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West
Virginia
Membership Information
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John Brown was born on May 9, 1800 in Torrington Connecticut to Owen and Ruth Brown, who would move to Ohio when John was five-years-old. As a young man, Brown's first ambition was to go into ministry, but as many things in his life turned out, it was an unsuccessful attempt. Brown spent many years as a tanner, an occupation that would barely provide for his family. The tanning business was yet another failure for John Brown. Yet, Brown's mission in the war against slavery was truly his life's work, and it is difficult to label his campaign to abolish slavery as success or failure. 1 While Brown never actually attained his goal, his actions in many ways forced the country to sit up and take notice of slavery and the moral issues that went along with it.
As a child, Brown was taught to "fear God and Keep his commandments," 2 a value that he would later pass on to his own children. He had little formal education, but learned through life's experience lessons that would forever influence his feelings on slavery. "He did not go to Harvard," noted Henry David Thoreau. "He was not fed on the pap that is there furnished, but he went to the University of the West, where he studied the Science of Liberty."3
To examine the root of the beliefs of John Brown, one must look first at early influences that affected and helped to form Brown's anti-slavery feelings. Perhaps the most important of these influences was his father, Owen Brown, also an active abolitionist. In 1850 in a letter to his family, Owen Brown wrote, "I am an abolitionist. I know we are not loved by many. I have no confession for being one." Apparently a sermon given by Reverend Jonathan Edwards, in 1790 deeply moved Owen by its characterization of slavery as a Cardinal sin against God. In 1785 a series of revival meetings in New Canan lead to the "Great Awakening" of Owen Brown. From that time he saw salvation in good works. 4
Owen Brown was a member of the board of trustees at Western Reserve University. This was due in part to the first president of the college who was vocal on his opinions against slavery and admitted several blacks to the school. This openness to equality would prompt some of the other board members to resign and withdrawal their children from the school. These actions lead to the dismissal of the first college president and a new administrator took over. This new president slashed the number of blacks admitted to the college which lead Owen Brown to resign his position on the board. Brown would later have a voice in education at Oberlin, an "equal opportunity" college. 5 These such actions served as an example to a John Brown who said the abolitionism of his father made him a "dyed-in-the-wool Abolitionist." 6
The Western environment that Brown grew up in, which at that time was what many today consider eastern states (Ohio, Kentucky, etc.), was also a major contributor to his anti-slavery beliefs. As one source notes.... in Hudson, Ohio, the area that Brown was raised in, was "known far and wide as an Abolition center with more Underground Railroad stations than any other comparably sized area in the nation." Nearly all barns were equipped with secret quarters for fugitive slaves and a branch of the American Slavery Society was located in almost every small town in the upper Ohio. Eventually, activities of the Underground Railroad were announced in local papers.7 So the openness to antislavery in Hudson and surrounding communities where Brown spend his youth, allowed for the free and open development of anti-slavery opinions among residents, including John Brown.
One notable childhood experience that played an influential role in John Brown's belief in freedom for all men came when Brown was just a boy during the War of 1812. For a short time Brown stayed with a landlord who owned a slave boy near Brown's age. The man took a fancy to young Brown and praised the things that he said, but mistreated the slave boy whom Brown wrote of as being "fully if not more than my (Brown's) own equal." Brown saw first hand the slave boy badly beaten with an iron shovel and other objects. 8 The experience made Brown see how poor conditions were for slave children, and made him an even more determined abolitionist.
As an adult, Brown became a radical against slavery. It had become Brown's conclusion that he was "divinely appointed to bring American Slavery to a sudden and violent end." 9 He would need much emotional, physical, and financial support to do what he believed God had intended for him to do.
Much of this support would come from Brown's wife and his children. After the death of his first wife, Dianthe, Brown (in less than a year) met his second wife. On June 14, 1933, Brown would marry 16-year-old Mary Ann Day who was only four years older than his oldest child from his marriage to Dianthe. She was a good wife who took charge of the motherly and household duties almost immediately. This in itself was a great relief to Brown who had been raising three children alone. Also, Mary shared her husband's passion for freeing slaves. At times, she used that passion to keep her going for the long periods of time when her husband was away fighting for the cause. She also needed that passion to push her through the difficult financial times that came with John's long absences. 10 In all of this, Mary never complained and she always did what Brown asked despite the sacrifices that she may have had to make to comply with his requests.
