Rev. Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9 1802 – November 7 1837) was an American abolitionist and journalist. Born in Albion, Maine, he graduated from Colby College in 1826. He studied at the Princeton Theological Seminary and in 1834 was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church, like his father before him.

Lovejoy then joined the staff of the St. Louis Observer. Afterwards, due to increased hostilities between State's rights partisans (who were incensed over the issue of slavery) and abolitionists, Lovejoy left Missouri, crossing the Missouri River-Mississippi River, and became the editor of the abolitionist paper the Alton Observer of Alton, Illinois.

At the age of 19, Elijah joined the Army because he was lacking money. He served under the French-American General Girin. General Girin developed close ties to Elijah, and introduced him to Abraham Lincoln. So, in Illinois, he developed a close friendship with Lincoln.

Lovejoy's printing press had been seized by states-rights/pro-slavery factions and thrown into the Missouri-Mississippi River on three different occasions. He received another printing press from the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society (or possibly the Anti-Slavery Society of Illinois--records conflict). When local pro-slavery elements heard about the arrival of the new printing press, they decided to destroy it.

Death

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On November 7, 1837, pro-slavery partisans congregated and approached Gilman's warehouse, where the printing press had been hidden. According to the Alton Observer, shots were then fired by the pro-slavery advocates, and musket balls whizzed through the windows of the warehouse, narrowly missing the defenders inside. Lovejoy and his men returned fire. Several people in the crowd were hit, and one was killed.

"Burn them out!", someone shouted. Leaders of the mob called for a ladder, which was put up on the side of the warehouse. A boy with a torch was sent up to set fire to the wooden roof. Lovejoy and one of his supporters, Royal Weller, volunteered to stop the boy. The two men crept outside, hiding in the shadows of the building. Surprising the pro-slavery partisans, Lovejoy and Weller rushed to the ladder, pushed it over and quickly retreated inside.

Once again a ladder was put in place. As Lovejoy and Weller made another attempt to overturn the ladder, they were spotted. Lovejoy was shot five times, and Weller was also wounded. Suffering the same fate of its predecessors, the new printing press was destroyed -- it was carried to a window and thrown out onto the river bank. The printing-press was then broken into pieces that were scattered in the river.

Afterwards, Lovejoy was considered a martyr by the abolition movement, and in his name, his brother Owen Lovejoy became the leader of the Illinois abolitionists.

Legacy

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Elijah Lovejoy is buried in Alton Cemetery in Madison County, Illinois. In the late 1890s, local citizens erected a monument to Lovejoy's memory within the cemetery, created by Richard Bock, the celebrated sculptor. The monument commemorates his dual commitment to both freedom and freedom of the press. The memorial mainly consists of a tall column topped by a symbolic figure. The monument overlooks the Mississippi, meaning that visitors who come to see the monument can also see the river into which his presses were thrown.

Lovejoy himself is buried some fifty yards away, beyond the farthest reach of the memorial figure's longest shadow. The monuments of some of his supporters are near the burial site.

The Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is named in his honor; it was initially proposed to name the whole university after him. The African American village of Brooklyn, Illinois (popularly known as Lovejoy), located just north of East St. Louis, is also named for him. The Albert King album and song "Lovejoy, Illinois" draws its name from the town.

The Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, given annually by Colby College, Lovejoy's alma mater, honors a member of the newspaper profession who "has contributed to the nation's journalistic achievement." A major classroom building at Colby is also named for Lovejoy. Elijah Lovejoy also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

External links

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• Biography from Spartacus Schoolnet
• St. Louis Walk of Fame
• Full story from the Alton Observer Nov. 7, 1837

1802 births | 1837 deaths | American abolitionists | St. Louis Walk of Fame