Richard Eells (1800–1846) was an abolitionist and physician from Illinois. Born in Connecticut, he immigrated to

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

in 1833. A

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

graduate, he set up a medical practice and quickly involved himself in

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

His house ''His House'' is a 2020 horror thriller film written and directed by Remi Weekes from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. It stars Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu and Matt Smith. The film tells the story of a refugee couple from South Sudan, s ...

became known as a place of refuge for escaped slaves. On August 21, 1842, an escaped slave known only as Charley, owned by Chauncey Durkee of

Monticello, Missouri Monticello is a rural village in, and county seat of, Lewis County, Missouri, United States, along the North Fabius River. The population was 104 at the 2020 census, and according to this census, Monticello is the county seat with the smallest ...

came to the house seeking help and transport. A freedman, Barryman Barnett had spotted Charley, swimming across the Mississippi and directed him to Eells’ house. Dr. Eells attempted to hide Charley in his carriage and drive across town to where a safer hiding place awaited. However, a posse of slave catchers tried to intercept them. Charley was returned to Durkee who requested that Eells be charged with “harboring and secreting a fugitive slave”, a crime in the Illinois Criminal Code of the time. County Circuit Judge,

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which was ...

fined Eells $400. He appealed the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1844 where he lost again. In the meantime, the celebrated case brought Eells to the attention of the wider abolitionist movement. He was made president of the Illinois Anti-Slavery Party in 1843 and selected as the Liberty Party’s candidate in the

1844 presidential election The 1844 United States presidential election was the 15th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 1 to Wednesday, December 4, 1844. Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest turning on the contro ...

. He unsuccessfully ran for governor of Illinois in 1846. However, the costly legal proceedings undermined Eell’s finances and health. Exhausted and ill, he died on a river boat on the Ohio River near Cincinnati in 1846. Nevertheless, Eells’ estate continued the appeal process up to the US Supreme Court. Here, abolitionist senators,

Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...

and

William H. Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppo ...

made the case for Eells’ innocence. Despite the heavy weight of this defense team, the Supreme Court was unwilling to challenge the national status quo then sympathetic to slave owners. Eells’ conviction for “harboring and secreting a fugitive slave” was upheld in 1852. In 2015, Quincy Mayor Chuck Shultz sought a posthumous pardon for Dr. Eells and it was finally granted by Governor Pat Quinn. Dr. Eells house in the

South Side German Historic District The South Side German Historic District is a neighborhood within Quincy, Illinois, United States just south of downtown. The neighborhood includes most of Quincy's rich German architecture. The region is also widely known as "''Calftown''", nam ...

of Quincy has been restored and is open to the public.Kent Hull, “Dr. Richard Eells Goes to Court”, ''Herald Whig,'' (January 24, 2021).

Notes

External links

Dr. Richard Eells House: Dr. Richard Eells House
from National Park Service Quincy, Illinois 19th-century American slaves Freedom suits in the United States United States slavery case law 1800 births 1846 deaths American abolitionists Liberty Party (United States, 1840) politicians

Notes

Further reading

External links