Brown's moral and spiritual beliefs, were inherited by his children. Early examples set by Brown would stick in the memories of his sons and daughters all of their lives. His oldest son, John Brown Jr., recalled an example of his father's actions in freeing slaves that served as an influential memory for the boy who was five years old. His father brought two fugitive slaves into their Hudson, Ohio home, fed and clothed them, and arranged shelter for them for a time until they were able to continue on their journey toward freedom. 11
From the beginning, Brown taught his children that slavery was morally wrong and, as he had learned from his father, a sin against God. These teachings brought his sons into a pact with their father to work for emancipation. It also bought his son-in-law, Henry Thompson, to his side in the war against slavery. 12 Blood was thick in John Brown's family and the family had a trend of sticking together. John Brown's son Salmon once said that "my father's sons had always been at his side for the fight against slavery." Salmon remembered the most striking characteristic of his father as being his "faith in God, his faith in his home, and his sense of God. 13 Not only would John Brown's family fight for the cause of slavery, family members were willing to die for it.
Brown's sons ventured to Kansas before he did. In October 9 1854, Owen, Frederick and Salmon left for the new territory followed by John Brown Jr. in the spring of 1855. At that same time, Kansas was being invaded by pro-slavery forces from Missouri. John Brown Jr. would write his father a letter in May that would be a great influence on John's decision to follow his boys to Kansas. The son wrote, "I tell you the truth, when I say that while the interest of despotism has secured to its cause hundreds and thousands of the meanest and most desperate of men, armed to the teeth with Revolvers, Bowie Knives, Rifle and Cannon - while they are not only thoroughly organized, but under pay from Slave holders - the friends of freedom are not one fourth of them half-armed." He continued, "Now we want you to get for us these arms. We need them more than we do bread." 14 This was all the encouragement and convincing that John Brown needed to sell his cattle and gather the rest of his family at North Elba and head west. One must think of how encouraged Brown must have been at the concern of his sons for what was taking place in Kansas. Knowing that they would be by his side would surely have given him the confidence to go to Kansas and fight to make the new territory a free state.
In the spring of 1856, Brown's sons showed support to their father by following him to Ossawotomie. Owen, Frederick, and Salmon accompanied their father to the fateful massacre at Potawotomie, while John Jr. and Jason stayed behind at a location near Palmyra. The group also consisted of Henry Thompson, Brown's son-in-law. After the Potawotomie affair in which several prominent pro-slavery men were brutally murdered by Brown and his sons, the sons continued to stand by their fathers' actions. Later they would try to convince doubters that their father in fact had informed all in the group who participated of his actual intentions at Potawotomie. Many involved in the massacre later wrote that they had no idea of Brown's true intentions. 15
In Brown's final stand at Harper's Ferry, he was once again faithfully followed by three of his sons. With Oliver, Watson, and John Jr. (who was traveling a different route and gathering men and supplies along the way), Brown set off for Harper's Ferry, Virginia with high hopes. 16 In the end, Oliver and Watson would not survive the Battle of Harper's Ferry. Their support and commitment to anti-slavery was inspirational to all, including their father.
It should be noted that John Brown could never have continued in his fight without the men who supported him in battle. Behind a great leader is always a group of followers with like beliefs. Most who followed Brown did so without question. Often times the men followed in "blind faith" not knowing the totality of Brown's plans.
While Brown had many followers, it would be impossible to discuss each one along with the contributions that each made to the cause. Yet there were a handful of men that stood out among Brown's group. These men were as dedicated to fighting slavery as Brown himself. Outside of Brown's own sons, these men were Brown's most dear and trusted soldiers who walked the road of abolitionism with Brown.
Top among Brown's men was John Henry Kagi, who Brown first met in October 1857 at Topeka. Kagi was said to have been one of the few who was totally trusted by Brown. Kagi never questioned Brown's actions or went against him. 17 Brown even consulted Kagi about the Harper's Ferry plans. Kagi was favorable to the plan and agreed with Brown that Harper's Ferry would be a good starting point for fighting slavery in the South.18
Kagi was very much like Brown in his feelings toward slavery, he saw it as a cause that was worth his own life and believed that slavery was wrong. "We will endure the shadow of dishonor, but not the stain of guilt," Kagi once commented on his stand against slavery. In a letter to his family, Kagi wrote of his commitment to the cause, "Few of my age have toiled harder or suffered more in the cause than I," he wrote, "yet I regret nothing." Kagi was wounded in battle and died at Harper's Ferry at the age of 24. 19
Aaron A. Steven, another of Brown's men, met John along with Kagi in Topeka. Stevens once led half of Brown's men into Missouri on the way to Ossawotomie (Brown lead the other half). Here they ravaged the homes of two planters and set their slaves free. During this encounter Stevens killed a man (it is said that he had a bad temper). 20 Stevens often gathered funds for Brown on the way to various missions.
