Connecticut Literary Institute Letter

Lucian Burleigh wrote this letter in 1840 (see source link below). The recipient of this letter was Maria Weston, who was part of the Boston Female Anti Slavery Society. It is titled “Respected Friend,” because Lucian Burleigh was in contact with Maria and other important anti-slavery societies of the time, and could connect to them on a personal level. This letters reveals that the Connecticut Literary Institute had a reading room, and the letter also suggest that there was a group of students interested in the anti-slavery movement.  At this time, the state of Connecticut was divided and turbulent on the topic of slavery. Lucian Burleigh, however, was able to acquire newspapers for a reading room at Connecticut Literary Institute that are anti slavery. These papers are, “The Liberator,” which were written by William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison was another friend of Lucian Burleigh, and a key part of Connecticut Literary Institute becoming anti slavery. The Boston Female Anti Slavery Society sent 50 copies of the Liberator to Connecticut Literary Institute. All of the copies of “The Liberator” can be found on my second link. There are many more than 50 copies on this cite, however there may be certain clues in some that definitely tell us that they visited the Connecticut Literary Institute. “The Among the “Liberator,” another newspaper made its way to the Connecticut Literary Institute. This paper was called “Non-Resistant.” I have not been able to find any copies of the newspaper or any information on the publisher. One person that has also become a hot topic for the Under Ground Railroad in Suffield is Josiah McWhinnie. Josiah McWhinnie attended Connecticut Literary Institute during the time period that Lucian Burleigh was supplying them with “The Liberator.” So all names, William Lloyd Garrison, Lucian Burleigh, Maria Weston, and Josiah McWhinnie, will be very useful people to further look into. The two newspapers should also be looked into more, because they might provide leads that we cannot find anywhere else.

Source: https://archive.org/details/lettertosecretar00burl

Source: https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22Liberator+%28Boston%2C+Mass.+%3A+1831.%29%22