Eli Thayer

Eli Thayer
A photograph of Eli Thayer by Mathew Brady. From the Library of Congress
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 9th district
In office March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861
Preceded by	Alexander De Witt
Succeeded by	Goldsmith Bailey
Personal details
Born	June 11, 1819 Mendon, Massachusetts
Died	April 15, 1899(1899-04-15) (aged 79) Worcester, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican
Children	John A. Thayer, Clara Thayer (Mrs. Charles H. Perry M.D.), Ida M. Thayer.[1]
Alma mater	Worcester Academy, 1840; Brown University, 1845

Eli Thayer (June 11, 1819 – April 15, 1899) was an educator, reformer, legislator and founder of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. He was instrumental in the politics of Kansas during the period known as Bleeding Kansas. When Congress passed the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, the question of whether Kansas would become a slave-state or free state was left to the voters of Kansas.^[2] pro-slavery supporters, abolitionists and free-staters all rushed to settle in the Kansas Territory.^[3] All were trying to gain power so as to determine the status of slavery in Kansas.^[3] Thayer is best known for his work in the New England Emigrant Aid Company. Their purpose was to rush as many Free-Staters as possible to settle in Kansas.^[4] He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1861. After serving in Congress Thayer became a businessman.^[5] Thayer died in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 15, 1899.^[5]

1. ↑ "Sisters Run Down by Auto; Mrs. Clara Thayer Perry Dead, Miss Ida M. Thayer Dying". The New York Times. New York, NY: 5. September 18, 1914.
2. ↑ ""What Saved Kansas," from Thayer's A History of the Kansas Crusade". Teach US History. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Bleeding Kansas". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
4. ↑ Horace Andrews, Jr., 'Kansas Crusade: Eli Thayer and the New England Emigrant Aid Company', The New England Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Dec., 1962), pp. 497-498, JSTOR
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Cite error: The named reference bioguide was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).