Stevens would be captured at Harper's Ferry and imprisoned for his involvement. He was later tried and hanged. Stevens regarded slavery as a "shocking social wrong" that he was ready to "incite a revolution to get rid of." 21
Jerimiah G. Anderson, a strong advocate of the free state, proved to be a most valuable asset to John Brown in many exploits. Anderson was a member of James Montgomery's free state company prior to meeting Brown in the late 1850s. He would follow Brown to Kansas as one of his most staunch supporters. Anderson would become a trusted lieutenant to Brown and stayed close to the old man's side at Harper's Ferry where Anderson was fatally wounded. 22
Another supporter of Brown, Stewart Taylor, was introduced to Brown in 1858. He attended and was a notable participant in the Chathan Convention that same year, but remained in the West. After receiving a letter from Kagi regarding Harper's Ferry and what was to take place, Taylor responded quickly and enthusiastically to Brown's request to join him in the battle that would take place in the Virginia town. Taylor was valuable in the insurrection until he was shot and killed during battle. 23
William and Dauphine Thompson were neighbors of Brown's during Brown's time in Essex county, New York. Watson, Brown's son, had married their sister, and their brother Henry had married John's oldest daughter Ruth. The two families would eventually share a common interest in the anti-slavery movement. John Brown had a strong influence on William and Dauphine who knew little of slavery until they heard Brown lecture one Sunday in New Elba. Both boys served Brown and were killed at Harper's Ferry. 24
Henry Thompson, was as faithful to Brown as his own sons in most matters. He followed Brown with enthusiasm to Potawotomie Creek where he participated in the gruesome murders of five pro-slavery men and some members of their families. He was certainly a big force behind Brown, but along with Salmon, Jason, and Henry Brown, he would not participate in the battle of Harper's Ferry. 25 One can only speculate about what, if anything, would have gone differently at Harper's Ferry had these men been present.
As one of Brown's most trusted, Kagi was often left to recruit new men for battle to aid Brown's missions. It was at a large protest gathering in Cleveland, Ohio that Kagi would speak with John Anthony Copeland and Lewis Sheridan Leary, both of whom would join Brown's forces. Copeland was a twenty-three year old Oberlin College student who was born a free man in North Carolina. Leary, Copeland's uncle, was a mulatto who lived in Oberlin with his family. 26
Leary and Copeland were able to make it to Harper's Ferry with money provided by the Oberlin rescuers. Leary left without telling his wife or sister of his intentions to follow Brown's lead at Harper's Ferry. Leary would die from wounds received on the first day of battle at the Ferry. After nearly being hanged with a makeshift noose by a party of whites, Copeland was taken prisoner by the militia and survived the battle. 27
Brown had made many friends among the Quakers in Iowa, they had even quartered Brown's men for a time as they prepared to do battle at Harper's Ferry. Brown was fortunate to have recruited many Quaker boys for his journey to Virginia, among them were Barclay and Edwin Copac. They along with others would trickle to Kennedy's farm near Harper's Ferry to plan the attack. When all was said and done, Barclay would escape unscathed by the battle, while Edwin would be captured and imprisoned for his service under John Brown. 28
Each of Brown's men made his own contributions to the cause of freedom for slaves. Each man was willing to risk his own life for the freedom of another man. Whether by soliciting recruits, supplies, or funds for Brown's missions or taking arms to fight with their leader, the men were a force in Brown's plans. From beginning to end, had Brown not had the above mentioned men along with many others who were willing to sacrifice so much for their African brothers, Brown would never have made it so many miles on the road of an abolitionist.
When looking at John Brown's life, and his long road as an abolitionist from Kansas to Virginia, it is evident that Brown's road wasn't cheaply paved. Not only were emotional and physical costs high, but the financial needs soared with each day. How could the recruits be clothed, fed, and sheltered? Where would weapons and the necessary military supplies and training come from? How could the family that Brown left behind during his many journeys survive in his absence? These questions can be answered by examining both the individuals and organizations who admired Brown's cause. Some would donate money specifically for Brown's wife and many children. Others would fund military training and provide the necessary tools for battle. While still others would offer food and temporary shelter to Brown and his traveling army.
