MG-117. JOHN SPENCER PAPERS, 1828-1861.
Letters, newspapers, etc., of John Spencer (1801-1884), a native of Huntingdon County who was an itinerant Methodist minister in the Pittsburgh Conference, 1828-1852, and resident of Oregon after 1852. Among his ministerial notes and papers, 1828-1847, are copies of newspapers containing references to African Americans. They are: the Wellsville Patriot, July 16, 1861, featuring an article: "Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law," and an advertisement in the Pittsburgh Christian, August 20, 1845, announcing the publication of a book entitled Minstrel of Zion, A Book of Religious Songs, Accompanied with Appropriate Music, by W. Hunter and Samuel Wakefield." Also included is an envelope on which the following information is written: "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Subscriptions-1847, to buy & free a slave and her children. Her husband, Mr. J. Hughes, already free, asks for help." The envelope contains a list of individuals who gave John Hughes money and the amount contributed by each one.