
 has a rich storehouse of personal recollections of the old days, 
 which were well woi'thy of record, however small a part of them 
 may be noted here, in these l)rief, informal sketches. 
 
 He was born Sept. 6, 1812, in Gloucester, Mass., whitiu-r 
 his parents, Joseph and Mercy Giddings (Whipple) Putnam, 
 moved from Dauvers, their native place. Subse(piently, in ]S21. 
 the familv removed to Salem. The father carried on the shoe 
 
120 
 
 business, aiul also invented the " stone drain pipes" which are now 
 used in vast quantities throughout this country and Europe, 
 receiving, like many such useful inventors, little else than ridi- 
 cule and abuse for his service. His wife was a sister of Matthew 
 Whipple, the father of the late brillittut and noted essayist, Edwin 
 F. Whipple; and her mother, whose name was Giddings, was a 
 connection of the great anti-slavery leader of the West, Joshua 
 R. Giddings, of Ohio. Joseph Putnam's father was also named 
 Joseph. He was a carpenter by trade, and was a " Minute Man" 
 in the Revolution. 
 
 George's education was confined to the town school in Glouces- 
 ter. After the removal to Salem, he was for several years a 
 clerk in the drug store, and afterward learned carriage and orna- 
 mental painting. Later he gave some attention to art, became 
 a pupil of the famous Boston artist, F. Alexander, and wrote 
 many articles, in the same interest, for the JYetc York Herald^ the 
 JJo.iton Transcript, and other papers. More recently, he has 
 been interested in life-saving and other inventions, some or all of 
 which reveal his own faculty and skill in this line. Old as he is — 
 for he is past his fourscore — he is still fully engaged in these 
 pursuits. 
 
 But it is his anti-slavery record, which chiefly attracts us. In 
 1833, sixt}/ years ago, he heard for the lirst time a lecture on 
 slavery. It was given in the South Church, Salem, by that ster- 
 ling Abolitionist, Rev. Cyrus P. Grosvenor, who was not able to 
 procure for the purpose his own church, the Second Baptist. Rev. 
 Brown Emerson, pastor of the South Church, was not present, 
 and some of his parishioners painted their pews afresh so that the 
 reformers should not use them. It was at the close of that 
 meeting that Mi". Putnam, at the age of 21, signed his name as a 
 member of the "• Salem Anti-Slavery Society." During that year 
 and afterwards he carried around Salem, for signatures, *■' Pe- 
 titions for the Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia." 
 Almost every prominent citizen indignantly refused his name, but 
 Hon. Leverett Saltonstall signed, and said he would be willing to 
 do it every day in the week. Mr. Saltonstall did excellent work 
 in Congress for '" Free speech" and against the "• Atherton Gag 
 Law." Another noble man whom Putnam recalls to mind and 
 whom he knew very well, was "Master William B. Dodge," who 
 requested the authorities to remove him from his place as teacher 
 of a White tichool and appoint him as teacher of a " Nigger 
 ISchool,''' and who afterward opened a free singing school and 
 taught the colored people music. Mr. Dodge often preached in 
 tlie Alms House, in Salem. Finally he emigrated with his family 
 
121 
 
 to Ab!ugtoii, 111., all of them tiikiug with them theii- anti-shivery 
 [)riiK'ii)les. 
 
 In 1834, Mr. Putnam met John G. Whittier, Amos A. Phelps, 
 Abner Sangei-, and Henry B. iStanton, at the house of Rev. 
 Charles T. Torrey, pastor of the Howard !St. Church, Salem, and 
 assisted them in arranging for the circulation of anti-slavery doc- 
 uments. Mr. Torrey, as elsewhere stated, was subsequently im- 
 lu'isoned at Baltimore for aiding in the escape of slaves, and died 
 in his dungeon. It was at Salem, in the •• Tabernacle Church," 
 that Putnam first heard Wendell Phillips, Samuel J. May, and 
 William Lloyd Garrison, and among the faithful abolitionists of 
 the city whom he remembers with grateful honor were the intrepid 
 John A. Innis and such Quakers as Josiah Maynard and William 
 H. Chase. With a few friends, he was invited to meet, stealthily' 
 at night, George Thompson, on his first visit to America, in 1834, 
 when having been mobbed and hunted for iiis life at New York 
 and Boston, and also at Salem, he was concealed at the house, in 
 North Salem, of Rev. Mr. Spencer, a retired Episcopal clergy- 
 man from PLngland. Some of the party I'cmaiued outside while 
 they listened with breathless interest to the eloquent foreigner 
 within, as, with subdued voice, he described the terrible conflict 
 with slavery, which was in reserve for our countr}'. But these 
 are only a few of the many strange experiences and exciting- 
 scenes with which our old soldier of freedom was familiar in his 
 early manhood. 
 
 In 1842, he made the acquaintance of Charles Dickens, on 
 his first visit to the United States, and, at the request of the 
 renowned novelist, he travelled with him as private secretary, and, 
 after his death, wrote an account of their journey iugs together, 
 which was pulilished in the October and November numbers of 
 the Atlantic Monthly^ of 1870. For a time he took \\\^ his resi- 
 dence at Nashua, where he first heard the "• Hutchinson Family." 
 and where, as at Lowell and other places, he himself taught 
 singing schools. Having married Julia A. Putnam, of Chelms- 
 ford, iMass., he settled at Lyuu, where he now lives. He was 
 there when George Thompson came again to America, in 18;')!, 
 and he was present at the meeting in Faneuil Hall when the Eng- 
 lishman and his abolition friends were mobbed and driven from 
 the building, at the hazard of their lives. Putnam afterward 
 heard Thonqjson at Plymouth, Fall River, and Lawrence, and 
 wrote for the XtV>era^or accounts of his s|)eech('s. At the request 
 of the Committee of the Massachusetts Anti-.Slavery Society, he 
 accompajiied Mr. Thompson to western New York, anil also 
 wrote accounts of his speeches there, for the Liherutor as well as 
 the Anti-Slavery Standard. He was with Thom[)S()n, Phillii)s 
 
122 
 
 and Edmund Quincy, at Springfield, when an immense and fniions 
 mob, hung and burned the ilhistrious visitor from abroad in effigy, 
 and assailed " Hampden Hotel" with eggs and brick1)ats, and 
 howled and roared till long past midnight ; and he wrote an 
 account of that, too, for Mr. Garrison's paper. Uut the next day, 
 the gifted orator drew a great crowd to hear him and effected a 
 wonderful revulsion of popular feelings in his favor. Putnnni 
 continued to report his speeches as he spoke in various states, at 
 one time going with him and with Samuel J. May and Frederick 
 Douglass to Canada, where they mustered very large gatherings 
 in Toronto and Montreal. They afterward visited Philadel[)hia 
 and there met James and Lucretia Mott (in whose parlors they 
 held their meeting, not being able to obtain a hall), and IMary 
 Grew, Rubert Purvis and many other distinouished abolitionists. 
 
 On their return to Boston. Thompson held a grand farewell 
 reception just prior to his departure for P^ngland. For some time 
 Putnam was employed in service as a lecturer — spent tvvo years 
 in Minnesota — and then removed his family to Peterboro', N. 
 y., where he wrote for Gerrit Smith and prepared his circulars 
 and addresses for publication for several years, accompanying 
 and assisting him as he went to New York City, Cnnada aiul 
 elsewhere in anti-slavery work. While living at Peterboro' 
 he wrote and delivered there an address on "• The Life of George 
 Thompson." Subsequently he removed with his family to Biller- 
 ica, Mass., and as the news arrived of the death of that glorious 
 champion of liberty, he repeated his eulogy at a JNIemoi ial Sei'vice, 
 held at the Ruggles St. Church, Boston, by the '• Wendell Phillips 
 Club," Wendell Phillips suggesting him for the service, and 
 many famous anti-slavery representatives being present on the 
 occasion. Others spoke at the meeting, and it was then and there 
 that Mr. Garrison's voice was heard in public for the last time. 
 One of the Boston papers said of Mr. Putnam's address, that it 
 *•' was of unusual interest and was warmly applauded throughout." 
 It was afterward delivered at various otlier places. 
 
 Besides the leading abolitionists already mentioned, our friend 
 had been associated in his labors with such men and women as 
 Parker Pillsbur}', Francis Jackson, Elizur Wiight, Oliver John- 
 son, Pev. George B. Cheevcr, Charles K. Whipple, B. F. Mudge 
 and the Buffums and Thompsons of Lynn, Harriet Tubman the 
 heroine. Sojourner Truth, the Fosters and the Burleighs, Rev. W. 
 H. Fish, Rev. Beriah Green, Rev. John T. Sargent, Lewis Hay- 
 den, Hon. Simeon Dodge, Lewis Ford, and others whose names 
 history will not let die ; while, among his friends and acquaint- 
 ances, there have also been Rev. Samuel May of Leicester, Rev. 
 Samuel Johnson, Lucv Stone, Antoinette Blackwell, Elizabeth C. 
 
123 
 
 8t:uiton, Mrs. Mary Kiolimond, Siisnii IJ. Anthony, Giles Stcbbins, 
 F. B. .Sanborn, Rev. John Pierpont, Rev. Theodore Parker, Tlie- 
 odore I). Weld, and John Jiron-n! At the honse of (ierrit Smith 
 he once passed an evenino; with the heio of Har}>er's Feny and 
 at Peterboro' attended a meeting for prayer and addresses at the 
 hour of the martyr's execution. 
 
 Of Mr. Putnam's connection with a branch of the "Boston 
 Secret Association," which was formed to prevent the cai»ture of 
 fugitive slaves by their masters, and with which such men as Sam- 
 uel May, Sen., Francis Jackson, Dr. Bovvditch, and other worthies 
 were connected, we have not space to write here. Nor of his 
 many other as yet unmentioned labors, speeches, and contribu- 
 tions to the press. He has, moreover, a decided gift for song, as 
 his verses which the Hutchinsons have sung so widely show. His 
 first Poem, prompted by the " Atherton Gag Law," was publislied 
 in the " Salem Observer," and copied into the "• LiUerator." 
 Another was delivered at the meeting which George Thompson 
 addressed at Plymouth. Among others which we recall was one 
 of unusual merit which not long ago he wrote on the occasion of 
 the unveiling of the statue of John P. Hale, at Concord, N. H., 
 attesting, if evidence were needed, that the veteran who has 
 written and has wrought so well and so much, is still, in his eight- 
 ies, the lover of Freedom, for whose sake he has freely spent his 
 life, surrendered ease and comfort, and endured no small shai-e 
 of prejudice and ojiprobrium. 
 
 GEORGE T. DOWNING. 
 
