Eli Thayer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's9th district | |
| In office March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander De Witt |
| Succeeded by | Goldsmith Bailey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1819-06-11)June 11, 1819 Mendon, Massachusetts |
| Died | April 15, 1899(1899-04-15) (aged 79) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Resting place | Hope Cemetery |
| Political party | Whig[1] Republican Party |
| Children | John A. Thayer, Clara Thayer (Mrs. Charles H. Perry M.D.), Ida M. Thayer.[2] |
| Alma mater | Worcester Academy, 1840; Brown University, 1845 |
| Signature | .png) |
Eli Thayer (June 11, 1819 – April 15, 1899) was a Republican member of theUnited States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1861. He was born inMendon, Massachusetts. He graduated fromWorcester Academy in 1840, fromBrown University in 1845, and in 1848 foundedOread Institute, a school for young women inWorcester, Massachusetts. He is buried atHope Cemetery, Worcester.
He is chiefly remembered for his crusade to ensure that theKansas Territory would enter into the United States as a free state. With this aim in view, early in 1854 Thayer organized theMassachusetts Emigrant Aid Company to send anti-slavery settlers to theKansas Territory. In 1855, this organization joined with the New York Emigrant Aid Company and the name was changed to theNew England Emigrant Aid Company.[citation needed] The motives of Thayer in establishing the New England Emigrant Aid Company were questioned by historianDavid S. Reynolds, who wrote that Thayer "opposed slavery not on moral grounds but because [he] wanted to fosterlaissez-faire capitalism in the Territory."[3]
Local leagues were established whose members moved to Kansas and established towns. The Company provided hotels for temporary accommodation (such as theFree State Hotel in Lawrence) and provided sawmills and other improvements. Settlements were established atManhattan,Lawrence,Topeka, andOsawatomie. The clash of these settlers and other "Free-Stater" Northerners with pro-slavery settlers spawned the violence ofBleeding Kansas.[citation needed]
Thayer wanted to establish an antislavery colony in Virginia, but land was too expensive. He then looked to western Virginia. Thayer chose to build his colony at the mouth ofTwelvepole Creek in Wayne County, Virginia (now West Virginia). He named his townCeredo after the goddessCeres. The town was founded in 1857.[4]
He enlisted fellow abolitionistZopher D. Ramsdell to settle there and establish a boot and shoe factory.[5] Ramsdell's house is open (2022) as ahistoric house museum.
Eli Thayer died at his home in Worcester on April 15, 1899.[6]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 9th congressional district 1857–1861 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
