Richard Dillingham
Encyclopedia
Richard Dillingham was a Quaker
school teacher from Peru Township
in what is now Morrow County, Ohio
, U.S.A., who was arrested in Tennessee
on December 5, 1848, while aiding the attempted escape of three slaves. Tried April 12, 1849, he was sentenced to three years in the Tennessee State Penitentiary
in Nashville
. He died there of cholera
.
Dillingham was celebrated as a martyr
to the abolitionist cause by novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe
, fellow Quaker Levi Coffin
and the poet John Greenleaf Whittier
, who wrote the poem The Cross in Dillingham's honor.
The exact location of Dillingham's grave is not known. He was buried in a cemetery on the prison grounds the day he died. The site was built over in the course of Nashville's later urban development.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
school teacher from Peru Township
Peru Township, Morrow County, Ohio
Peru Township is one of the sixteen townships of Morrow County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,260 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Lincoln Township - north...
in what is now Morrow County, Ohio
Morrow County, Ohio
Morrow County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Shawnee people used the area for hunting purposes before white settlers arrived in the early 19th century. Morrow County was organized in 1848 from parts of four neighboring counties and named for Jeremiah Morrow, Governor of...
, U.S.A., who was arrested in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
on December 5, 1848, while aiding the attempted escape of three slaves. Tried April 12, 1849, he was sentenced to three years in the Tennessee State Penitentiary
Tennessee State Prison
Tennessee State Prison is a former correctional facility located near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Opened in 1898, the prison has been closed since 1992. It has been the location for the films Nashville, Marie, Ernest Goes to Jail, Against the Wall, The Green Mile, The Last Castle and Pillar's...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. He died there of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
.
Dillingham was celebrated as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
to the abolitionist cause by novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, fellow Quaker Levi Coffin
Levi Coffin
Levi Coffin was an American Quaker, abolitionist, and businessman. Coffin was deeply involved in the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio and his home is often called "Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad"...
and the poet John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
, who wrote the poem The Cross in Dillingham's honor.
The exact location of Dillingham's grave is not known. He was buried in a cemetery on the prison grounds the day he died. The site was built over in the course of Nashville's later urban development.