 Personal friend of Garrison and Pliillii)s, Whittier and Sum- 
 ner and Theodore Paiker, and nearly all the great Anti-Slavery 
 men, George T. Downing is himself one of the most meritorious of 
 the a1)olitionists of America. Like Purvis, Douglass, Garnet, 
 Ward, Wells Brown, Charles Lennox Kemond, and others of his 
 race, of similar reputation, he is possessed of marked ai)ility and 
 attainments, has felt keenl}' the wrongs and sorrows of his people, 
 and has been a fearless and heroic tighter in their behalf. 
 
 A very interesting account of him appeared in a New York 
 l)aper some years ago and we cull some of its details for our own 
 l)rief sketch of him here. Though he was born free, he is 
 descended from a slave. About a centur}' and a iialf ago, there 
 lived in Jinketig, a little town of Accomac County, A'a., a rich 
 and influential slave-holder, whose name was (Captain) John 
 J)owning, who became a convert uucUm" a religious revival, but 
 who was told b}' the minister, as he would hai'dly have been told 
 by a clergyman in that state a century latei', that he could not 
 
124 
 
 join the church unless he set free his shaves. Accordingly the 
 Captain at once emancipated them all. Among them was a 
 youi]g girl, who, as she grew to womanhood, married and l)ore a 
 family of children. These seem to have taken the nam.' of the 
 old niaster, as was so common in the south, and one of them was 
 Thomas Downing, tiie father of the sul)ject of our story. His 
 mother, the little girl just mentioned, was of commanding pres- 
 ence and of strong character and much consideration. The family- 
 moved to New York, where Thomas, after a brief stay at Phil- 
 adel[)hia, became interested in public affairs and was well known 
 for his manliness and energy. George, the eldest son of Thomas 
 and Rebecca, was born in that city, Dec. 30, 1819, was reared 
 under Christian influences, and early learned to respect himself 
 and defend his own rights. Negro children of New York, as 
 elsewhere in the North, were then, as also later, frequently 
 insulted and stoned and beaten in the streets. No one was more 
 quick or l)rave than George Downing t(i re|)el the assailants, and. 
 •with the aid of his youtiiful colored comi)anious, drive them aw.ay. 
 He attended public scliools in Orange anil Mulberry streets, and 
 also rt'ceived private instruction ; and among his mates were boys 
 who afterward rose to distinction. One of them was the color.'d 
 UH'ator, Heni-y Highland (iurnet. Some of the scholars formed a 
 Itterarv societv and began to discuss •• live subjects." and they 
 passed a liesolution, declaring that they woidd not join in cele- 
 bratino- the Fourth of July, because the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence was, to the coloi'ed people of the United States, "a ijcrfect 
 mockery." It may safidy be credited that our youth was among 
 the foremost in this action. Then we lind him, as an efficient 
 a^ent of the '■'•Underground Railroad," helping fugitive slaves to 
 make o'ood their escape, attending Anti-Slavery Conventions, and 
 in numberless ways working to arouse i)ublic sentiment against 
 the cruel and monstrous evil tliat was in the land. He was one of 
 a famous Committee of Thirteen, organized at the time of the 
 passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, to make war against that 
 infamous measure and render it a nullity. At the time of the 
 Anthony Burns excitement, he was summoned to Boston and 
 took the first train for the city, to join the mustering friends of 
 Liberty who had been called to the rescue. Standing in one of 
 the streets, he saw a body of Worcester men marching by with a 
 banner inscribed with the word " J^Veedom." The account adds : 
 *■' A number of police assaulted the procession and captured the 
 flao-. Ml'. Downing's whole nature was aroused. He rushed into 
 the crowd and used his muscles, strength and agility for all they 
 were worth. After a desperate struggle, in which the banner was 
 torn almost to shreds, he ca|)tured it from the police, and amidst 
 
125 
 
 expressions of admiration :tt his courji<>;e and strength, and 
 apijlause at his success, he ])0\\' the embk'in to tlie (illiee of 
 liohert INIonis, \vl)ieh was near by." Mr. Downing's dauntless 
 spirit was manifested, in like manner, in connection with the well- 
 remembered John Brown meeting at Tremont Temple. The 
 assemblage then; was broken up by the police and intluential i)ro- 
 slavery parties, but it adjourned to meet in the evening at theJoj 
 Stieet Baptist C'huich. '• a then stronghold of the colored i)eo- 
 l»le." The city authorities warnetl ?tlr. Downiuii and .1. S. 
 IMarlin, who were most prominent in the management v( the 
 occasion, that such a gathering would resnlt in bloodshed and 
 that they themselves were powerless to prevent it. They were 
 reminded, by Downing and Martin, of their duty to preserve 
 order and protect the citizens, and the meeting was held and was 
 attended by a dense crowd and was a great success. Downing and 
 other friends of it arming themselves for an emergenc}' and 
 Wendell Phillips making one of his most eloquent si)eeches. A 
 vast, howling mob gathered without, but the mayor called out the 
 militia, violence was restrained, and " the light of free speech 
 was vindicated." 
 
 Duiing the war, Mr. Downing was ver}' active in forming 
 several colored legiments, ol)taiuing from Goveinor John A. 
 Andrew a written assurance that every soldier should be treated 
 with equal and exact justice, and that there should be no discrim- 
 ination on account of color. While on a visit to Washington, iu 
 connection with such enlistments, he was assigned the charge of 
 the Restaurant of the House of Representatives, and, accepting 
 the api)ointnient, he made the acquaintance of many of the lead- 
 ing members of Congress, Imt especially became an intimate friend 
 of Charles Sumner, who on his death-bed gras])ed his hand and 
 said with great earnestness, '•'• Don't let my Civil Rights Bill fail !" 
 In defiance of all objections or sciuples on the part of others, 
 he allowed persons of his own race to be served with the rest at 
 the Restaurant, and he and his family were the first of that race 
 to occupy a box in a Washington theatre, lie was a man of just 
 the metal to despise and break down the prejudice which had so 
 long debarred his people from such privileges as these. In the 
 exercise of the sanu; spirit he was influential in securing the first 
 appointment of a colored man as a United States Minister abroad, 
 in the person of Mr. Bassett who was sent as representative to 
 the Repul)lic of Hayti. As a citizen of Rhode Island, he labored 
 for twelve years to abolish all distinctions on account of color in 
 the public schools of that state, traversed the state and appealed 
 to the people as well as to the Legislature to remove the unjust 
 law from the statute book, and finally accomplished his obje Ot 
 
126 
 
 In a reoigauizatiou of the Rhode Island militia, the Governor 
 commissioned him as captain, but of a colored compan3\ Mv. 
 Downing declined the honor, protesting against the accompanying 
 or virtual discriminatiou. The Governor renewed the appoint- 
 ment and made it satisfactory. 
 
 "• Mr. l^owning," it is said, " has not only succeeded as a pub- 
 lic man, but has also shown marked business ai>ility. He owns a 
 very valuable estate prominently located on the most fashionable 
 thoroughfare of Newport." Able, upright, enterprising, highly 
 intelligent, and eminently useful and benevolent, he is held in 
 high esteem in the city and state of his adoption, and by all who 
 know him, and they are many. He has frequently received note- 
 worthy marks of respect and confidence from associations or from 
 his fellow-citizens, as when he was for several years made Grand 
 Master in the Order of Odd Fellows, or when he was selected to 
 make an address of welcome to the great Hungarian l^atriot, 
 Louis Kossuth, on his visit to this country. But it is for his loyal 
 and faithful devotion, through a long life, to his own contemned 
 and aflbcted people, and his zealous and persistent efforts still 
 more to elevate and ennoble them after he had lived to rejoice in 
 their emancipation, that he will most of all be gratefully and 
 lastingly remembered and honoreil. The touching allusion which 
 he made to the recent death of the beloved wife of his youth, at 
 the commemorative meeting, will not be forgotten by those who 
 were present. 
 
 REV. PETER RANDOLPH. 
 
 Those who were able to comprehend the nature and signifi- 
 cance of the commemorative meeting, and availed themselves of 
 the opportunity afforded them to be present, will quite agiee with 
 us, we think, in the opinion that one of the most interesting fea- 
 tures of the occasion was the presence and brief, simple address 
 of Rev. Peter Randolph, of Chariest own. There were many of 
 those who took part in the proceedings who had rendered greater 
 service to the children of oppression and who were far more wide- 
 ly known to fame than he, but it was meet that there should also 
 1)6 one there who should appear as a representative of the •' race 
 redeemed from slavery" and as a living witness to what his whiter 
 brothers and sisters had done in its behalf. As he himself so 
 pithily said, in his speech, they might speak of slavery as an 
 " idea," but he could speak of it as a "' reality." In the course 
 of his remarks, he referred to an account of his own experience, 
 at the south and north both, which he was preparing for the press. 
 The book has since been published by James H. Earle, 178 Wash- 
 ington Street, Boston, and we gather from the volume a few 
 
127 
 
 details of his history for our notice of him here, hoping that those 
 who nia}' read these pages will gi-t the fnll story itself and so all 
 the more know the wrongs and snfferings which were once endnred 
 by the colored millions in " the land of the free." There is nnich 
 poi)nlar ignorance conceriiing the subject, especially among the 
 rising generations of our c^onntrymen ; and there is no l)etter 
 source of information for tliem than the trustworthy testimony of 
 those who have themselves tasted the bitter fruit of the deailiy 
 tree. In the latter part of Mr. Randolph's "■ From Slave Cabin 
 to Pulpit,'' he re-published, witli an Introductory Note by his 
 good friend Rev. Samuel May, his '• Sketches o}' Slave J^lfe,'' 
 which was issued as a pamphlet in 1855. 
 
 About 73 years ago he was born a slave, in \'irginia, and 
 was owned, with 81 others, b}' a man named Edloe. Led by his 
 slave mother, he was directed, at the early age of ten years, to 
 the Christ, sure refuge and comfort of the hapless and sorrowing. 
 For a long time he labored under the impression that he was 
 called of God to be a preacher. But how could he i)reach unless 
 he coukl read and tlms be able to study the Bible? His great 
 desire was to be acquainted with the Book of books. A friend 
 taught him to spell words of three letters. By slow degrees he 
 learned the art, so as at last to read without much difficulty what 
 to him was '• the source of all knowledge." Then he learned to 
 write, obtaining a book and copying its letters upon the ground, 
 in the absence of slate or paper. He thus became able, at length, 
 to write his own passes, as he went from one plantation to another. 
 His father was owned by a Mr. Harrison, of an adjoining planta- 
 tion, where he was made a slave-driver under a white overseer. 
 "• My father would often tell my mother how the white overseer 
 had made him cruelly whip his fellovvs until the blood ran down 
 to the ground. All his days he had to follow this dreadfid em- 
 ployment of flogging men, women and children, being placed in 
 this helpless condition by the tyranny of his master." The name 
 of the overseer on the plantation to which Peter belonged was 
 Lacy. One da}' a pig was found dead, evidently from natural 
 causes. No one of the slaves would confess that lie had killed it, 
 and so LacN' flogged them all, taking his raw-hide, with a wire 
 attached to the end of it, and giving each man 20 lashes on the 
 bare back. '• The blood was seen upon the side of the barn where 
 these slaves were whipped, for days and months. The wounds of 
 these poor creatures prevented them from performing their daily 
 tasks. They were, indeed, so cut up, that i)ieces came out of the 
 l)acks of some of them, so that a child twelve or thirteen years 
 old could lay his list in the cruel i)laces. My brother Benjamin 
 was one of the slaves so savajielv beaten." 
 
