Moses Cheney was an abolitionist, printer and legislator from New Hampshire.

Cheney was born in 1793 in Thornton, New Hampshire

Thornton, New Hampshire

Thornton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,490 at the 2010 census.- History :Thornton was incorporated in 1763, and named for Doctor Matthew Thornton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.- Geography :...

. Cheney entered the paper printing business in Holderness

Holderness, New Hampshire

Holderness is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,108 at the 2010 census. An agricultural and resort area, Holderness is home to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center and is located on Squam Lake...

 (later renamed Ashland

Ashland, New Hampshire

Ashland is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,076 at the 2010 census. Located near the geographical center of the state, Ashland is home to Scribner-Fellows State Forest....

). On June 23, 1816 he married Abigail (Morrison) Cheney (b.1796). Moses Cheney served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

 at his home in Peterborough

Peterborough, New Hampshire

Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census. Home to the MacDowell Art Colony, the town is a popular tourist destination....

 where he hosted Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...

 on several occasions. Cheney was also the original printer of The Morning Star

The Morning Star (19th century U.S. newspaper)

The Morning Star was a weekly newspaper owned and published by Freewill Baptists in 19th century New England, which campaigned vigorously for the abolition of slavery long before such a political stance was widely considered to be respectable in America....

, an abolitionist Freewill Baptist newspaper. Cheney's son Oren Cheney was the founder and first president of Bates College

Bates College

Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...

 in Maine, and Moses' son Person Cheney served as a U.S. Senator and Governor of New Hampshire. Moses Cheney died on July 17, 1875, and was buried in Ashland.