Weld, Theodore Dwight, 1803-95, American abolitionist, b. Hampton, Conn. In 1825 his family moved to upstate New York, and he entered Hamilton College. While in college he became a disciple of the evangelist Charles G. Finney and was influenced by Charles Stuart, a retired British army officer who urged Weld to enlist in the cause of black emancipation. While studying for the ministry at Oneida Institute he traveled about lecturing on the virtues of manual labor, temperance, and moral reform. After 1830 he became one of the leaders of the antislavery movement working with Arthur Tappan and Lewis Tappan, New York philanthropists, James G. Birney, Gamaliel Bailey, Angelina Grimké, and Sarah Grimké. He married Angelina Grimké in 1838. Weld chose Lane Seminary at Cincinnati, Ohio, for the ministerial training of other Finney converts and studied there until the famous antislavery debates he organized (1834) among the students led to his dismissal. Almost the entire student body then requested dismissal, and it was from these theological students that Weld and Henry B. Stanton selected agents for the American Anti-Slavery Society. The "Seventy," as the agents were called, gave character and direction to the antislavery movement and successfully spread the abolitionist gospel throughout the North. From 1836 to 1840, Weld worked at the New York office of the antislavery society, serving as an editor of the society's paper, the Emancipator, and contributing antislavery articles to newspapers and periodicals. He also directed the national campaign for sending antislavery petitions to Congress and assisted John Quincy Adams when Congress tried Adams for reading petitions in violation of the gag rule. While in Washington he advised the Northern antislavery Whigs, many of whom (e.g., Ben Wade, Thaddeus Stevens) were converted to the cause by Weld or one of his agents. After 1844 he retired from public participation in the movement to found a school, Eaglewood, near Raritan, N.J. During the Civil War, at the urging of William Lloyd Garrison, he came out of retirement to speak for the Union cause and campaign for Republican candidates. Most famous of his writings (none was published under his own name) was American Slavery As It Is (1839), on which Harriet Beecher Stowe partly based Uncle Tom's Cabin and which is regarded as second only to that work in its influence on the antislavery movement. Many historians regard Weld as the most important figure in the abolitionist movement, surpassing even Garrison, but his passion for anonymity long made him an unknown figure in American history.

(born Nov. 23, 1803, Hampton, Conn., U.S.—died Feb. 3, 1895, Hyde Park, Mass.) U.S. reformer. He left divinity studies to become an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society (1834). His pamphlets The Bible Against Slavery (1837) and Slavery as It Is (1839) helped convert figures such as James Birney, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe to the antislavery cause. He married his coworker Angelina Grimké (1838), and they directed schools and taught in New Jersey and Massachusetts. In 1841–43 Weld organized an antislavery reference bureau in Washington, D.C., to assist congressmen seeking to repeal the gag rule restricting the consideration of antislavery petitions in Congress.

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(born Nov. 23, 1803, Hampton, Conn., U.S.—died Feb. 3, 1895, Hyde Park, Mass.) U.S. reformer. He left divinity studies to become an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society (1834). His pamphlets The Bible Against Slavery (1837) and Slavery as It Is (1839) helped convert figures such as James Birney, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe to the antislavery cause. He married his coworker Angelina Grimké (1838), and they directed schools and taught in New Jersey and Massachusetts. In 1841–43 Weld organized an antislavery reference bureau in Washington, D.C., to assist congressmen seeking to repeal the gag rule restricting the consideration of antislavery petitions in Congress.

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Weld is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 402 at the 2000 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 63.0 square miles (163.2 km²), of which, 59.6 square miles (154.4 km²) of it is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) of it (5.38%) is water.

Weld is home to mountains such as Hurricane Mountain and Tumbledown Mountain. It is also the location of Mt. Blue State Park.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 402 people, 176 households, and 132 families residing in the town. The population density was 6.7 people per square mile (2.6/km²). There were 691 housing units at an average density of 11.6/sq mi (4.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.01% White, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.50% of the population.

There were 176 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% were married couples living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.60.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.6% under the age of 18, 2.0% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 112.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $37,250, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $27,708 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,796. About 14.1% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

A beautiful place to vacation in the summer.

References