128 
 
 Denjamiii, pnrtieulaily. was no unlortunate as to encounter 
 tlie prejudice or dislike of tlie overseer, wlto was always watching 
 for an occasion to wlnp or lacerate him. Kre hull)' he was doomed 
 to even a worse fate, Itut one, alas, so common to the sharers of 
 his lot. Peter, whose oldest brother he was, wi-ites : " When my 
 father died, he left my mother with live children. * * * * 
 She had to work all day for her owner, and at night for those who 
 were dearer to her than life; for what was allowed her by Pklloe 
 was not sufficient for our wants. She used to get a little corn, 
 without his knowledge, and boil it for us to satisfy our hunger," 
 and '' sometimes would beg the cast off garments from the neigh- 
 bors, to cover our nakedness, and when they had none to give, 
 she would sit and cry over us and pray to the God of the widoAv 
 and fatherless for help and succor. At last my oldest brother 
 roas sold from her^ and carried where she never saw him again. 
 She went mourning for him all her days, like a bird robbed of her 
 young — like Rachel bereft of her children, who would not be 
 comforted, because they were not. She departed this life on the 
 27th of September, 1847, for that world ' where the wicked cease 
 fiom troubling, and the weary are at rest.' " And this v:as 
 ^Slavery: — this the evil and wickedness which the abolitionists 
 contended against with all the power that God had given them, 
 and for their righteous and glorious warfare against which, they 
 were stigmatized as "fanatics," and ''infidels," and "'blas- 
 phemers," and " pests," and were visited with ostracism, violence, 
 imprisonment, and death itself ! 
 
 Edloe made his will, March 20th, 1838, six years before his 
 decease, providing " f(jr the emancipation of his slaves and for 
 the payment to each one of fifty^ dollars, whenever they should 
 elect to receive their freedom and go out of the State of Virginia." 
 But though Kdloe, like man}' a master, was not void of all sense of 
 justice and humar.ity, j'et, as Randolph says : " Even if the 
 master was kind, the overseers, whom the law protected, and 
 from whom tliei'e was no appeal on the part of the slave, could 
 maltreat and abuse with impunitj'." I^it the provisions of the will 
 were not carried out in the spirit of the testator. For three 3'ears 
 after their master's death, his Slaves were kept at work as before, 
 not being able to obtain from John A. Seldon, the executor, the 
 money intended for them. At the ent^ of that time, they decided 
 to take what they could get — less than $15 each — and leave for 
 the North. There were sixty-six of them in all, of both sexes 
 and all ages ; and among them were Peter Randolph and his wife 
 and child. They reached Boston, on the Schooner Thomas II. 
 Thompson, on the 15th of September, 1847. It being noised 
 abroad that a large number of emancipated Slaves had landed at 
 
12'J 
 
 Lono- Wharf, n ei'owd of pei'sons soon oatlu'r('(l to sec tliciii nnd 
 '• coii<>rattilate tlu'iu on their new hirtli to Freedom." Prominent 
 :imon<i those who thus greeted them were William Lloyd (Ttirrison, 
 John A. Andi-ew, Wendell rhilli[>s and Rev. Samuel Mav. Some 
 of the strangers went to the otiice of the Uhtrator in Cornhill 
 and there met other warm-hearted Anti-Slaverv friends. 'J1ii-ongh 
 the kindness of Mr. Gai-rison and Mr. JMay and some of their 
 associates, al)out half of the new-comers soon fotuul situations in 
 the city and its immediate vicinity, and the lest in places more 
 remote. One who, like Randolph, could i-ead and write, was 
 more in demand, but even he received hut a. dollar and a half a 
 week, with ])onrd, until he was employed at the Anti-Slavery 
 F'air, in Deceml)er. Here he had the pleasure of meeting many 
 abolitionists and hearing lectures and discussions such as he had 
 never heard before. ''• The language and words used b^' some in 
 describing and denouncing the Slave Power, were sti'ong and 
 uncompromising. Yet the words were inadequate and too weak 
 to express the barbarity and cruelty to which my brethren in the 
 South were exposed." 
 
 Mr Randolph makes mention of sympathizing tirms and 
 l»usiness men who gave him employment and who usnall}' en- 
 trusted him with their keys: J. C. Elms. President of the Shoe 
 and Leather Bank of Boston. Isaac PVnno, Michael Simpson of 
 the Saekville Carpet Co., William I^ond & Son, T. C. Maiian, 
 Little & Brown, Diitton & Haskell of the Boston Tram^cnpt^ 
 Henry Callender, INIr. Morey, Merritt & ]\rullen, Tyler Batcheller, 
 Charles Adams, Wm. B. Spooner, and Ezekias Chase. Daniel 
 N. Haskell, of the TrcmscHpt^ was of much help to him in 
 getting his "Sketches of Slave Life" before the pul)lic. Mr. 
 Adams, who wanted him to scrub his tloor, was a little surprised, 
 perhaps, that he asked three dollars a day, and, being himself a 
 member of the Legislature, he reminded his colored l)r()the'r that 
 what he required was more than they got at the State House! 
 "But my work is icorth more," quoth Peter. The latter seems to 
 have made his first speech at a memorial meeting of the Boston 
 merchants in honor of Mr. George Batcheller. His addi-ess was 
 highly complimented and was well rei)orted in a New York paper. 
 
 Randolph and most of his companions in the city soon con- 
 nected themselves with a body of Bai)tist brethren worshipping in 
 a hall in lielknap, now Joy street. In Virginia he had been a 
 member of that communion. The little society grew and was 
 soon organized as the Twelfth Baptist Church of the city and 
 Rev. Leonard A. Grimes became the pastor. Randolph, who is 
 now the onlj' surviving one of its original members, was licensed 
 by it to be a Baptist preacher and at once began to do missionary 
 
130 
 
 work. He visited, for this purpose, St. Jolius and other pUices 
 in New Brunswick, and then returned to lioston and preached in 
 vSornerville and Dorchester and Plymouth, and elsewhere. In 
 185G, he was regularly ordained at Brooklyn, N. Y., and took 
 charge, for a year, of a struggling church of colored people in 
 New Haven, Conn., attending lectures at Yale College. " I 
 departed from New Haven richer in knowledge and experience, 
 if in nothing else." His next settlement was in Newburg, N. Y., 
 and then followed, during the latter pait of the war, two years in 
 Boston, where he was engaged in a small newspaper business, and 
 in preaching for the Old Ladies' Home on riiillips street. At last 
 he went down to Richmond to do work in his native state, and 
 was in Baltimore on his way thither, at the time of the assassina- 
 tion and funeral of President Lincoln. He proceeded to Rich- 
 mond by way of City Point. '' The colored people from all parts 
 of the state were crowding in at the Capital, running, leaping, 
 and praising God that Freedom had come at last." On his first 
 Sunday in Richmond he preached at one of the principal camps to 
 a lartre congregation. Two weeks after his arrival at that city, he 
 was invited to be the pastor there of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. 
 Accepting the call, he became the first settled colored minister in 
 the iSoath, only white clergymen having previously been per- 
 mitted to preach to negroes. He could but realize, most deeply, 
 what a change had come over Virginia as well as over himself, 
 from the time when, only 18 years before, he had trod her soil as 
 a slave. Various perplexing questions confronted him in con- 
 nection with his work. C>ne related to the marriage question, it 
 being necessary^to establish proper family relations among the 
 freedmen, such as could not exist under the system of Slavery. 
 Special legislative enactments were required to remedy, if only in 
 part, the prevalent evil. Then again, at meetings, the men and 
 the women were separated from each other, and the latter had no 
 equal rights or privileges, in the church. This was all broken up 
 by Mr. Randolph, who had the blacks assemble like the whites, 
 and all entitled to vote. Still again, near the close of the war, 
 southern Baptist churches (whites) had passed strong resolutions 
 against their sister churches at the North, but now they wanted 
 their colored brethren to affiliate with themselves rather than t(» 
 maintain alliance with their northern friends. But they were told 
 that this could be done only on two conditions, viz : that they 
 would take back all they had said against the Baptists at the 
 North and would treat those whose co-operation they solicited as 
 Christian brethren and not as Slaves. Randolph was chosen to 
 represent the latter, but all conferences were of no avail. The 
 whites still held that the colored people had no raeu who were tit 
 
131 
 
 to preach and l)e pastors, aud they vvere otherwise iudisi)osed to 
 coiJie to satisfactory terms. Those who were the real and only 
 I'hristiaiis in the controversy' felt that they "were jiistitied in 
 coniinii' out and forniino' ase[)arate orujanization." A convention 
 of colored Uaptists of llichniond and vicinity was called, a per- 
 aianent organization was effected under the name of the Shiloii 
 Haptist Association of Virginia, and Peter Randolph was elected 
 its i'rosident, with John Oliver as its Secretary. '" The said John 
 Oliver was formerly of Boston, but went tSouth immediately at 
 the close of the war, and rendered much service for his people. 
 I am proud to say that this Association has been productive of 
 much good among the colored l>a|>tists of Virginia." 
 
 Aft vr fonr years and a half of active service in Riciunond, 
 jMr. Randolph returned once more to Boston, a city which he had 
 had abundant reason to love. lie began work in building up a 
 Baptist church at the South End, commencing with a Sunday 
 school which Rev. Dr. A. J. Gordon and his people had formed 
 iit 1210 Washington St. Large numbers were adeled and the 
 iiew society n'»t long aftc;rward removed to a more commodious 
 [)lac.j of w jrshi[) on W^st Concord St., secured to them throusi'ii 
 Drs. Lorimer and G<»rdon and their friends. "The Ebenezer 
 Church continued to increase in memberslii|) aud influence, until 
 today it is one of the largest churches in Boston." Subsequently 
 we find our preaclier e iixaged in quite extensive missionary labors, 
 in Provitlence, R. I., in Worcester, Mass., at Mashpee among 
 the Indians, at Nantucket, in Albany, N. Y., and in West New- 
 ton, Mass. After leaving his Baptist church in Boston, he read 
 law for a time iu the oiHce of E. G. Walker, Esq., feeling the 
 need of some better a -quaintance with matters of civil govern- 
 ment. He was made a Justice of the Peace by Governor Wash- 
 burn, and was successively reappointed by Governor Long and 
 (xovernor Am.'s. He now lives at Cluirlestown, Alass., and we 
 liave no a|)ol(jgy to m ike for the considerable space we have 
 given to tiie story of this humble, but e:irnest friend, who is now 
 free, but was once a slave, who taught himself on the plantation 
 iiow to read and write, who was then in thrall and misery, but 
 iias since done all this work for God and man. 
 
