Eli Thayer
Encyclopedia
Eli Thayer was a member of the United States House of Representatives
from 1857 to 1861. Thayer was born in Mendon
, Massachusetts
. He graduated from Worcester Academy
in 1840, from Brown University
in 1845, and in 1848 founded Oread Institute
, a school for young women in Worcester
, Massachusetts. He is buried at Hope Cemetery
in Worcester.
He is chiefly remembered for his connection with the "Kansas Crusade," the purpose of which was to secure the admission of Kansas
to the Union as a free State. With this aim in view, early in 1854 Thayer organized the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company
to send anti-slavery settlers to the Kansas Territory
. In 1855, this organization joined with the New York Emigrant Aid Company and the name was changed to the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Local leagues were established whose members emigrated to Kansas and established towns. The Company provided hotels for temporary accommodation and provided sawmills and other improvements. Settlements were established at Lawrence
, Topeka
, Manhattan
, and Osawatomie
. The clash of these settlers and other "Free-Stater
" Northerners with proslavery settlers spawned the violence of Bleeding Kansas
.
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 of Twelvepole Creek
in Wayne County, Virginia now West Virginia. He named his town Ceredo
after the goddess Ceres. The town was founded in 1857. He enlisted fellow abolitionist Zopher D. Ramsdell
to settle there and establish a boot and shoe factory. It is open as a historic house museum.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1857 to 1861. Thayer was born in Mendon
Mendon, Massachusetts
Mendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,839 at the 2010 census.Mendon is very historic and is now part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, the oldest industrialized region in the United States.- Early history :The Nipmuc people...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He graduated from Worcester Academy
Worcester Academy
Worcester Academy is an independent coeducational preparatory school spread over in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in...
in 1840, from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in 1845, and in 1848 founded Oread Institute
Oread Institute
The Oread Institute was a women's college founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1849 by Eli Thayer. Before its closing in 1934, it was one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States...
, a school for young women in Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, Massachusetts. He is buried at Hope Cemetery
Hope Cemetery (Worcester, Massachusetts)
Hope Cemetery is an historic rural cemetery at 119 Webster Street in Worcester, Massachusetts.It was established in 1854 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The cemetery occupies .-Notable internments:* Capt...
in Worcester.
He is chiefly remembered for his connection with the "Kansas Crusade," the purpose of which was to secure the admission of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to the Union as a free State. With this aim in view, early in 1854 Thayer organized the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company
Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company
The New England Emigrant Aid Company was a transportation company created to transport immigrants to the Kansas Territory to shift the balance of power so that Kansas would enter the United States as a free state rather than a slave state...
to send anti-slavery settlers to the Kansas Territory
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Kansas....
. In 1855, this organization joined with the New York Emigrant Aid Company and the name was changed to the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Local leagues were established whose members emigrated to Kansas and established towns. The Company provided hotels for temporary accommodation and provided sawmills and other improvements. Settlements were established at Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Manhattan
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, and Osawatomie
Osawatomie, Kansas
Osawatomie is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, southwest of Kansas City. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,447. It derives its name from two streams nearby, the Osage and Potawatomie.-History:...
. The clash of these settlers and other "Free-Stater
Free-Stater
Free-Stater was the name given those settlers in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas era in the 1850s who opposed the extension of slavery to Kansas....
" Northerners with proslavery settlers spawned the violence of Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
.
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 of Twelvepole Creek
Twelvepole Creek
Twelvepole Creek is a river located in Wayne County, West Virginia. It is part of the Mississippi River watershed, by way of the Ohio River.-Course:...
in Wayne County, Virginia now West Virginia. He named his town Ceredo
Ceredo, West Virginia
Ceredo is a city in Wayne County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,675 at the 2000 census. Ceredo is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649.The city is also near the location of...
after the goddess Ceres. The town was founded in 1857. He enlisted fellow abolitionist Zopher D. Ramsdell
Z. D. Ramsdell House
Z. D. Ramsdell House, also known as The Ramsdell House, is a historic home located at Ceredo, Wayne County, West Virginia, atop a mound claimed to be an Indian burial mound. It was built in 1857-1858, and is a two story red brick and frame dwelling measuring 30 feet wide and 48 feet deep. It sits...
to settle there and establish a boot and shoe factory. It is open as a historic house museum.