Everything Brown received seemed of equal and vital importance. It took many things to keep his campaign alive. Even the smallest of offerings served him well, such as a new suit of clothes given to Brown by Horace White of the Kansas Aid Committee while Brown was on a stop-off in Chicago during a journey to Boston. 29 Brown would find encouragement upon a visit to Iowa city and the Pedee Settlement of Quakers in Cedar County, Iowa, around presidential election time in 1856. The area proved to be very pro-- abolitionist. While on the visit, Brown was introduced to Col. Clarke, Dr. Jesse Brown, and several others who sympathized with the Free-State prisoners of Kansas. One important figure in this area was J. B. Grinnell who Brown could count on for food and shelter for all members of his party (black and white) as well as money and words of financial support and kindness. Clarke would also provide Brown with help for the Kansas cause and his efforts in transporting fugitive slaves north to freedom (Canada) via the Underground Railroad. In the fall of 1856 Brown met Mr. James Townsend, a tavern keeper in the Pedee Settlement. From this introduction "sprung an intimacy, the closest and most confiding." After that, Brown could always count on shelter at the tavern when it was needed. 31
Brown would return to the Pedee Settlement the winter before his Harper's Ferry attack. William Maxson provided quarters for Brown's men during their stay. At Maxson's the men spent the winter training for battle. Brown himself quartered a mile away from his men at the home of John W. Painter. 32
Value cannot be placed on the support given to Brown by the people of the Pedee Settlement, and others in Iowa. Brown also received warm greetings in Tabor, Iowa for his support against the Missourians. He found shelter there with Mr. Jonas Jones who stored all the weapons and ammunition sent by the Kansas Aid Society. Many in this little town, with its Underground Railroad station, highly regarded Brown and would even follow him into battle. 33
There is no doubt that Brown received enormous financial support from many, some of which may never be known (and never wanted to be). Yet of all financial supporters of John Brown, none contributed more than the infamous Secret Six. The "Six" was a group of rather wealthy or prominent men who, although not openly, supported Brown and the anti-slavery cause to the highest degree. Members of the group were Samuel Girdley Howe, a doctor and well known teacher who was said to be "a man of romantic causes"; Franklin B. Sanbom, a teacher at Concord and later author; Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister from Boston; Thomas Wentworth Higginson, another Unitarian minister from Massachusetts who said, " the worst trait of the American race seems to me this infernal colorphobia"; Gerrit Smith, a wealthy landowner from New York who felt the U. S. was "in a state of revolution" and said he would "go to all lengths" to support Brown; and finally George Luther Stearns who would become chairman of the Massachusetts-Kansas Aid Committee. 34
Brown first met George L. Stearns in the Fall of 1856 while in Boston. He would also become acquainted for the first time with two of the other Secret Six members, Dr. Samuel Girdley Howe and Franklin B. Sanborn at that meeting. 35 For Brown this meeting led to the start of something big, bigger perhaps than he could ever have imagined.
Stearns shared a passion with Brown for the fight against slavery that made them according to some "kindred spirits" with a "concentration of powers". Stearns gave himself totally to the cause of freeing the slave. he once said, "Oh, if I only had the money smoked away in Boston in a single day, I would strike a blow at slavery that would make it totter from its foundation." 36 Maybe it was Stearns' intent to help Brown to do just that.
In the same year that they met, Stearns gave Brown a draft or bill of exchange (which it was remains a question). The amount of the draft or bill of exchange was seven thousand dollars. This money was to be used by Brown for battle in Kansas. As Stearns saw it, the loss of Kansas would certainly mark a loss of liberty. The two men had an understanding that if anything was not spent at the time the document expired the remaining amount would be given back to Stearns. 37
In 1857 the great financial crash would force Stearns to write to Brown and ask that the draft (or bill) be returned so that Stearns could turn it in and release the securities deposited for the money. Despite financial troubles, Stearns continued to send Brown money the following winter. Stearns, while testifying before the Harper's Ferry investigating committee, noted that during that winter alone he sent Brown three to four thousand dollars over a period of just a few months. 38
Stearns would later help Brown to raise money to pay the amount owed on the farm at North Elba. Of the thousand dollars needed, only six hundred was raised. 39 Yet in the position he was in, Brown could not argue for more.
