The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1881-02-08
William Eteci, the FOuuder Of the
s'UndorgrOund feailrOad."

a ,g0Qso meb mas po9Sen away, anN1.l
s meet that bis god deeds r md
Known. and respect psid TO his d mosy.
Wiliism Steel, the Subject of :this hrief
,ketch. came From one ~ ythehes iaiul-
lies in Sc ',land, Beina second Cousin to
VIM. e. Gladstone, Prime Minister Of
England. He. Was horn at Bicgas, on
the Clyde, in 1905, and removed-to A ner.
ics With. his Iaren.s ahnu, the year1Sl8 !
and settled Hrstin wtbchesser Va. and |
\ few years afterward removed TO Barnes
villa, Belmont County. o ,io, and after
ten years in BarnesVille, marry-I
ing his wife there, he moved to the aa-
Joining coupty,AM nre and sqftied g
W oodsaeld, where he resided az u ears
He, with his sons. removed 70 Q esop in
1872, and has lived in this city until his
death. .A..,.Sta,,s*sTN
ing. of his great work of life-Ioihins oil
the stormy trials he has passed. through,
and o,hing of the uncoanted cares and
anxieties he had unseiHs fy hardened
himself with, for the sole, hsoeti sof The
poor and.oppressed, ,tor psors than q, gen.
citation of men, and which leftithat kida-
ly face and genial heart without q wrin-
kle Of regret, :.zf', = l. .S%'2S
Mr. Steel wassona. Of the pionssrs-o'
anti slavery agitation in the Uaited
States He stood in the very front rank
led the. forlorn hope 10 assaulting tie
citadel of the slave power, anil for more
than, quar- er Of q century was recng-
ai$ spIHtihe leader, co-laborer and mas
contest which finally cplminated IN 'tass tsss
election Of Lincoln to the Presidency :
Greeley,in his great work. sTbs Amer
lean Con6ct." ." savs :"sBsn jamin Lundy
deserves the high honor of.rsnking as
the pioneer OF direct and distinct anti
slavery in America" This man Lnndy
vac saddlsr, learned his trade at Wheel.
ing, Virginia, removed TO st. .Clairsville,
Ohio, ten rsiles west Of Wheeling, OPEN
ed shop and earned several thousand
dollars at his trade. While q boy, In
Wheeling. be had witnessed the poor
slaves driven through the streets, chained
In pairs, ard rnanacled tn long leading
chain, guided by the last OF the slava
drivers ! ke So many cattle. Steel had
Witnessed the came brutality at Win.
chester, and the heart of both Ethese
young mfn were all sdsms atthe eno,,
nifty OF this crime against 'humsnity
These Impressions could not be sh .sen
off or resisted Lundy called meeting
at his house 10 ST. Cialrsville in lSla,
and although bat Eve or s,x persons at
tended, thev formed the "Union Human
Society,"" There had sbaen antis slavery
organizations before this, butthey were
very mild, advocating the abolition OF
slavery on economical grounds Lnndy's
society went to theroot of The mstter,
declaring slavery TO. be q political evil
and on nnmiiigased curse. Six years af-
ter ahis, at yMt.i Pleasant. la j.frsrson
County, Lundy commenced the publics.
tion of the first disiinctisely anti slavery
Journal in the United States. called "rne
Genius OF Univsssl Emancipation, =
Bat Lundy was not organized for steady
work, but bHcame . sart cot john the
Baptist ''crying in the Wildernessy,, :, and
commenced travelling ami gleciuring
against slavery. He visited Tennessee.
North Csrolins, Virginia, and Baltimore,
Md delivering snti slavery addresses
wherever he went. AT Rallmore he re-
issued his paper, and continued his trav-
els eastward, lecturing and soliciting cub
scription to his paper. In 1923 he visit
ed Boston and could not lind s,ngle
Abolitionist Here be met William Liayd
Garrison, a joarneyman printer, who
becoming convert to Lundy's views
two years later issued the flrst uumt,el
Of the "Liberator," which gave Garrison
a national reputation, and was published
down to the close of the late war. aa
l give this much OF the history Ut Mr.
Lundy in order TO introduce NJ. Steel
After Lundy left Ohio his society fell II
pieces, but the seeds Of the anti-slavers
gospel had been planted, ah'f,he very
FIRST political work Mr.. Steel engs ged In
on reaching his majority, pas 10 revive
the work inauguratedshv; Lnndy which
be did about the year 1880, when Garri-
son was starting his paper at Boston.
Aud from that date down 10 the fnal
overthrow Of the slave power atAppe-
ma,tox Court House, where Gen. Lee
handed his sword AUS Grant. Viii
liam Steel was sternly pushing some ef.
fort to wipe s'ons the SUN Of all villain.
les" s5tze.l q haz s4is
Lnndy commenced his labors in 1915;
Garrison and Steel enlisted in 1880;
Lovejoy commenced al St. Louis in 1885
aud was murdered and his printing OF.
Zee DESTROYED at Alton, Ill.,. ia 1886 =
Wendell Phillips took bic stand al .
mee.ing held al the court house id Bos.
ton to denounce Che murder OF Lnveioy
Iin 1887. OF these Eve men, who might
be appropriately styled tie Apostles 81
Abolitionism. bat Two belonged to the
learned professions PbiIlips was Law
| yer, and Lnvejoy q Presbyterian minis.
ter. Each man selected liis work Ldndy
went 20 preaching his grand dream .,
UnieoeeA Emancipation, even to- the
Isles Of the See. Gsfrison became d
editor; Loyejoy alsB selected che same
6eld for labor; Phillips chnse the plat.
form and became the finest orator in
America7 And xhat did William Stee
dof a asps - SiA .aa7ta4
While taking an active part 10 poll
tics, be early saw that much good nigh,
be done by aiding the poor fugitive
slaves who occasionally made their es.
cape across the Ohio river, painting for
liberty. Prior to 1s42, rnna way slaves
coming to Ohio we're treated very kind.
| ly BY all classes. although 20 efforts we're
PIT forth by any one to encourage slaves
10 leave their mastersin tie slave states.
10 1842 the Ohio Legislature passed o
law making II penal nfiense to aid OF
harbor any runawsy-slaves Mr.. Steel,
then prominent and weIl.to-do. mer.
chant at Woodsfeld, openly denounced
this Law as violation Of every princi.
pie Of justice and sentiment Of hnmani-
ty, which God would justify every man
in disobeying. To disobsy the Law was
to invite imprisonment. in the peniten-
tiary. But nothing daunted, Mr.. Steel
at once organized that secret society
known throughout Ohio and other ves.