l E43.
The First PresbyterianChurchof Upper Altoru Illinois hadplayeda centralrole in the abolitionistmovementof
this area.Thefnst Pastorof this churclu Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy, had come here from auoss the river in
Missouri after havinghis printing pressdestroyed. Whcth€rhis eiremieshad followed him acrossthe river or
not, I do not know; bul he broughtthree more printing press€sto UpperAltoru the last of which was secretd
undercoverof darkness,to Alexander'slargestorefor safekeeping.Rev. Lovejoyhad beenprinting papersfor
quite a while and was a charrpion of the movement. tt is also known that he was a conductor on the
undergroundrailroad. Illinois was a free state by law; but, there were still many living here with antiabolitionist sentiments.This was the year 1E37,long beforethe Civil War. ReverendLovejoydid not cower in
frurt of his ene,lnies.He evenparticipatedin a public debatewith thEm. Ternperswererunningout of control
thougb and on ttrc night of Novernber7^, 1E37,theRwerendwas shotand killed andhis printing presstbrown
into the river. Enemiesof the movementhad beenwatchingand waiting; knowingthat the Rev. Lovejoy would
atternptto replacehis press. Theygathereda mob whenthey sawthe pressarrive in the middleof the night and
went to Alexander'sstore.They attemptedto set fire to the building with Rev. Lovejoy and his supporters
inside;but the Reverendcameout ard overturnedthe ladderfrom which onernanwas trying to light the roof on
fire with a torch. The Reverendwent back inside but, the man replacedthe ladder and started his climb
upwardsagain. when theReverendwent outsideagarn,he was shotand killed.
Rev. Lovejoy was buried in an unmarkedgrave. It was not until years later that his rernainswere rernovedto
the OakwoodCemeteryin Upper Alton. Many yearsafter, a statuewas placedthere in Upper Alton to the
memory of this maq who by this time was consideredto be a heroand martyr in the movementto end slavery.
Soonafter his deathin 1837,thouglLwhenthe trial was held in UpperAltoru not only themurderersin the mob
were chargd buf Rev. Lovejoy's support€rsand defenderswerechargedas well. This was the atmosphereof
the place in which Rev. Henry Whittekerand his bridedocidedthat they would start their marriedlife togetho.
It was a very small towu by any standard;but it did seemto be the Devil's battlefieldbetweenthe forces of
good and evil. Henry choseto be a preacherin ttr very church that Rw. Elijah P. Lovejoy had hel@ to
organize- Had Henry's life not beencut shorl it is left to our imaginationsjust what elsehe may havebecome
involved in. I do not believethat he and Anna camehereto while away their hours. t believetlrey camehereto
be on the cutting edgeandto be involvedin standingup for what they both believedin.
lt is said that Henry continuedto preachin Upper Alton with greatacceptance.Therewas a devastatingflo6d
in the areathe summerof 1844. A few short weekslater, on the l5t of Septerrber1844,Hory died of what
was describedas "brain fever'', a descriptiveterm backthen for malaria. He was morethan likely a victim of
the rise in the mosquitopopulationbrought on by the recentflood. He diedat sunriseon that Sabbathmorning
and was buriedby 5:00 p.m. the sameday in Lot 3, Block 77 of theOakwoodCemeteryin UpperAlton. The
following Sunday,his funeral s€rrnonwas preachedby the Rev. A. T. Norton at the church in Upper Alton.
Thus, Henry passedawayat the ageof only 29 yars and l0 rnonths. Rev. Norton said of him that he was a
minister of ardentpiety, flaming zal, and high promise. Henry's obituary from the KanawhaRepublicanof
October l, 1844reportedhis last words to his wife, "I havea greatdealto say to you but cannotsay it. All is
well with me. I commityou to a kind Savior. He will takecareof you."
The dreamof thesetwo newlywedsdid not die with Henry. Anna Howe Whitteker went on to makeher own
mark. She had beenborn on the 5e of December1808 into the family of Artemis Howe, a cousin of Lydia
Howe- thc moLherof Henry'sfather, William. .a.rtemisand his .*4ft, Lucinda Brmks believedreligiously in
educationand errancipation. They had thr€e daughters,Ann4 Emily, and Saratr,all of which Uecameschool
teachers;and, went to teach in Virginia. Anna's sister,Emily, had married Col. Asa DuPuy, the owner of a
plantation; an4 had cometo own ov€r 50 slaveshqself. After Henry's death,Anna went to live with Emily;
and' together,they starteda school for black children. It was againstthe law to educateblacks unlesstheir
mastersgavepermission.Anna was teachingthemto read,usingthe Bible as an educationaltool. After some
time had passod,otherplantationownersnearbybeganto give permissionfor their slavesto atte,ndthis school
KVGS Joumsl, Spring2009
continuedpegpl0