1811-1864

“Owen Lovejoy…aids every fugitive that comes to his door and asks it. Proclaim it then from the housetops. Write it on every leaf that trembles in the forest, make it blaze from the sun at high noon…I bid you defiance in the name of my God!”

Brother’s death deepened commitment

This Congregational minister used his Illinois pulpit to attack slavery. His hatred of the institution grew after witnessing the death of his brother, Elijah, at the hands of an antislavery mob in Alton, IL. In 1854 he started a political career, winning election to the state legislature and two years later to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lovejoy’s home was known as a haven for runaway slaves. In fact, it is said that his role in helping slaves escape through Illinois was so important that runaways there rode the “Lovejoy line.”