 REV. DANIEL S. WHITNEY. 
 
 Mr. Whitney was born in South Danvers (now Peabody). 
 March -Ith, 1810. He si)ent his boyhood in ''Upper Beverly" 
 and went to school at the old red school-house that stood at the 
 intersection there of the roads leading from Danvers Plains and 
 /Dauvers Neck. One winter the school was kept by the sisters. 
 
Hannah and Betsey Putnam of Danvers, wlio weie teachers of 
 considerable local celebrity in their day. Our veneiable friend-, 
 who was their pupil, has recalled to us the circumstance, that at a 
 time when it was not customary to spare the rod, these ladies put 
 it aside entirely. " Hannah's tongue did the Ian hi jir/ for tlie biir 
 l)oys, and Betse}^ with the tenderest of tones, did tlie prat/in;/. 
 They kept an excellent school, and the committee gave ihem the 
 credit of making the best writers the district had ever had." 
 Daniel was early instructed in the art of making sIkjcs, and as 
 the occupation Avas an important aid to his wiilowed mother, he 
 gladly followed it until he was twenty-two years of age. lu 
 Danvers and Beverly and in the towns of Essex County very 
 generally, may still be seen the little shoe shops (now quite 
 deserted in these days of machinery), in which the friends or 
 votaries of St. Crispin diligently plied their humble vocation and 
 fashioned the prepared stock or material into " pumps" or 
 " brogans" for the larger estal)lishments of the manufacturers, 
 and it was especially during the winter days and evenings whei! 
 there was but little employment for them out-of-doors, that they 
 were most busily engaged in these small sti'uctures, and in con- 
 nection with their toil at the bench would discuss together, as 
 perhaps no other class of workmen were accustomed to do, all 
 the Vwe questions of the hour. Th.'y were a thoughtful and 
 intelligent set of men, were fond of reading, were good patrons 
 of the newspapers, and were in the habit of doing their own 
 thinking. Dr. Channing and the late Dr. Peabody and otheiv 
 have paid fitting tributes to their character and have written of the 
 peculiarly helpful influence of their calling upoii the mind and 
 life. Dr. Peabody, himself a native of Beverly, wrote concerning 
 the Fraternity of 8t. Crispin, that it '* has almost vindicated for 
 itself a place among the liberal professions by its high grade of 
 general intelligence, and b}' the number of eminent men who 
 have issuetl from its ranks, from Hans Sachs, whose lyrics were 
 .-imong the great forces of the Protestant Reformation, to ourowu 
 VVhittier, whose place in the foremost rank of living poets none 
 can challenge ;" and Dr. Channing, in the course of a similar 
 train of remark in his discourse on Noah Worcester, the Philan- 
 thropist, says that it is an occupation which Coleridge refers to 
 MS '• followed by a greater number of eminent men than any other 
 trade." Hans Sachs, Worcester, and Whittier, George Kox and 
 .lohn Pounds, Koger Sherman, Henry Wilson, and William Lloyd 
 (iarrison himself, with scores of other great helpers of mankind, 
 were all, at some time in their life, shoemakers. Whittier's 
 jubilant song of •' y'he iS hoe makers,''' will be remembered iu 
 connection. 
 
loo 
 
 We \\A\ recall what luirseries of Freedom the little shoe 
 ih()()s of Essex Comity were in old Anti-Slavery times. It was 
 511 such places rather than in the factories and homes of tin- 
 prosjjerons or wealthy, or in tlie learned professions, the colleges 
 and seminaries, or tlie more titled and inllnential classes, that the 
 Abolition sentiment lirst took deepest root. It was there that 
 txarrison and •• 77ie Liberator" earliest found highest favor, and 
 iu Free-Soil days the s|)eeches of (Jiddings and Mann, and 
 Sumner and Anclri'w, were read with greatest avidity' and delight. 
 The shoemakers understood the (pu'stion of (piestions better than 
 tUd their proniler and more nourishing neighbors, crowded the 
 ]»ublic meetings and made them enthusiastic for Liberty, and 
 tliemselves in large numl)ers were borne on the popular wave into 
 legislative halls and oflices of trust and power, to do the work 
 which others had opposed or neglected. 
 
 but we need not pursue the digression. No one knows the 
 •jtory better, perhaps, than Mr. Whitney himself, who is doubt- 
 less grateful for his eai'ly avocation for more reasons than one. 
 At the age of twenty he had joined the Temperance army, with 
 whose cause he has now been earnestly and actively i.^Mitilied for 
 t>-J years. About the time he quit the shoe-bench, or shortly 
 afterward, he became more deeply interested than evei' in religions 
 matters, having charge of the Sunday school of the First Univer- 
 salist church in Salem, whose [Kistor was then Rev. Lemuel Willis. 
 Through the advice of Mr. Willis he was led to prepare himself 
 for the Gospel ministry. After some years, spent at academies 
 iu To|)sfield and Andover, anil iu school-teaching, he eutei'ed 
 ?tpon his theological studies under Rev. Paul Dean of Boston, 
 and iu due time was ordained as an Evangelist by the Massachu- 
 5.etts Association of Restorationists. Subse(pieutly, with yearly 
 4*ngagements, he occui)ied three pulpits, in Middlesex Village, 
 West Boylston, and iJerlin, but was never ordained as pastor of a 
 ehurch. 
 
 From early life Mr. Whitney has been a lover of freedom 
 and a fiiend of many reform movements. We have alreadv 
 i;islanced his devotion to the Tem[)erance Cause. His |)rofound 
 sympathy with the Anti-Slavery struggle dates es|)ecially from 
 the time, when, at the age of 2G, he huirtl R.'v. Samuel J. May 
 tleliver a i)ovverful discourse upon the sid)ject at the Branch 
 Church, in Salem. In .Maich, 1.S12, wishing to enjoy more free- 
 ««om in religion and in philauthiopic work than the int(ilerance of 
 tlie churches then allowed, Iu; joined Adiu Ballou's Ilopedale 
 Community, with which Rev. William II. Fish .also became con- 
 nected, as has been stated on a previous page. While there, 
 Uiongh not occupied with tentmakutf/, he yet engaged in various 
 
134 
 
 useful, praoticjil kinds of labor, aside from preaehivig, as was his- 
 wont, here and there, at home and abroad. 
 
 It was during his residence and work at Boylston, in 18o3, 
 that he received the honor of l)eino; elected as a delegate from 
 that town to the State Constitutional Convention of that year, and 
 had the satisfaction of voting in that body to leave the teim male 
 out of its amended Constitution, subsequently rejected by the 
 people. At Soutliboro', where he soon established his home and 
 where he has lived ever since, he shared the risks so many en- 
 countered \n the terrible Slave-hunting period. He was a street 
 preacher but once in his life, and it was in Boston in the day 
 when Simms, the fugitive, was abducted, and when even the 
 stones of the streets seemed to cry out against tlie crime of his 
 rendition. During the last years of the war, he went down to 
 City Point and served with the Sanitary Commission under Frank 
 B. Vay. Since the war, he has acted as Postmaster of Southlioro' 
 for ten yeais, resigning the otHce more than ten years ago, as 
 being too old for the position antl its cares. 
 
 h\ 1842, i\Ir. Whitney married Miss Hannah S. P. Cotton, 
 youngest daughter of Rev. Ward Cotton, of Boylston, and a 
 descendant of that " burning and shining light of the Puritan 
 Church," Rev. John Cotton of Boston. Slie was one of the con- 
 structors of the remarkal)le patch-work quilt, sent by the Anti- 
 Slavery women of Boylston to Mrs. Chapman's great Fair of 
 more than a half century ago and l)ought by Anti-Slavery women 
 of Boston and presented to Mr. Garrison. It had a kneeling 
 slave as a central figure and an Anti-Slavery sentiment written in 
 every square. Mrs. Whitney is in good health for one who, like 
 her husband, was born in 1810, but on account of an infirmity of 
 lameness is kept quite at home and was unable to accompany him 
 to Dauvers, on the 26th of Ai)ril. Her l)it of property in South- 
 boro' has been owned more than 70 years by women, and still the- 
 " Taxation without Representation" goes on, as when Otis thun- 
 dered against the injustice before the war of the Revolution. It 
 is no wonder that the aged and venerated pair are devoted friends 
 of the cause of woman. For more than 50 years they have 
 unitedly l)orne consistent and unfaltering testimony in behalf of 
 Freedom, Equal Rights, Temperance and Religion ; and now in 
 cheerful ho[)e, they stand "on the very edge of the river waiting 
 to pass over." 
 
 MISS SARAH H. SOUTHWICK. 
 
 Though not so old as some of the surviving Abolitionists who 
 were present at the Danvers Meeting or were unavoidal)ly absent, 
 ]Miss Southwick, having been born into an old anti-slavery family 
 
135 
 
 circle and luiving from very childhood shared its active zeal and 
 sympathies, has a rich store-house of memories of the great strug- 
 gle, and very few now living were present at so many of its more 
 thrilling scenes, or on so many of its more important occasions, 
 as she. In her brief wiitteii address, as i)rintcd on previous 
 pages, she has given, hy request, some account of her ancestors, 
 and also of the Boston mob of 1835, of a part of the attendant 
 circumstances of which she was a spectator, however she may not 
 have witnessed, like Dr. Porter, the brutal and atrocious outrage 
 itself. From her ^ ReminLseences of Earli/ Anti-Slavery JJays^'* 
 which she has "■ privately printed" in a small volume within the 
 last few months, we gather' other recollections of dee[) interest, 
 illustrative of her own life, and of stirring events with wliicii, as 
 an abolitionist, she w:.s personally associated. 
 
 8he was born in 1821, at North Vassalboro, in Maine. Her 
 father, Joseph Southwick, was one of the original subscribers for 
 the Liherato>'^ and was a delegate from Maine to the Convention 
 which formed the American Anti-Slavery Society, in 1833. Her 
 mother, Thankful Hussey, was, like Mr. Southwick himself, of 
 life-long devotion to Anti-Slavery work, inheriting her |)rinciples 
 from her father, Samuel Hussey, a merchant of Portland, through 
 whose acquaintance and sym[)athy with the labors of Wilberforce 
 and Claikson the family were largel}' made ready to espouse the 
 cause in Ameiiea and to ""welcome Mr. Garrison with open 
 arms." Mr. Hussey was a good friend of fugitive slaves, who 
 often came to Portland concealed in vessels sailing from the 
 West Indies and who on their arrival were lodged in jail for safe- 
 keeling. With the jailei-'s connivance, eftectual means were 
 quite sure to be found for their sui-ret)titioas start in the night 
 for Canada. 
 
