Today in Wheeling History: October 14—Ellen Ritchie, John Templeton, John Moore, and Stanley Cuthbert criminally charged for teaching African Americans to read in Wheeling (1835).
On October 14, 1835, four white residents of Wheeling—Ellen Ritchie, John Templeton, John Moore, and Stanley Cuthbert—were criminally charged under Virginia’s anti-literacy law for teaching African Americans to read. At the time, Wheeling was part of Virginia, and the state had passed legislation in 1831 declaring any gathering of free Black people or mulattoes for the purpose of literacy instruction to be an “unlawful assembly.” The law was a direct response to growing fears of slave revolts following Nat Turner’s rebellion and was part of a broader Southern crackdown on Black education. On that day, the four individuals were leading a literacy class in a Wheeling schoolhouse for free Black residents when authorities intervened. The law allowed for fines up to $50 (equivalent to nearly $1,800 today) and imprisonment for white instructors, while Black attendees could be whipped up to 20 times. This incident was one of at least a dozen similar prosecutions in Wheeling, underscoring the city’s fraught racial history and the courage of those who defied unjust laws. Despite the risks, many Black residents continued to seek education, and these acts of resistance laid early groundwork for future civil rights efforts in the region.
To learn more: Equal Justice Initiative calendar entry (https://tinyurl.com/ywcce97e), West Virginia Archives timeline of African American history (https://tinyurl.com/2jne4whd), Archiving Wheeling: Race Relations in Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/249nfm79), Wikipedia - Anti-literacy laws in the United States (https://tinyurl.com/439bh522)
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Equal Justice Initiative
On October 14, 1835, four white residents of Wheeling—Ellen Ritchie, John Templeton, John Moore, and Stanley Cuthbert—were criminally charged under Virginia’s anti-literacy law for teaching African Americans to read. At the time, Wheeling was part of Virginia, and the state had passed legislation in 1831 declaring any gathering of free Black people or mulattoes for the purpose of literacy instruction to be an “unlawful assembly.” The law was a direct response to growing fears of slave revolts following Nat Turner’s rebellion and was part of a broader Southern crackdown on Black education. On that day, the four individuals were leading a literacy class in a Wheeling schoolhouse for free Black residents when authorities intervened. The law allowed for fines up to $50 (equivalent to nearly $1,800 today) and imprisonment for white instructors, while Black attendees could be whipped up to 20 times. This incident was one of at least a dozen similar prosecutions in Wheeling, underscoring the city’s fraught racial history and the courage of those who defied unjust laws. Despite the risks, many Black residents continued to seek education, and these acts of resistance laid early groundwork for future civil rights efforts in the region.
To learn more: Equal Justice Initiative calendar entry (https://tinyurl.com/ywcce97e), West Virginia Archives timeline of African American history (https://tinyurl.com/2jne4whd), Archiving Wheeling: Race Relations in Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/249nfm79), Wikipedia - Anti-literacy laws in the United States (https://tinyurl.com/439bh522)
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Equal Justice Initiative
RSS Feed