William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison married Helen Eliza Benson on September 4, 1834. She was the daughter of a retired abolitionist. The couple had seven children, two of which died in childhood. He remained close to his children till death.

His wife Helen suffered a stroke in 1863. After retirement in1865, Garrison spent much of his time taking care of her. When she died on January 25, 1876 Garrison was grief stricken and it was long before he could come out of this loss.

Garrison contracted kidney disease in 1877. He then shifted to New York to live with his daughter’s family. As his condition grew critical all his children joined him. On May 24, 1879, he lost consciousness and passed away before midnight.

William Lloyd Garrison was born on December 12, 1805 in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His father Abijah Garrison was merchant sailing master, who came to Massachusetts from New Brunswick (Canada). He lost his job when the Embargo Act, passed by the Congress in 1807, caused decline in the commercial shipping. Unable to support his family he went missing in 1808.

William Garrison was brought up by his mother Frances Maria Lloyd. She was a religious woman with a strong but charming personality. Deserted by her husband she began to refer her son as William Lloyd Garrison.

With the desertion of the main bread earner, the family had to struggle hard to survive. At some point of time, William was sent to Baptist deacon, where he received rudimentary education. He came back home in 1814 and began to sell lemonade and candy made at home by his mother. To support the family, he also delivered wood, worked as an apprentice under a shoe maker and also a cabinet maker.

In 1818, when he was barely thirteen years old, he became indentured to Ephraim W. Allen of the Newburyport Herald under a seven year contract. Very soon, he became an expert compositor and also started writing articles under pseudo names. He would later use the expertise learnt here in running ‘The Liberator’.

When the contract ended in 1826, Garrison and another young printer named Isaac Knapp brought out their first newspaper with loaned money. It was called ‘Newburyport Free Press’. Although the venture was short lived, it helped him to come in contact with famed abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier and allowed him to hone his writing skill.

In 1828, he joined ‘National Philanthropist’ of Boston as its editor. While working there he met Benjamin Lundy, a noted abolitionist and soon became attracted to the anti slavery movement. ‘Letters on Slavery’ by Presbyterian Reverend John Rankin also influenced him a lot and at the age of 25, he joined the movement full heartedly.

For a brief period, Garrison also joined the ‘American Colonization Society’, which intended to relocate the free blacks on the west coast of Africa. However, its main intension was to strengthen the system of slavery by removing the free blacks from American soil. Garrison not only disassociated with the movement, but also censured such activities.

In 1829, he joined Benjamin Lundy to become the coeditor of ‘Genius of Universal Emancipation’, published from Baltimore. Garrison changed the format of the paper and introduced a column called ‘The Black List’. It was devoted to the atrocities done to the black population by white masters.

In ‘The Black List’, Garrison mentioned one Francis Todd, who he claimed was involved in slave trade. The man sued Garrison and the pro slavery court of Maryland pronounced him guilty.

The founding of ‘The Liberator’ in 1831 was the most important work in the life of William Lloyd Garrison. He used this paper to create awareness against slavery and thus forcing its abolition.

Formation of American Anti Slavery Society in 1833 was another important achievement in the life of Garrison. It helped to bring a number of abolitionists under one umbrella.