Receipt from Garrison to Henry Grafton Chapman, April 1837

What it is

This is the first page of an autograph receipt written and signed by William Lloyd Garrison in Boston on 3 April 1837. It records that Garrison received one hundred dollars on account from Henry Grafton Chapman, treasurer of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. The original is held in the Rare Books department of the Boston Public Library.

Why it matters

Small financial documents like this show how the abolitionist movement actually ran day to day. Garrison needed money from supporters like Chapman to publish his newspaper and pay for anti-slavery work, and this receipt is proof of that ordinary, practical side of a famous cause.

Look closer

• What does the handwriting and signature tell you about who wrote this?
• Why might a receipt for money be kept and preserved for over a century?
• What does this document NOT tell you about the anti-slavery movement?