Short bio of Elijah Parish Lovejoy, who was killed on November the 7th 1837 - This week in Christian History November 3rd through the 9th 2013

Lovejoy was born on November the 9th 1802 in Maine. He graduated from Waterville College at the top of his class and taught at China Academy. He felt called to move to the South or West and was advised that he would be able to serve God better in the West. He moved to Boston and New York trying to get a position to be able to afford the journey to Illinois, where he decided he should go. He sold newspaper subscriptions, but was unable to save the money he would need for the journey and received assistance from his former college. He changed his destination to Saint Louis and was able to find a position there editing the St. Louis Observer and heading a private school. He became a minister and was strongly abolitionist. Missouri was a slave state surrounded by three free states, and this made it a center of the free verses slave debate. He continued to be an editor and his printing press was destroyed three times by slavery supporters. He moved across the river to Alton Illinois and continued to print abolitionist literature. Since Illinois was a free state he thought it would less risky to print there, but on November the 7th 1837 a pro slavery mob surrounded the warehouse where his printing press was and fired shots at Lovejoy and Weller, one of his supporters. Lovejoy returned fire and killed one of the mob. They sent a boy up a ladder to set fire to the warehouse and Lovejoy threw the ladder down. When trying to fend off the second attempt Lovejoy was shot five times and died, and Weller was wounded. The mob threw the printing press out of the window and destroyed it. No one was convicted of the murder.

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