 In the spring of 1834, the Southwicks moved to South Dan- 
 vers, now Peabody. Mass., where they resided until the spring of 
 1835 with Isaac Winslow who had married Sarali Hussey, sister 
 of Thankful, and who was also an earnest and prominent al)oli- 
 tionist. Another sister. Comfort Hussey, married Nathan Wins- 
 low, brother of Isaac, and "both brotheis subsciibed for the lirst 
 copies of the Liberator^ and suppoited Mr. (larrison heartily 
 with their money and interest." It was amidst such highly 
 favoralile family associations and social advantages that young 
 Sarah Southwick early iml)ibed her anti-slavery sentiments and 
 learned how to work with the workers. She was thirteen years of 
 age, when, in the wintei- of 1834, she attended the first of the 
 famous Anti-Slavery Fail's in Boston, being accompanied by her 
 father and sisters. Here she saw for the first time Mrs. Lydiu 
 Maria Child, who with IMrs. Ellis Gray Loring managed the Fair, 
 
loG 
 
 and whom she wanted veiT much to see, having been a reader of 
 her '• Juvenile Miscellany." Observing, on one of the tables, 
 certain articles which her muther had stimulated her to make for 
 the sale, she asked Mrs. Child the price of one of her own needle- 
 books, whereupon the good lady said, "■ It is marked fifty cents, 
 but it is not well made, and you may have it for two shillings." 
 Long afterward Mrs. Child wrote some account of the occasion 
 and remarked : " Our chief purchasers were three Quakers and 
 their families, Isaac Winslow, Nathan Winslow, and Joseph 
 8 >uthwick, who have all ascended to a higher plane of existence." 
 Miss Southvvick attended nearly evei'y succeeding Fair for twenty- 
 live years, and she recalls the circumstance that her uncle Isaac 
 once startled an Anti-8laveiy convention by i)utting into its con- 
 tribution box the generous sum of one thousand dollars. 
 
 In the spring of 18i}5, the family removed from South Dan- 
 vers to Boston, where they resided for two years in Uigii street. 
 In the summer she and her mother attended a meeting of the 
 IJoston Female Anti-Slavery Society, which they both joined, and 
 duiing the same season she was present at another meeting, when 
 Mrs. Maria Chapman became a member and spoke of her interest 
 in the cause and of her desire to aid it. At the time of the 
 annual meeting, on the 21st of October, of the same year, •' the 
 excitement in regard to George Thompson was at its height." 
 (Miss Southwick's brief account of the "• liustou Mob" is given 
 in her address.) Of this celebrated orator and philanthropist 
 who was again and again a guest at her home, she says, "• What 
 an enthusiasm I felt for him, wliat admiration, and how interested 
 we were in everythmg he said t * * * * He was always 
 eloquent, but when aroused he spoke with such rapidity and flow 
 of words as I have never heard tVom any one since, except the 
 Rev. Phillips Brooks. * * * * As he seldom wanted to 
 retire till eleven or twelve, he would entertain us, after the Anti- 
 Slavery friends who made a point of coming in the evening had 
 left, with stories and reminiscences of his youth and of English 
 life, which were both charming and amusing." On the day he 
 sailed for England, Sarah was sent to Mr. Garrison's house in 
 Brighton street to tell him that Mr. Thompson was to take his 
 departure at one o'clock. Notwithstanding all precaution to the 
 contrary, his movements got noised abroad and were duly 
 ciironicled in the evening papers. "• After he left (l)y a schooner 
 bound for St. John), his wife and thiee children came to our 
 house, and were comfortably fitted out by friends for the return 
 voyage to England by a regular sailing packet from New York." 
 In 18(3G, Mr. Thompson, on his third visit to America, was 
 present and spoke at the funeral of his excellent friend and 
 
i;37 
 
 hospitable host, Joseph Soiithwiek, whieh took jilaee at (iiant- 
 ville. 
 
 Miss Southwick first made aeciiiaintanee with tiie Griinke 
 sisters, JSarah and Angelina, in Irto?, on their arrival from the 
 South at Boston, where they began their lectures ])efore the 
 Female Anti-81avery Society. She thinks she first heard these 
 noble women one afternoon at a very crowded meeting in Amorv 
 Hall, which was situated at the corner of Washington and West 
 streets. Having emancipated their own slaves in South Cai-olina 
 and seen the evil of slavery as others had not, they were all the 
 more competent to interest and instruct northern people in i-egard 
 to the subject, and wherever they went, in their extensive travels 
 in this part of the country, their lectures were attended, as at 
 Boston, by large throngs of both sexes and did very much to 
 encourage and strengthen the work of the refoi'uiers. Angelina 
 became the wife of Mr. Theodore D. Weld. 
 
 The Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society held its annual 
 meeting of January, 1837, in the /Stable of the Marlboro' Hotel, 
 Boston, and Miss Southwick believes she attended all its sessions 
 which were continued through three successive days. The Hotel 
 stood on Washington street, 0|)posite Franklin street. On the 
 site of the stable, Francis Jackson and others snbsecpiently built 
 the Marlboro' Chapel, in ihe lower hall of which the Boston Female 
 Anti-Slavery Society, or the Abolitionists, for 3'ears held their 
 fairs, and "■Concerts of Prayer," and regular or occasional 
 meetings. It was at one of these meetings, called to considei- 
 tlie nuirder of Lovejoy at Alton, III., that Sarah first heard 
 "Wendell Phillips and Pklmund Quiucy on a distinctively Auti- 
 Siavery occasion. But she had, shortly before, had the great 
 privilege of hearing Phillips deliver, at the inunense indignation 
 meeting in Faneuil Hall, Dec. 8, 1887, the remarkable speech 
 which at once made the nnknown youth forevermore famous. 
 AVomen at that time were not in the habit of attending political 
 gatherings of any kind, but a handful of them, thirteen in all. 
 made the venture at this time and ranged themselves in the front 
 seat of the right gallery as one enteis the Hall. "After that, 
 Anti-Slavery women, certainly, always went when tlu-y wanted to. 
 I do not recall the names of all the women. The only ones I am 
 sure of are Mrs. Chapman and some of her sisters, my mother, 
 my two sisters, and myself." And the narrative tells us, also, 
 tliat when Mr. Phillips, roused by the unex[)ected utterances of 
 the Attorney-General from the front gallery in denunciation of 
 the Martyr, rose and asked the privilege to speak, he " stood on 
 the floor in front, near the left gallery;" and then, when he was 
 invited to come forward upon the stage, "stood on the same 
 
138 
 
 platform with the other speakers, near the left gallerj' as yon face 
 the platform, and with his back to the portraits." These partic- 
 nlars, given by one who was there to see and hear, fifty-five years 
 ago, can hardly be nninteresting to any one who may hereafter 
 visit the old " Cradle of Liberty," for nothing in all its history 
 can qnite thrill us with admiration like that maiden speech of the 
 matchless orator of freedom, taken in connection with all the 
 circumstances of the occasion. Says Miss Houthwick, ''I think 
 nobody in these daj's can understand the power of that speech 
 over that audience. I was young, but to my mind Wendell 
 Phillips was the impersonation of beauty, grace, and eloquence." 
 
 Our friend was present, also, at the ever-to-be-remembered 
 National Anti-Slavery Convention of women, held in Philadelphia, 
 in May, 1)S38. It was her first visit to that city, and she was 
 accompanied by her mother and her sister Abby, by her aunt. 
 Ruth Hussey, and by her uncle, Isaac Winslow, and his daughter, 
 now Mrs. P^mily W. Taylor, of Germantown, Pa., whose letter 
 for the Danvers meeting appears on a previous page of this 
 volume. The hall in which the convention was to be held had 
 been built by abolitionists and others, and had been dedicated to 
 " Free Speech," and it was the largest and most beautiful in the 
 city. For the fiist day or two, in the daytime, a howling mob 
 surrounded the doors and filled the entries, while, at the evening 
 meetings, stones and brickbats smashed the windows and broke 
 in the Venetian blinds ; and rotten eggs and other missiles were 
 thrown in upon the audience. At one of these meetings, as many 
 as three thousand came to hear Abl)y Kelly, Maria Weston 
 Chapman, and Angelina Grimke. ''How bravely they tried to be 
 heard above the tumult outside, and the hisses and shouts inside !" 
 The next evening, the women, as they arrived at the Hall and 
 found a dense crowd surrounding it, were told that the Mayor 
 had closed it and forbidden its use. Returning to their Hotel, 
 they soon heard that their beautiful hall was on fire, and, 
 ascending to the roof, they watched it, with mingled grief and 
 horror, as it burned to the ground. 
 
 In May, 1840, the Southwicks and Winslows all went to the 
 memora])le annual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 
 when the division took place on questions relating to women as 
 members and oflBcers. and to the attitude of the churches. The 
 sentiment in favor of women as members preponderated and 
 Abby Kelley was placed on the lousiness committee, whereupon, 
 after much discussion, a large number of the delegates, including 
 the great body of the ministers, withdrew from the old organiza- 
 tion and formed " the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery 
 Society," establishing soon afterward, as their organ, " The 
 
139 
 
 National Anti-Slavery Standard" in place of the " Eniancii)ator." 
 The division, thns consuTuniated, was of vast impoitance. The 
 new society, with its exclusion of women, was comparatively 
 inerticient and short-lived. The old one survived, with the con- 
 tinned lead of Garrison and the powerful aid and sympathy of 
 those who were sought to be shut out, but whose moral support 
 and practical help were found to be so necessary to true success. 
 Hence, too, more and more, the antagonism between the church 
 and anti-church parties. 
 
 In 1839, Miss Southwick heard Frederick Douglass make his 
 lirst speech at an Anti-Slavery Convention in Nantucket, whither 
 he had been persuaded to go and tell his story. '• He was green 
 and awkward and emitariassed. He spoke at first with hesita- 
 tion, but soon regained self-possession and made a very straight- 
 forward and earnest statement of his life and what he had seen of 
 Slavery. The audience was greatly moved." After an illus- 
 trious subsequent career of about fifty years the great orator made 
 a speech at a breakfast which was given to him by Mrs. Mosher 
 at Cambridge, at which a large company of notables like Drs. 
 Hedge and Hale, Mrs. Julia Ward Howe and Miss Elizabeth 
 Peabo<ly, and Rev. Samuel Longfellow and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sanuiel K. Sewall, were present, when Col. T. W, Higginson 
 asked him how he had learned to speak so fluently considering 
 his lack of opportunity in his youth, and whether he never felt a 
 stage fright in his jniblic address. Mr. Douglass greatly 
 amused the company with his characteristic reply: "I assure 
 you, gentlemen, I never felt so near having a stage fright in my 
 life as at this moment," meaning, as Miss Southwick says, in the 
 jyresence of so many peojyle of cultivation mid education. 
 
