Richard Eells

Released
Date of birth:23. 02. 1800
Date of death:04. 10. 1846
Age:46† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1800s
State:Illinois
Support
Abolitionism Underground Railroad
No image available

Biography

Richard Eells was a Quincy, Illinois physician and abolitionist. In 1842 he was arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive enslaved man named Charley. Convicted and fined $400 by Judge Stephen A. Douglas, he lost his appeals to the Illinois and United States Supreme Courts — a landmark test of the fugitive-slave laws. (Recorded as Dr. Richard Eells)

Note: The February 23, 1800 birth date appears in cemetery and genealogical records; institutional histories give only 1800. Death (October 4, 1846) is firmly documented.

Case

Charges: Harboring a fugitive from slavery.
Arrested: August 1842
Sentence: Fined $400. No jail or prison sentence or served custody has been established.
Judge: Stephen A. Douglas
Convicted: Yes

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