415 Jersey Street
Quincy, Illinois
217-223-2726
Dr. Richard Eells was an abolitionist in the years leading up to the Civil War and his home has come to symbolize the slavery issue that was addressed by Lincoln and Douglas during their Quincy Debate in 1858. Richard Eels was born in Connecticut in 1800 and graduated with a medical degree from Yale. In 1826 married Jane Bestor, the daughter one of his instructors and the couple had two daughters, both of which died while they were young. In 1833 Richard and Jane moved to Quincy and Richard established a medical practice. In 1835 Eells built a four-room, two story Greek Revival brick house on Jersey Street. In 1840 Eells adopted two children and they added two rooms above the back rooms of the house, modifying the structure to an Italianate style.
Dr. Eells was a trustee of the congregational Church and soon became active in the Quincy and central Illinois abolitionist movement. He is credited with helping several hundred slaves flee from Missouri on their journey to Canada. In 1842 Eells was caught helping slave named Charley in his attempt to escape from his owner in Monticello, Missouri. Eells was tried and found guilty by Judge Stephen A. Douglas, who later gained fame for his political interactions with Abraham Lincoln, and was fined $400. In that same year the Illinois Supreme Court turned down Eells’ appeal.
Because of the notoriety of the case Eells became president of the Illinois Anti-Slavery Party in 1843. He was a candidate for the Liberty Party for the presidential election of 1844 and for the gubernatorial election in 1846 . The appeals process drained Eells financially and emotionally and he died on the Ohio River traveling east to rest in 1846. In 1852, his executor, Thomas Moore, and prominent lawyers Salmon P. Chase and William Seward appealed his case on behalf of his estate to the U.S. Supreme Court. Chase and Seward were both U.S. Senators at the time and prominent abolitionists who had been trying to combat slavery in the courts for many years. In its 1853 opinion the court upheld the State of Illinois’ position. Chase later became Secretary of the Treasury in Lincoln’s administration and became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1864. Seward became Secretary of State in Lincoln’s administration and is best known for his role in the purchase of Alaska. Because of these court cases and Dr. Eells’ prominence in the abolitionist movement, the Dr. Eells House is recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Parks Service, as one of the forty-two most important Underground Railroad sites deserving national recognition and support.
Today the house is operated by the Friends of Dr. Richard Eells House and is a museum that is used for educational tours to explain both the Underground Railroad and the architectural techniques of the period. There are articles for various Quincy Whig newspaper editions of the 1840s era relating to the pursuit and arrest of Dr. Eells. There is also a copy of the U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the lower courts' verdicts of Dr. Eells' guilt. Various styles of early 19th century furniture are also on display in the house. Rooms have been papered and carpeting installed, reproduced from authentic historic patterns (including some wallpaper reproduced from samples found in the House from the Eells period.) Architecturally there has been work to restore the home to its Greek Revival state but examples of the work that was done to modify the home in 1840 remain.
Visiting the Dr. Richard Eells House
Visiting Hours
Saturday: 1 pm - 4 pm
There are also several open houses during the year and group tours are available year round if arranged by appointment.
Admission
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