 Miss Southwick also gives an interesting account of one of 
 the annual Anti-Slavery picnic excursions in which she was wont 
 to join, and of her ac(|uaintance with the Westons and Chap- 
 mans aiul the service they rendered to the cause generally. The 
 Weston family were of marked genius and culture. Mrs. Chap- 
 man, who was considered "very handsome," was the eldest of 
 the sisters and was '' the soul of our fairs." And the narrator 
 adds: "• She was queenly in gait and manner, and I think her 
 sacrifices of social position, when she allied herself to the Anti- 
 Slavery Cause, were very great." They were all frecpient vis- 
 itors at the house of the Southwicks. "I had no young friend 
 for whom I had the affection that I had for Lucia Weston." 
 These two, Sarah and Lucia, for successive years, circulated 
 petitions and attended Anti-Slavery Conventions together, some- 
 times occupying an attic room when crowded out of their own 
 apartments by guests who swarmed the meetings. " I wont to 
 
140 
 
 fichool to Caroline ^VestOQ" (at Iilt residence on lio^lston street 
 wiiere the Public Liltrury now stands), and '•'■ 1 looic back to her 
 as a teacher and life-long friend with love and gratitude. — a 
 iseusible, cultivated, unaffected, warm-hearted woman, whom 
 everybody respected. How much 1 owe to her in the way of 
 education, I can never express." ^he and her sister Anne wrt)te 
 Anti-Slavery poems and articles for the •• Liberty Bell," an Anti- 
 Slavery Annual which Mrs. Chapman edited for the Fairs. Anne, 
 and Deborah "the prettiest," and Emma ''the youngest," all 
 died as recently as 188'J, in Paris. " For the last thirty years 1 
 saw very little of them, as the^^ resided a long tune in France." 
 
 Miss ISouthwick, who now resides at Wellesley Ilitls, Mass., 
 concludes her book by saying, "Sometimes, when I lu'ai' Mr. 
 Garrison named witli revei'ence and the abolitionists spoken of 
 with admiration, my mind goes back fifty years, and I wonder if 
 I can be living; in the same comnuuiity and country where Mr. 
 Garrison w:is regarded with contumely and shunned as a fanatic, 
 and where Abolitionists were excluded from polite society. To 
 Mr. Garrison, the change in pulilic opinion must have seemed 
 nothing less than miraculous. "It is the Lord's doing, and it is 
 luarvelous in our eves.' " 
 
Additional Coimtributions. 
 
 ^^'(' ;i|ii»t'n(l ;i few Intel' contriluilions to oiii' Ixxjk, from some 
 \v('ll-ki)(>\vn t'riciids \vln> Ii:i\c kiiidlv written them :it our re(jiiest : 
 ]\Ir. Ueiirv I). lUacUwell, the veteriiii tulvoeate of freedom for the 
 Slave and of Womau's Rights, for whose expeeted speech at the 
 meeting, nnfortiinately, there was not time ; JNIr. F. B. Sanhoi'n, 
 of literal'}' fame, wlio is rich with anti-slavery recollections and 
 lore, and whom it would have been a great privilege to hear, bnt 
 who was then faraway in old classic liiiids ; and Dr. Charles A. 
 (ireene, a descendant of (i:'n. Nathniiiel (ireene. who presents 
 highly interesting testimony aliout the •• liuston iNlolj." as did 
 Kev. Dr. (i. W . Poi'ler in his address; ami Mrs. C. S. Brown 
 Spear, who with her first luisband, llev. Abel Brown, and witli 
 lier second. Rev. Charles Spear, was long engaged in philan- 
 tlu'opic work, and who gives us some reminiscences of scenes and 
 occurrences of which she herself was a witness and '• a part." 
 
 FROM MR. HFNRY B. BLACKWELL. 
 
 The interesting anecdotes and reminiscences to which 1 
 listened at the Danvers Re-union of Abolitionists, have I'ecalled to 
 my mind many yontlifn) memories of the first teii years of the 
 Anti-Slavery agitation, from 1830 to 1840, the most arduous 
 ))eriod of all because carried on at tirst witliont organized support- 
 and in face of a commnnity in entire .sympathy with the slave 
 })ower. 
 
 It was my fortune as a boy to see something of the ]»egin- 
 nings of the abolition movement in tills country. My father, an 
 English sugar-refiner, came from Bristol to this country in 1832, 
 with the hope that slave-labor cane-sugar might be supplanted by 
 free-labor beet-sugar, as had already been done in (Termany aiKl 
 France. He w-as a sngar-refiner in New York City from 1832 to 
 1838, erecting in 1M31 the (list vacuum jians ever used in the 
 I'nited States. In 1832 he became a member of Rev. Dr. Samuel 
 Hanson Cox's Presbyterian Chnrcii on Eaight .St., and liad many 
 earnest conversations with his pastor, who was then intensely 
 pro-slavery. An ardent liberal and an admirer of American 
 
142 
 
 institutions, luy father as a " Claikson abolitionist," was shoeko<l 
 and amazed at the universal subservience of the American pre^s 
 and pulpit to '• the sum of all villainies," and at the low standard 
 of political morals. In a little volume which he printed a few 
 years later under the unpretentious title of "Slaveiy Rhymes," 
 lie thus characterized that eia of decadence : — 
 
 Unerring signs proclaim an absent God, 
 Uue:irtiiiy liands have written Icliabod. 
 
 In 1831 Mr. Garrison started The Liberator o\\ its immortal 
 mission and practically began his anti-slavery crusade. In 1833 
 a convention of abolitionists met in Philadelphia and adopted a 
 "• Declaration of .Sentiments," which was signed by rei)reseuta- 
 tives of many states. That Declaration, with the engraved 
 autographs of its signeis, hung for yeais in our parlor, and my 
 father used to say that the signeis would some day be held in 
 greater honor than the signers of the original Declaration of 
 Independence. 
 
 in 1833, Rev. Dr. Cox visited England to attend a great 
 meeting of the ••Evangelical Alliance." He there found anti- 
 slaverv j)opular in evangelical circles, and, on his return to New 
 York preached a s.'rles of anti-slavery sermons, little dreaming of 
 the stoim he would evoke. In one of these he called attention to 
 the fact that Jesus was not of the Caucasian race, the Jews beina; 
 descendants of Shem. At once it was announced that he had said 
 that the Savior was a '• nigger," and everyone was thrilled with 
 holy horror, especially the roughs. Immediately the houses of 
 all the prominent abolitionists of New York were sacked by mobs. 
 Among others Rev. Dr. Cox and his brother. Dr. Abram L. Cox, 
 a leading physician, had to tiy for their lives. They took refuge 
 in my father's country house near Newtown, Long Island, where 
 they remained for a week in hiding. 1 remember the profound 
 depression of spirit shown by the worthy divine : while his 
 l>rother, the physician, practiced pistol-shooting behmd our barn, 
 and put several bullets into the back of our old famdy carriage. 
 We children were enthusiastic abolitionists. We named one of 
 our horses ^ Garrison" and anot'.u'r •■ Prudence Crandall." 
 Whittier's songs of freedom were household words. I remember 
 Dr. Abram L. Cox quoting, with tiery emphasis, the words: 
 
 " Great God ! And there are they 
 
 Who minister at thy altur. God of Ri^lit! 
 
 Men %vh() their liands with prayer and blejisiug lay 
 ( Ml Lsrael's Arlv of lii-iit I 
 
 Wliat! Preach and kidnap uK-n ! 
 Give thanks, and rob tiniie own afflicted p 'orl 
 
 Talk of Tiiy gloru uss lil>erty, ami ihen 
 Bolt hard the captive's tloorl" 
 
143 
 
 In 1834: the lir^t New York Auti-Slavery fair was held in 
 Ni'olo't) Garden. As a boy of 9 years I was kei)t busy writing 
 mottoes for '• Sugar Kisses" for tluit occasion. At that fair in 
 1834, I tirst saw Gerrit Smith, tlieu in tlie l)loom of earl}' man- 
 hood, a maguiticent personality. About that time George Thomp- 
 son first visited this country and delivered anti-slavery lectures of 
 remarkable power and eloquence. He was at once assailed as a 
 British emissary sent out to sow dissensions and break up the 
 Union. So bitter was the feeling that he was compelled to leave 
 the country. I was present at an abolition meeting in a church 
 on the corner of Thompson and Broome streets when Thompson 
 denounced two agents of the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 who had been seduced by Southern hospitalit}' and written reports 
 white-washing the Patriarchal Institution. Soon brickbats and 
 stones came pouring in at broken windows, and we were driven 
 out by the mob. These events of 59 years ago, when I was a 
 mere boy, seem like yesterday. The prominent New York 
 workers then were Arthur and Lewis Tappan, Gerrit Smith, 
 Beriah Green, Anson Phelps, the brothers Cox, Joshua Leavitt, 
 and a few years later David and L. Maria Child, and Oliver 
 Johus(»n. 
 
 It is hard to conceive the ferocity displayed by the pro-slavery 
 community from 183U to 1840. It was simply demoniacal. 
 Cuban sugar planters whom my father as a refiner met daily in 
 Wall vSt., said frankly that they found it profitable to'* workout" 
 their negroes every seven years and then replace them by new 
 ones from Africa. The anti-slavery papers were the Liberator 
 and the Emancipator. Later, about 1840, came the Anti- 
 Slavery Standard. 
 
 In 1838, misled b}' the hope of raising beet sugar, we moved 
 to Cincinnati, a ten days' journey from New York. There we 
 found James G. Birney and Dr. Gamahel Bailey editing and 
 publishing The Philanthrojnut (afterwards merged in The 
 Natio)ial Era). Three times the printing office was mobbed and 
 the type and press thrown into tiie Ohio river. There, on the 
 slave line, with Kentucky across the river, the bitterness was 
 proscriptive. Every few years border ruffians invaded the city 
 under the pretext of reclaiming fugitive slaves, and in pure 
 deviltry drove the free colored people from their little homes and 
 destroyed their household effects. After the damage was done, 
 the authorities made a show of interfering antl called for volunteer 
 " dei)uty-marshals" to preserve order. This was very enjoyable 
 to the young men, who marched all night through empty streets 
 after the excitement had subsided. The leading Ohio abolition- 
 ists were Birneys and Donaldsons, Leir Coffin, Harwood Burnett, 
 
144 
 
 Israel Ludlow, John Jolliffe. nnd, Inter, on the Liberty paity 
 l)latforin, were Jiirney, Samnel Lewis, and .Salmon J'. Chase. 
 The centre of work in Cincinnati was Mrs. Sarah Otis Einst, who 
 with her brave Geiman lais,band, A. H. p^i-nst, had a beautiful 
 home in the suburbs, to which she gathered the faithful few who 
 endured social ostracism for the slave's sake. About 1845, Abby 
 Kelly and Stephen S. Foster, then in their prime as agitators and 
 orators, held a series of meetings in the old Millerite Tabernacle 
 in Cincinnati. There I became nearly baptised in abolitionism, 
 only it took with me the form of Lilierty party, then Free-soil 
 party, and eventually Kepul)lican party. 
 
