“The first time I ever heard of John Brown raising his voice against slavery was in the church prayer meeting one Thursday afternoon. We got the news that morning that the pro-slavery men had shot Lovejoy . . . John arose and in his calm, emphatic way says: ‘I pledge myself with God’s help that I will devote my life to increasing hostility towards slavery’.” – Lora Case,

“Hudson of Long Ago, Reminiscences,”  The Hudson Independent, 1897

(reprint, Hudson, OH: The Hudson Library and Historical Society, 1963)