Moses Cheney (January 31, 1793 – July 17, 1875) was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, printer and legislator from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Cheney was born in 1793 in

Thornton, New Hampshire Thornton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,708 at the 2020 census, up from 2,490 at the 2010 census. History Thornton was incorporated on July 6, 1763, and named for Doctor Matthew Thornton, a sign ...

. Cheney entered the paper printing business in a region of nearby

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

which was later renamed Ashland. On June 23, 1816, he married Abigail (Morrison) Cheney (b. 1796). Moses Cheney served as a conductor on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

at his home in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

where he hosted

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

on several occasions. Cheney was also the original printer of '' The Morning Star'', an abolitionist Freewill Baptist newspaper. Cheney's son

Oren Cheney Oren Burbank Cheney (December 10, 1816 – December 22, 1903) was an American politician, minister, and statesman who was a key figure in the abolitionist movement in the United States during the later 19th century. Along with textile tycoon Be ...

was the founder and first president of

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

in Maine, and Moses' son

Person Cheney Person Colby Cheney (February 25, 1828 – June 19, 1901) was a paper manufacturer, abolitionist and Republican politician from Manchester, New Hampshire. He was the 35th governor of New Hampshire and later represented the state in the United St ...

served as a U.S. Senator and Governor of New Hampshire. Moses Cheney died on July 17, 1875, and was buried in Ashland.''History of Sanbornton, New Hampshire'' By Moses Thurston Runnels Published by A. Mudge & son, printers, 1881

References

*Emeline Cheney
''The Story of the Life and Work of Oren B. Cheney''
(Boston: Morning Star Publishing, 1907) (accessed January 28, 2009). Abigail Cheney

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheney, Moses 1793 births 1875 deaths Underground Railroad people People from Thornton, New Hampshire People from Ashland, New Hampshire People from Peterborough, New Hampshire