Main Version | Raw XML File (24k)
Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University

Elijah P. Lovejoy:

An Inventory of His Papers, 1804-1891, at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library


Descriptive Summary

Creator Lovejoy, Elijah P. (Elijah Parish), 1802-1837
Title: Elijah P. Lovejoy, Papers,
Dates: 1804-1891
Abstract: The papers of Elijah Parish Lovejoy, born in 1802 near Albion, Maine, was a preacher, editor, and abolitionist.
ID S 585.1
Quantity: 4 small boxes (1.3 linear feet)
Language English.
Repository: Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University

Biographical Sketch

Elijah Parish Lovejoy, born in 1802 near Albion, Maine, was a preacher, editor, and abolitionist. He studied theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1832, and served as a preacher in St. Louis, Missouri. He became editor of the Observer, a reform newspaper. In 1835, he moved to Alton, Illinois, and established a newspaper that met with opposition in the town. Three of his presses were destroyed by mobs, and Lovejoy died in 1837 while defending his fourth press.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes correspondence, sermons, lectures, newspapers, news clippings, and family memorabilia created by, or related to, Lovejoy and his family. The collection bulks with correspondence (1824-1853) and concerns abolition, temperance, religion, and theology. The first two files contain transcripts of some of the correspondence and poems compiled by college students for a class project from 1973-1974.

Due to the fragil nature of the materials, the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library has digitized this collection to protect the original materials while maintaining access. All files are .PDF files and require Abode Acrobat Reader 3.0 or later to view. To view the materials, please go to

Elijah Lovejoy Digital Files

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research

Index Terms

The subject headings used by the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library are derived from the Library of Congress and/or locally developed.
Subjects (Persons)
Lovejoy, Elijah P. (Elijah Parish), 1802-1837
Lovejoy family
Places
Alton (Ill.)--History
Alton (Ill.)--Riot, 1837
Subjects
Abolitionists--Illinois
Abolitionists--Illinois--Alton
Abolitionists--United States
Antislavery movements
Freedom of the press--United States
Riots--Illinois--Alton--History--19th century

Related Material

For related materials located in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, see the following collections:
  • Merton Lynn Dillion Papers, 1960-1961
  • Austin Wiswall Papers, 1863-1912
  • Harriet Wiswall Papers, 1863-1865 and undated

Administrative Information

Acquisition

Gifts, 1959-1961

Processed by

Abel Ramirez, 2000

Additional Sources

Dillon, Merton Lynn. "Elijah P. Lovejoy: Abolitionist Editor. "Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1961.

Beecher, Edward. "Narrative of Riots at Alton in Connection with the Death of Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. "Alton, Illinois: G. Holton, 1838.

Gill, John. "Tide Without Turning: Elijah P. Lovejoy and Freedom of the press. "Boston: Starr King Press, 1958.

Lovejoy, Joseph Cammet and Owed Lovejoy. "Memoir of the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy. "New York: Arno Press, 1969.

Moore, Richard Ray. "Elijah P. Lovejoy: the Making of a Reformer. "Thesis (M.A.)--Texas Technological College, 1960.

Simon, Paul. "Freedom's Champion--Elijah Lovejoy. "Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1994.

Collection Inventory

 

Transcriptions compiled by Students, 1973-1974

box folder
1 1 Correspondence and Poems, 1824-1885
2 Correspondence, 1839-1850


 

Lovejoy Family, 1804-1891

box folder
1 3 Correspondence, 1804
4 Correspondence, 1805
5 Correspondence, 1807
6 Correspondence, 1810
7 Correspondence, 1812
8 Correspondence, 1815
9 Correspondence, 1816
10 Correspondence, 1817
11 Correspondence, 1820
12 Correspondence, 1822
13 Correspondence, 1823
14 Correspondence, 1824
15 Correspondence, 1825
16 Correspondence, 1826
17 Correspondence, 1827
18 Correspondence, 1828
19 Correspondence, 1829
20 Correspondence, 1830
box folder
2 1 Correspondence, 1831
2 Correspondence, 1832
3 Correspondence, 1833
4 Correspondence, 1834
5 Correspondence, 1835
6 Correspondence, 1836
7 Correspondence, 1837
8 Correspondence, 1838
box folder
3 1 Correspondence, 1839
2 Correspondence, 1840
3 Correspondence, 1841
4 Correspondence, 1842
5 Correspondence, 1843
6 Correspondence, 1844
7 Correspondence, 1845
8 Correspondence, 1846
9 Correspondence, 1847
10 Correspondence, 1848
11 Correspondence, 1849
12 Correspondence, 1850
13 Correspondence, 1852
14 Correspondence, 1853
15 Correspondence, 1854
16 Correspondence, 1856
17 Correspondence, 1857
18 Correspondence, 1861
19 Correspondence, 1862
20 Correspondence, 1863
21 Correspondence, 1864
22 Correspondence, 1865
23 Correspondence, 1867
24 Correspondence, 1869
25 Correspondence, 1870
26 Correspondence, 1871
27 Correspondence, 1872
28 Correspondence, 1879
29 Correspondence, 1881
30 Correspondence, 1885
31 Correspondence, 1886
32 Correspondence, 1890
33 Correspondence, 1891


 

General Files, 1831-1959 and undated

box folder
4 1 Essays, Manuscripts, and Sermons, undated
2 Clippings, Photographs, and Pamphlets, 1831-1959 and undated
3 Sermons, Poems, and Correspondence, undated