In November 1857, Stearns would send five hundred dollars to Brown just to help out with the needs of Brown and his family. It was quickly getting colder, and Stearns thought it good to be sure that Brown could support his family through the harshness of winter. At this time, Stearns was convinced that Kansas would be free and it was unnecessary to send Brown more funds for battle there. 40
For the money to be raised for the Harper's Ferry Insurrection, it was decided that Stearns would be the "Treasurer of the Enterprise". He took the job very seriously by staying in close contact with "Six" members and kept a running total of the money collected. Stearns would also frequently remind the others that more funds were needed. 41
Brown was supported by Stearns until the very end. During the Harper's Ferry trial, Stearns along with other contributors raised thirteen hundred dollars to pay two high-priced lawyers for Brown's defense. 42 Despite the effort, nothing at this point could have saved Brown. After Brown was hanged, Stearns would visit the grave site at North Elba and even after Brown's death, Stearns would continue to support the man. Stearns paid to have the stone engraved with Brown's name and necessary dates at the grave site. He would also give money to Mary Brown for current expenses of the family. 43
Another member of the "Six" that was a great believer in John Brown was Gerrit Smith. At his first meeting with Brown, he spoke great praises to him, "I have known you (Brown) many years and have highly esteemed you as long as I have known of you. I know your unsinking bravery, your self-sacrificing benevolence, your devotion to the cause of freedom, and have long known them ." 44 Smith admired Brown to the utmost. This admiration would serve as a great benefit to Brown. Smith saw John Brown as a "stalwart upholder of freedom's cause!" Smith himself will probably continue to be regarded as one of the great apostles of abolitionism in New York State. 45
At a secret meeting in Chicago, Smith would provide Brown with three hundred fifty dollars, promising more for the financing of the free-state soldiers. During that same visit, he gave Brown one hundred ten dollars to help to settle Brown's debt for he house he had built on Henry Thompson's property at North Elba. Shortly after, Smith would quarter Hugh Forbes (one of Brown's military strategists) and give him a monetary advance for his services to Brown. 46
Smith would later contribute one hundred sixty dollars cash, a note in the amount of two hundred eighty five dollars, and a pledge for an additional four hundred dollars. This money would eventually be used for purchasing weapons for arming any slaves that would participate in Harper's Ferry. Unfortunately, Brown's wish for support from rebel slaves would not meet his expectations.
Although many of those to whom Brown revealed his plans of Harper's Ferry would try to change his mind about the raid, Smith would remain supportive. "Our old friend has his heart set on the venture and cannot be dissuaded from it," Smith observed. "We must stand by him the best we can." 47
Franklin B. Sanborn would serve the "Six" and John Brown as the organizations' chief solicitor of funds. Sanborn on several occasions would contribute large amounts of money that he had raised for Brown's cause by scouring the east for willing sources of money. He would even write polite, but forceful notes to other members of the "Six" reminding them of their pledges of monetary support to Brown. In addition to putting up three hundred dollars of his own money toward Kansas, Sanborn also sent hundreds from other financial sources in New York and Philadelphia. 48
In regards to the long road to Harper's Ferry, Sanborn would be in constant contact with other members of the group. The letters he sent soliciting more funds came in a steady stream, and proved to be quite successful for obtaining money for the battle. As he collected the money, he would send it to Brown who used it at his discretion, no questions asked. Although the money was received in small denominations, Sanborn would send Brown all together several hundred dollars. 49
After Brown's death, Sanborn would be a key figure in the establishment of a fund which would be used to support Brown's widow and children. Mary Brown would be the beneficiary and received money from the fund while she was living. In 1885, Sanborn would send money from the fund to the Browns' daughter to cover the expense of Mary Brown's final illness and burial. Long after, money from the fund would be given to Brown's children. 50 This is only one of many examples of how Sanborn as well as other members of the Secret Six would contribute to Brown's legacy even after his death. Sanborn himself would attempt to keep Brown's memory alive with his book titled The Life and Letters of John Brown.
Theodore Parker, another "Six" member, would give Brown well over one hundred dollars toward fighting for freedom in Kansas. Parker would make some smaller contributions to Brown along the way, but his days as a member of the Secret Six were hindered by illness which eventually led to his death. Despite his problems, he was still a significant factor in Brown's financial success. 51
Thomas Higginson, along with Dr. Samuel G. Howe as members of the Secret Six, would help with financial contributions toward both Kansas and the Harper's Ferry Raid as well the road in between. Higginson, due to financial problems, had very little to contribute to the Harper's Ferry campaign, yet he gave all that he could spare. Both Higginson and Howe would add to Stearns contribution toward Brown's defense attorneys in the Harper's Ferry trial. 52
The Secret Six as a whole would prove to be Brown's financial back bone on his road as an abolitionist. Over the course of a few years, these six men would contribute thousands of dollars of their own money as well as money they had raised from other anonymous believers in freedom. Clearly, the Secret Six would continue to honor Brown years after his death through their continued support of his wife, children, and grandchildren.