 The abolition movement was so wide in its area and so varied 
 in its manifestations that no one occasion or locality can do it 
 justice. The value of such local gatherings as that at Danvers is 
 to add, by personal reminiscences, to the memories of the great 
 moral and political movement which al)olished slavery in America. 
 
 P^ROM MR. F. B. SANBORN. 
 
 Concord, Mass., August 17, 1893. 
 
 Dear Doctor Putnam : — Had I been in America at the time, 
 nothing could have given me greater pleasure than to meet with 
 you and my old friends, the anti-slavery men of 40 and 50 years 
 ago, to listen to their recollections, and, if the word came to one of 
 tlie younger partisans, to add my word of history or suggestion to 
 the full reminiscences of the veterans, such as Fisher, Hutchinson, 
 May and Pillsbury. Now you ask me to come in as a final 
 course, with some mention of VVhittier the Poet, and Sumner the 
 Statesman, both friends, and the former a far-away eonsin of 
 mine. I do this the more willingly, because I have somehow 
 heard that, in the copious praise of VVhittier as a poet and a man, 
 full justice has not been done to his early and effective service in 
 the anti-slaver}' cause. None was more earnest, and few more 
 serviceal)le than he. or for a longer period ; he was not quite so 
 early in the lield as his friend Garrison, but neither did he mingle 
 with his opposition to slavery so many other fancies and animos- 
 ities, such as hampered and distracted Garrison not a little, in his 
 noble crusade. As for Charles Sumner, — though the completion 
 of his extended biography, a few months since, by Mr. E. L. 
 Pierce, leaves little to be desired by those who knew and hon- 
 ored that great public character, — yet the tone of some criticisms, 
 lately printed gives one to feel that Shakespeare was quite right 
 (as usual) in making Ulysses say to his brother chieftain : — 
 
U.J 
 
 " Perseverance, dear iny lord. 
 Keeps lioiior briijlit : to have done is to li:iiiir 
 Quite out of fashion. * * * Let not Virtue seek 
 ]\enuineration for tlie tiling it was, — 
 
 For heautj', wit, 
 High birth, viiior of 1)one, desert in service, 
 Love, friendsliip, charity, are subject all 
 To envious and calumniating Time." 
 
 As it happened, I becaine familiar vvitli the iiaine of Whitticr, 
 as most men did, 40 years ago, — liefore I heard of the rechise 
 niid seliolarly Sumner, liorn in New Hampshire, wliere Whitlier 
 had many relatives and friends, my earliest anti-slavery I'eeolKc-- 
 tions are associated with an '' Anti-Slavei'y Almanac," published. 
 I think, hy Garrison, at tlie " Lilierator" workshop of such 
 weapons, in which was a cut of my mother's cousin, Kenlien 
 Leavitt, a Merrimac County sheriff, arresting ]\lr. Storrs, an 
 Abolitionist minister, wliile on his knees, praying against negro- 
 slavery. I hardly knew then wliat the words meant; nor couhl I 
 understand what enormity the bland and tine-looking kinsman 
 wiio sometimes came to our house, could have connnitted, b> lie 
 t'nis iield up for reprobation. l>ut as years went by, and I read 
 tJK' newspapei's, and Whittier's verses, and came to know a 
 little of another cousin, Moses Noi-ris. then in Congress; of his 
 leadei'. Franklin Pierce, (whom I had heard, a handsome lawyer, 
 pleading for a criminal at our Ivockingham court) ; and the rest 
 of the New Hampshire Democracy, I followed eagerly the lead of 
 my brother Charles and his friends, in our little town of llaini)ton 
 Falls (where Whittier died last year) to the support of 'b>lin I'. 
 Hale, when revolting against tiie pro-slavery dictation of Pierce 
 and Norris. This was in 18 lo. and tlie immediate question was 
 the annexation of Texas. I was then but 13 years old ; yet my 
 anti-slavery sentiments were as clear and pronounced as they ever 
 have l)een since; the cause l)eing one wiiich appealed to the 
 emotions, and did not re(piire arguments addressed to tiie undci- 
 standing. Tlie next year, 184(;, our party, the Independent 
 Democrats, uniting with the Wliigs. who had long been a hopeless 
 minority in New Hampshire, carried the State election, in March, 
 and Whittier, from his cottage at Amesbury, poured forlli his 
 exultation at our success, in a burlesque poem, put into the form 
 of a letter from F'rank Pierce to my cousin Norris. which FJiznr 
 Wright printed in his Boston Chronotype (that admiiablc little 
 hornet of a newspaper), and whicii had much vogue in New 
 Hanqishire. I could once repeat it all, but will sp.irc you all 1mi( 
 a few stanzas. Pierce began : — 
 
 'Ti;-. o\er, JVIoscf. I all i.- lo:4. 1 
 I hear tne hells a-ringm^-. 
 
146 
 
 Of Pharaoh and liis TJcd-Sea host 
 
 I liear the Free Wills singiii;;. 
 We're routed, Moses, horse and foot, 
 
 If there be truth in figures : 
 With 'Federal Whiics' in hot pursuit, 
 
 And Hale with all his nig-gers. 
 
 Till' ' Kri'O-Wills' were the ' Freewill Baptists,' then a strong sect 
 ill New Hampshire, and mainly, like the Quakers, on the anti- 
 slavery side. Pierce, in the verses, then went on to mention tlic 
 sfld omens that had foreshadowed this political overturn, — naming 
 anKMii: others our unlucky cousin Reuben, whose assault on free 
 siieech could not be forgiven : — 
 
 Our Belknap lirother heard with awe 
 
 Tiie ConiiO minstrels playing: 
 At Pittstield. Reuben Leavitt saw 
 
 Ttie ghost of Storrs a-praying : 
 And ParroU's woods were sad to see, 
 
 With black-winged crows adarting; 
 And Blaek-Snout l-oked on Ossipee, 
 
 New glossed wi h Day & Mai tin. 
 
 We thought the 'Old Man of the Noteh' 
 
 His face seemed changing wholly. — 
 His lips seemed thick, his nose seemed Hat, 
 
 His misty hair looked woolly; 
 And Coos teamsters shrieking ttad 
 
 Tilt' metamorphosed figure; 
 'Jest look ! tliat old stone cuss,' tliey said, 
 
 'Himself is turnin" nigger.' 
 
 Belknap, Carroll, and Coos are counties in New Unuipshirc, — 
 while Black-Snout and Ossipee are two mountains, higher than 
 Hyinettus or Pentelieus, though with less musical names, between 
 the tovvns of Ossipee and Sandwich, through which tne Bearcamp 
 river drains dow.n to the Saco, in regions long since made familiar 
 to his readers by Whittier's more serious i)oetry. The Old Man 
 of the Notch is the "■Great Stone Face" that IMerce/s friend, 
 Hawthorne, soon after described, in one of his l)est romantic 
 satires ; it overlooks th€ Francoiiia Notch, down which the 
 teamsters of Coos county must drive, in the days before the iron 
 liorsc superseded their slower cattle. 
 
 Ten years after this satire, President Pierce was giving 
 .leffcrson I)avis full power to make Kansas a slave state, if he 
 couUl ; and we were striving (successfidly, as it i)roved), to 
 prevent him. Then it was that John JJroton made himself 
 known to his conutrymen, who never afterward could forget him ; 
 and then also, Whittier lent the powerful aid of liitj verse, 
 feingiug, — ' 
 
147 
 
 VVc tread tlic piMiiio as of old 
 
 Our fatliors sailctl tlie sea, 
 A\h\ make the West, as they the East. 
 
 The homestead of the free. 
 
 Nor let VIS forget, while thinking of the grand effort that saved 
 Kansas to Freedom, and gave ns our first i;reat advantage in the 
 eivil war, — the control of the regions l,)ey(Mjd the Missouri, — let 
 ns never forget what Charles Sumner did for us in that eventfid 
 year, 185G. Had he laid down his life when death came so near 
 liini then, he could not have suffered more, nor deserved better of 
 his country. Yet we lived to see mean meii, perverted hy 
 l^olitical hatred (meanest of the small passions), inflict upon 
 Sumner the formal censure of Massachusetts, for one of the most 
 generous acts, even of his most generous life. It is a pleasure to 
 lemember how gallantly Whittier, though differing from Sumner 
 in some points, stood by hin) in that day, and gave his best 
 efforts to have the disgrace of Massachusetts, — for Sumner could 
 not be defamed by such a censure, — wiped off' by the men who 
 iiad incurred it. In the same way. tlie unworthy voices that have 
 lately piped up to belittle and disparage Sumner, will cease to be 
 heai'd, as the true measui'e of that man is taken by posterit}', — 
 and he is seen to have stood next to Lincoln in the ranks of civil 
 and political life, during the second and more important American 
 Kevolution.— that of IHGO— 187-'). 
 
 Yours for truth, 
 
 F. H. Sam'.oisx. 
 
 FROM CHARLP:S a. GREENE, M. D. 
 
