Lincoln Letter to Concord Children
Mary Rice was a stationmaster on the Underground Railroad, and often welcomed, fed and hid fugitives, and helped them on their way north. She was also a teacher, with an Infant School held in the Wrights Tavern. She wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln, begging him to outlaw the enslavement of children – then she gathered 165 signatures of Concord children, and sent the petition to the President.
Lincoln replied, and his actual letter is in our Concord Main Library. We have received permission to make copies of the letter, with the signatures of all those children, frame them with an explanation attached, and present them as gifts to local schools.
We hope these gifts will be a powerful reminder to children of their ability to effect change in their world. We are indebted to the Concord Public Library for allowing us the privilege of copying the letter.
- School Committee gets a taste of the new Willard, Oct 19 2009