Parker Pillsbury
Encyclopedia
Parker Pillsbury was an American
minister and advocate for abolition
and women's rights
.
Pillsbury was born in Hamilton, Massachusetts
. He moved to Henniker, New Hampshire
where he later farmed and worked as a wagoner.
With the encouragement of his local Congregational church
, Pillsbury entered Gilmanton Theological Seminary in 1835, graduating in 1839. He studied an additional year at Andover
, and there came under the influence of social reformer John A. Collins, before accepting a church in Loudon, New Hampshire
. His work in the ministry suffered after he made a number of sharp attacks on the churches' complicity with slavery. His Congregational license to preach was revoked in 1840. However Pillsbury became active in the ecumenical Free Religious Association and preached to its societies in New York
, Ohio
, and Michigan
.
Pillsbury's dislike of slavery
led him into active writing and lecturing for the abolitionist movement and other progressive social reform issues. He became a lecturing agent for the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and American antislavery societies, and held these posts for over two decades. He edited the Concord (N.H.)
Herald of Freedom
in 1840, and again in 1845 and 1846. In 1854, he served as an emissary from the American Anti-Slavery Society to Great Britain.
Pillsbury lectured widely on abolition and social reform, often in the company of fellow abolitionist Stephen Symonds Foster
. He earned a reputation for successfully dealing with hostile crowds through nonresistance tactics. His support for nonresistance led to service on the executive committee of the New Hampshire Non-Resistance Society. Consequently, Pillsbury was not an active supporter of the Union war effort. However, he did applaud Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation
and defended the actions of John Brown
after the raid on Harpers Ferry.
In 1865, Pillsbury broke with longtime associate William Lloyd Garrison
over the need for continued activity by the American Anti-Slavery Society. He edited the National Anti-Slavery Standard in 1866.
Pillsbury helped to draft the constitution of the feminist American Equal Rights Association in 1865, and served as vice-president of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association. With feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton
, Pillsbury served as co-editor for the women's rights newsletter The Revolution, founded in 1868.
Pillsbury completed his abolition memoirs, Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles, in 1883.
His nephew, Albert E. Pillsbury
, drafted the bylaws of the NAACP.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
minister and advocate for abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
and women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
.
Pillsbury was born in Hamilton, Massachusetts
Hamilton, Massachusetts
Hamilton is a town located in the eastern central portion of Essex County in eastern Massachusetts. It is primarily a suburban bedroom community, most commonly known for its equestrian estates...
. He moved to Henniker, New Hampshire
Henniker, New Hampshire
Henniker is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 4,836. Henniker is home to New England College, Ames State Forest and Craney Hill State Forest....
where he later farmed and worked as a wagoner.
With the encouragement of his local Congregational church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
, Pillsbury entered Gilmanton Theological Seminary in 1835, graduating in 1839. He studied an additional year at Andover
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, and there came under the influence of social reformer John A. Collins, before accepting a church in Loudon, New Hampshire
Loudon, New Hampshire
Loudon is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,317 at the 2010 census. Loudon is the home of New Hampshire Motor Speedway....
. His work in the ministry suffered after he made a number of sharp attacks on the churches' complicity with slavery. His Congregational license to preach was revoked in 1840. However Pillsbury became active in the ecumenical Free Religious Association and preached to its societies in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Pillsbury's dislike of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
led him into active writing and lecturing for the abolitionist movement and other progressive social reform issues. He became a lecturing agent for the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and American antislavery societies, and held these posts for over two decades. He edited the Concord (N.H.)
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
Herald of Freedom
Herald of Freedom
Herald of Freedom may refer to:* Herald of Freedom * Herald of Freedom , a right wing newsletter by Francis Alphonse Capell* Herald of Freedom , the journal of the New Hampshire Anti-Slavery Society...
in 1840, and again in 1845 and 1846. In 1854, he served as an emissary from the American Anti-Slavery Society to Great Britain.
Pillsbury lectured widely on abolition and social reform, often in the company of fellow abolitionist Stephen Symonds Foster
Stephen Symonds Foster
Stephen Symonds Foster was a radical American abolitionist known for his dramatic and aggressive style of public speaking, and for his stance against those in the church who failed to fight slavery. His marriage to Abby Kelley Foster brought his energetic activism to bear on women's rights...
. He earned a reputation for successfully dealing with hostile crowds through nonresistance tactics. His support for nonresistance led to service on the executive committee of the New Hampshire Non-Resistance Society. Consequently, Pillsbury was not an active supporter of the Union war effort. However, he did applaud Lincoln's
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation is an executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War using his war powers. It proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's 4 million slaves, and immediately freed 50,000 of them, with nearly...
and defended the actions of John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
after the raid on Harpers Ferry.
In 1865, Pillsbury broke with longtime associate William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
over the need for continued activity by the American Anti-Slavery Society. He edited the National Anti-Slavery Standard in 1866.
Pillsbury helped to draft the constitution of the feminist American Equal Rights Association in 1865, and served as vice-president of the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association. With feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement...
, Pillsbury served as co-editor for the women's rights newsletter The Revolution, founded in 1868.
Pillsbury completed his abolition memoirs, Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles, in 1883.
His nephew, Albert E. Pillsbury
Albert E. Pillsbury
Albert Enoch Pillsbury was a Boston lawyer who served in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature, President of the Massachusetts State Senate, and as the Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1891 to 1894...
, drafted the bylaws of the NAACP.