From start to bitter finish, Brown's road as an abolitionist was never an easy one. The early teachings of his father would serve as the basis for a lifetime of dedication to a very worthy cause. The love, loyalty and support Brown received from his wife carried Brown many miles. His sons would be useful not only as soldiers, but would serve as an inspiration to Brown when going into battle with his boys by his side. Finally, Brown could have never attempted any of his battles without the encouragement and financial support of many, but primarily the Secret Six.
Brown may not have had an overwhelmingly successful life, but it must be said that his efforts as an abolitionist were quite different from the other areas of his life. Not only did he open eyes to a quickly growing problem, but he lead a number of slaves to freedom along the tracks of the Underground Railroad. One of his biggest accomplishments may have been the number of supporters he won over to the cause. The forces that guided John Brown were friends and his belief in God. The road of an abolitionist was long, hard, and to John Brown - worth dying for.
Notes
1. Warch, Richard and Fanton, Jonathan, John Brown: Great Lives Observed (Prentice Hall, 1973) 17.
2. Sanborn, Franklin B. The Life and Letters of John Brown (Boston: Robert Brothers, 1891) 14.
3. Abels, Jules. Man on Fire: John Brown and the Cause of Liberty (New York: MacMillan Co., 1971) 4-5.
4. Ibid . 7-8.
5. Ibid . 9.
6. Ibid . 8.
7. Ibid . 4-5.
8. Sanborn, 14-15.
9. ______. The Life, Trial and Execution of John Brown (New York: Da Capo Press, 1969) 8l.
10. Oates, Stephen B. To Purge this Land with Blood (New York: Harper and Row, 1970) 26.
11. Sanborn, 35.
12. Ibid . 38.
13. Brown, Salmon "My Father, John Brown," The Outlook , January 25, 1913, 212, Vol. 3, John Brown Pamphlets (hereafter cited as Pamphlets), Charleston: Woodyard Publications, 1932).
14. Abels, 40-41.
15. Ibid . 62-63.
16. Ibid . 672.
17. Hinton, Richard J. John Brown and his Men (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1894) 451- 454, 461-463.
18. Oats. 223.
19. Hinton. 452, 464.
20. Oats. 261-62.
21. Featherstonhaugh, T. John Brown's Men: The Lives of Those Killed at Harper's Ferry (Harrisburg: Harrisburg Publishing Co), Vol. 17, Pamphlets, 8-18.
22. Ibid . 8-18.
23. Ibid .
24. Ibid .
25. Oates. 137, 155.
26. Ibid . 268.
27. Ibid . 296.
28. Ibid . 242, 243, 276.
29. _____, "John Brown and His Eastern Friends," New England Magazine , July 1910, Vol 3, Pamphlets, 589.
30. Lloyd, Frederick. "John Brown among the Pedee Quakers," Annals of Iowa (Davenport, Iowa, April 1866), Vol. 6, Pamphlets, 668-69.
31. Ibid . 669-70.
32. Ibid . 714.
33. ______, "John Brown and His followers in Iowa," The Midland Monthly (Des Moines, Iowa, October 1894), Vol. 4 Pamphlets, 263.
34. Oates. 114.
35. John Brown and His Eastern Friends , 590.
36. Morse, S. H. "Anti-slavery Hero: George L. Stearns," New England Magazine , June 1890, Vol. 17, Pamphlets, 488-490.
37. John Brown and His Eastern Friends , 590-92.
38. Ibid . 592.
39. Renehand Jr., Edward J. The Secret Six (New York: Crown Publishing Co. , 1995), 126.
40. Ibid . 130.
41. Ibid . 147-148.
42. Ibid . 211.
43. John Brown and His Eastern Friends . 589.
44. Ibid .
45. _______, "Gerrit Smith: An Interpretation," Quarterly Journal of the New York Historical Association , January 25, 1924, Vol. 3, Pamphlets, 22-23.
46. Renehan, 122-23. 182-83.
47. John Brown and His Eastern Friends , 596.
48. Renehan, 148-149.
49. Ibid . 191-93.
50. Ibid . 264-265.
51. Ibid . 147.
52. Ibid . 211.