Abolitionists of LaSalle County

The LaSalle County Historical Society will be presenting a program about the abolitionist movement in Illinois given by Dr. Jeanne Gillespie McDonald on August 12, 2023 at the LCHS Heritage Center (208 Clark Street). Jeanne Gillespie McDonald is Professor of English at Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove and Aurora, Illinois, where she was honored with the 2019 Outstanding Faculty Member, two sabbaticals, and currently serves as president of the Faculty Council. She holds two masters in English and Philosophy and a Ph.D. in English Studies. She has been teaching, presenting, and writing for over 35 years on subjects such as writing, assessment, service learning, learning communities, leadership, literature, religion, labor, and Illinois history.  Valuing a cross-disciplinary approach to history, she has been researching antislavery and abolition movements over the past 15 years to understand the connections and distinct differences of fighting slavery in the Midwest. She is working on a book about Zebina Eastman, editor of the antislavery newspaper, Western Citizen, and key organizer in antislavery politics with Owen Lovejoy and Ichabod Codding to solidify abolitionist support for Lincoln’s senate and presidential campaigns. Her article, “The Life and Times of Amos M. Ebersol: A Practical Abolitionist and Illinois Farmer”, which can be found in Illinois Heritage, July-August 2021, pp. 38-44. McDonald has done research at the LaSalle County Historical Society on our local abolitionist including Amos Ebersol and used Amos’ journals to support her research.