 In 1829, my father jniblished (in a Iniilding called 31erc}iants 
 lioio) a newspaper, entitled '•'The Christian Herald." The 
 building stood at the corner of Congress and Water streets, 
 Boston, Mass. Another building of the same name now occupies 
 the same site. Hon. Chailes Sumner's father was a co-partner 
 of iny father in the issuing of the above peiiodical. In the lattei- 
 part of 1830, Mr. Garrison moved into the building and occupied 
 one room opposite my father's, on the third floor; and began 
 j)reparations for the issuing of ""The Liberator," and, as my 
 memory serves me, issued trie first number on the 1st of Jan., 
 1831. Of one matter I am confiilent, my l»rother Samuel and 
 mvself carried to the subscribers of the Herald qhcU of its issues 
 in Boston ; and to accommodate Mr. Garrison, in his poveity, 
 my father hel|)ed him by having my brother and myself deliver 
 his issues. And I well rememl)er quite a number of the sub- 
 scribers to whom I served the paper, viz : Dr. Abner Phelps, 
 who lived directly opposite the l)nilding called Merchant.^ Jiow; 
 
14« 
 
 a man who was engaged in the liquor bnsiness, named D. Weld, 
 on Washington 8t., above the Lion Tavern, in a greenhouse that 
 had its end towards the street ; and a painter by ths name of 
 (ireen, on the same street. ]My father had in his employ a 
 printer named Rowland Hart, and he did the press-work for my 
 fntlier on a Franklin Press similar to the one now belonging to 
 the Bostonian Society. Sometime previous to the above issue of 
 " The Liberator," my father became well acquainted with Mr. 
 Garrison, and was in decided sympathy with his work. Knowing 
 his impoverishment, he loaned him types and set up the matter 
 for his first and after issues, and Rowland Hart did the press- 
 work. At that time my father lived on the opposite side of 
 Congress Street, over the Arcii. At the time that the Anti- 
 Slavery movement was being talked of, wdien the mob threatened 
 the life t)f Rlr. Garrison and while he was on his way to the 
 Leverett St. jail, where he could be in safety, my father ran all 
 tlie way by the side of the vehicle, and us it was turning off 
 (ireen St. on to Leverett, a man rushed up to the carriage and 
 caught ]Mr. Garrison by his white neck-tie, and at once twisted 
 it around, endeavoring to* kill him, by thus throttling him. It 
 was suddenly done ; and when the victim's tongue had been 
 forced out of his mouth by the operation, my fatlier caught hold 
 of the collar of the man (who had a blue coat with brass buttons) 
 and tore it in twain, and loosened his hold at the same time, and 
 Mr. Garrison was taken to the jail. I have heard ray father tell 
 the story more tiian a score of times. He was a very powerful 
 man, weighing 225 pounds, and noted in his youth, and in his 
 collegiate course at Brown, for his gieat strength. In 1835, my 
 father became a co-partner of Ebenezer Hayward (who was also a 
 subscriber to '' The Liberator"), and they opened, in Wilmington, 
 N. C, a store to which they shipped articles from New England, 
 and the vessels returned with tar, shooks, sugar, conch shells, 
 I'csiu, and other Southern commodities. The first year that my 
 father lived thei'e, my brother Samuel taught a few negroes their 
 letters. When about to return to the South the next year, some 
 of my father's Wilmington friends advised him not to do so, as 
 I lis life would be taken in consequence of the above attempt at 
 the education of the "chattels." So my father sent an agent 
 there and closed up the store. 
 
 There comes to mind the name of another strong Anti-Slavery 
 m;in. 1 know his name was Clough — I think Ebenezer C. He 
 lived near, or on, Pleasant Street. He was one of the last men 
 in Boston to wear the short pants aiul silR stockings, and had 
 silver buckles on his shoes. He was a subscribe)' to '' Tiie 
 ]^iberator." 
 
119 
 FROM MRS. CATHARINE S. B. SPEAR. 
 
 T never was eoiiveited to Aiiti-Shivery. I never was any- 
 thing else from earliest ehildliootl. In my sitelling book, at seven 
 years of age, I read a poem, eommeneing '• 1 tiianiv God 1 was 
 not born a little slave, to labor in the sun," etc. But 1 don't, 
 for God never made a slave ! No one was honi a slave under 
 the Divine Law. This is t>f man's device. Hooker says, '^^aw 
 has its seat in the bosom of God, and her voice is the harmony of 
 the Universe." 
 
 We had a fugitive slave to live with us and to labor in my 
 father's family. He h:\d escaped from New York, for slavery 
 then existed there. We children were very fond of Henry and 
 liked to hear him tell stories. Much attention was afterward 
 given to the subject of Coloiiization, l)ut I never liked the scheme. 
 I I'ecall, how in my school days I expressed Anti-Slavery senti- 
 ments in one of my compositions and what good imi)ressions were 
 made on my mind by the poems of Cowper and Montgomery. 
 Cyrus F. Grosvenor was the lirst one to give me documents and 
 tracts for distribution. Copies of the JJMrator, as often as 
 l>ul)lished, were also forwarded to me for the same purpose, by 
 JNIr. Garrison and Mrs. Chapman. I soon heard of Frederick 
 Douglass and wrote to John A. Collins to send him " forthwith" 
 to Hubbardston, ni}' native town, where he created a great furor. 
 An effort was made to turn me out of church, not by our good 
 old minister. Rev. Samuel Gay, but hy a new preacher from New 
 York. It proved a failure and he himself left the Parish. 
 
 We had, previous to this affair, an extensive grove meeting, 
 an Anti-Slavery gathering of sixteen hnudi'ed people, at which 
 INIr. (iai risou and six ministers were [)iesent and on the stand; 
 and abolitionists came from Pi'inceton, as linn as their own 
 Wachusett. We had four banners in the line of march, with a 
 band ot music and with a figure of Liberty. The Ladies' l)anner 
 was a circular one, bearing the iuscri[)tion " Unioersal Liberty^^'' 
 and decorated with evergreen, with the figure of an eagle, the 
 emblem of our Republic, in the centre. 
 
 A little slave bo3% Anderson, was present on the occasion, 
 imder the charge of Dr. Hoyt of Athol, who had recently 
 obtained his manumission from the court in Worcester. Standing 
 on the platform, he was presented with a banner and acknowl- 
 edged the gift by saying : "I tank you, my brudder, for dis love- 
 token. It can be mine now. 1 once was a poor little Aikansas 
 slave, but now the tlag of the free shall o'er }ne wave!" The 
 grove echoed with api)lause. 
 
 I was living in Boston at the time of the rendition of Antlu^ny 
 
150 
 
 Burns ami have witnessfd many affccliiig scones in Washington. 
 I have expostuhited with slave-iinnteis under the sliadow of the 
 Capitol, and asked them how tliey dared to take their victims, 
 who were our countrymen, l)ack into Slavery. 1 could only go to 
 the rendezvous of the poor creatures and tell them of their danger 
 and bid them to hide. 
 
 Mr. Spear was ap|)ointed Chaplain by President Lincoln and 
 we ever remembered the slave. I was his companion in visiting 
 prisons and in lecturing. We had the pleasure of thanking 
 President Lincoln for his Proclamation of Emancipation, and he 
 said to Mr. Spear, " 1 am much obliged to you," and he would 
 have said the same to every Abolitionist in the land. 
 
 My first companion was Rev. Abel Brown, who died a martyr 
 to the cause of Freedom and of Temperance combined — the 
 result of moboci'atic violence. I was with him in fice riots. His 
 resting place is at Canandaigua, N. Y. 
 
 FROM A FRIEND OF HON. SIMEON DODGE. 
 
 Among those who were present at the Danvers meeting on 
 the 2(Jth of April, weie Lion, and JNhs. Simeon Dodge, of Marble- 
 head. Their home, all through the darkest days of the cause, was 
 the shelter of the fugitives who were sent from Boston for safety. 
 A very large number found shelter, food, and clothing there, and 
 were concealed there for days and weeks together, while the pro- 
 slavery spies were constantly watching around the premises. Mr. 
 Dodge prepared, in consequence, a secret trap-door for the slaves 
 to use in escaping, in case a raid was made upon the house by 
 the officers of the law. He, in connection with the late John A. 
 Innis and others — Abolitionists of Salem — maintained an '•'under- 
 ground railroad" to Canada, and at dead of night Mr. Dodge has 
 carried fugitives to Salem, and with the aid of others sent them 
 on toward the Canada line. 
 
 During all the time of the " Fugitive Slave Law." Mr. Dodge 
 kept on with his good work, receiving the eainest co-operation of 
 his excellent wife ; and under that " Law" they were in constant 
 danger of arrest and imprisonment, and of fines which would 
 have taken away every dollar they had in the Avorld. William 
 and Ellen Craft were concealed there for a considerable time, 
 when the slave-hunters came to Boston to re-capture them. 
 
 It was much easier in those days to make speeches, than to 
 do the work and run the constaiU risks — cheerfully done and 
 bravely borne l)y those nol)le souls, Simeon Dodge and wife, of 
 Marblehead, 
 
'^TIIK LIIlKIJATOPv" TN DANVERS. 
 
 Spfcial Mckiiowlcd^inciits aiv due and nuuk' to Mr. Francis 
 •T. (iairisoii and otliL'f friends who, from their wide acquaintance 
 with the general Anti-Nlaveiy field and its woik. have given ns 
 much valualtle infoimation which we liave sought in aid of the 
 preparation of the foregoing pages. INIention has been made of 
 several of the original snl)sciil>ers for the Liberator^ in Danveis. 
 At some subsecpient date, the names Jiad become nmch more 
 niinu'rous, as will be seen from the following list which Mr. (lar- 
 rison has kindly fnriushed ns. TIk^v belong to both i)arts of the 
 old t(jwn, ])efore South Dauvers took the name of Peaixxlv :— 
 
 Ezra Ikdchelder, Ezra Batchelder, .Jr.. Daniel V. Baker. Mrs. 
 (Tertrude Barrett, Daniel Buxton, .Ir., (). A. Buzzell, Eli F. 
 Burnhum, Mrs. ]\Iary P. Clough, J. P). Cojip. Mrs. Betsey Cutler, 
 •lohn Cutler, Ezra Dodge, William Endicott. William Francis, dr., 
 Mrs. S. Grout, Augustus H. Hammond. Jesse P. Ilarriman, 
 Wendell P. Hood, Dr. Ebenezer Hunt, William B. Jenness, Per- 
 ley King, VVilliam A. Legro, Walter .S. Lovi^-joy, Joseph Merrill. 
 Isaac Mnnroe, Maria S. Page, Isaac W. Roberts, James M. Saw- 
 yer, Samuel Staples, Miss Altigait Symonds, Andrew W. Trask, 
 Edward D. Trask, Abel H. Tyler, Putnam Webb, and Rev. Mi'. 
 Williams. 
 
 At Danvers •' New Mills," if not also in other i)arts of the 
 town, there weie a few subscribers, Richard Hood and others, for 
 the Herald of Freedom. Concord, N. H., edited by N. P. Rogers. 
 A half-dozen or more of the leatling Abolitionists of the " New 
 Mills," or the " Neck," contributed to the pages of both jjapers, 
 from time to time. '' The Kuuindpator^''' the organ of tlie Lib- 
 erty Party, also had its i)atrous in Danvers. 
 
 In connection with the sketch of Parker Pillsbniy, it should 
 be stated that his first distinctive anti-slavery work was the editing 
 ui t\\Q Jlerald of Freedom^ for several months during the year 
 18 to, while N. P. Rogers, William Lloyd Garrison, Lucretia 
 Mott, and other prominent Abolitionists were abroad to atteiul 
 the memorable World's Convention in London, to which various 
 alhisi«Mis have l>c('n made in this volume. 
 
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