The ink had faded to brown on paper that had aged to yellow.
But Dianne Dostie Cole was certain about what she saw when she deciphered the words, painstakingly written in a tiny, cramped hand.
The two slender volumes that turned up in the collection at the John Greenleaf Whittier Home in Amesbury about a year ago contained the constitutions and meeting minutes of two organizations: the Amesbury & Salisbury Anti-Slavery Society and the Amesbury & Salisbury Female Anti-Slavery Society.
"I got excited, reading what it was," said Cole, a member of the Whittier Home.
The Anti-Slavery Society ledger covers the period between Dec. 19, 1833, and Sept. 13, 1841. Entries in the separate Female Anti-Slavery Society book date from Jan. 7, 1834, to Sept. 18, 1840.
Donning gloves so as not to damage the delicate pages, Cole embarked on the task of reading and transcribing the ledgers, word by word.
"Once I knew what was in these books, it was, like, everyone needs to know, everyone needs this information," she said.
Cole devoted one afternoon a week to deciphering the entries. She transcribed them literally, retaining any misspellings and archaic words that were in the original text.
It was slow going. Four or five pages was a good day's work.
"After two hours, my eyes were tired," she said.
People in the early 19th century didn't use language the same way we do now, Cole said, so many of the entries are difficult to read — even when the words are clear. Another obstacle was there were references to events and people that were probably well known at the time but have slipped into obscurity over the years.
Still, reading Cole's transcriptions, pictures of the societies' membership begin to emerge. These were genteel, reserved, God-fearing New Englanders. To maintain propriety, "the ladies" — as they referred to themselves — formed their own separate group.
Both the ladies and the gentlemen paid 25 cents a year in dues. The men raised their dues to 50 cents in 1834.
They met at members' homes or in the vestry of the Baptist Church (where, coincidentally, Cole is now the church secretary).
They passed resolutions. They raised and donated money. The drafted and signed petitions.
Both groups voted to subscribe to The Liberator, the anti-slavery newspaper published in Boston by Newburyport native William Lloyd Garrison.
When Garrison was dragged through the streets of Boston by an angry mob that broke up an abolitionist meeting in 1835, the men of the Amesbury & Salisbury Anti-Slavery Society took note of "the late Riots in Boston," and appointed a committee to draft a resolution condemning the mob's action and sent it to The Liberator for publication.
"Resolved that we look upon the suppression of free discussion, by brute force, as the first link in the iron chain of Despotism," their resolution read in part.
The Quaker Whittier family — poet John Greenleaf Whittier, his mother, Abigail; and his sister, Elizabeth — joined their respective societies when they moved to Amesbury in 1836, and all three were active members.
John Greenleaf Whittier was author of an 1839 society resolution that held every citizen responsible for slavery in the District of Columbia, "so long as he neglects any opportunity of petition or for a judicious and faithful use of his elective franchise to promote its entire abolition."
In June 1839, slaves aboard a ship called the Amistad revolted, killing or driving away the crew and taking over the vessel. The ship eventually ending up in New London, Conn., where the 38 slaves found themselves in a Connecticut courtroom defending their freedom.
The case of the Amistad galvanized the anti-slavery movement, and contributions were raised across the country for the slaves' legal expenses. On Sept. 11, 1839, the members of the Amesbury & Salisbury Female Anti-Slavery Society did their part, voting at their annual meeting to donate $19.27 to the slaves' case, according to minutes by society secretary Elizabeth H. Whittier.
After Cole completed the transcriptions, she made membership lists of both societies. There were 195 women and 96 men.
Then, she sought the help of James Gage, the owner of Powwow River Books in Amesbury, about publishing the two volumes. The books are now on sale at the Whittier Home at $10 per volume.
Cole is hoping to uncover additional volumes of the society's meeting minutes. She's certain others must have existed. The last entries in the Whittier Home Association's two books were written long before the abolitionist cause triumphed, so she assumes the societies continued to meet. It makes sense, she said, since the final entry in the Female Anti-Slavery Society book lists the officers for the following year.
IF YOU GO
r What: Whittier Home
r When: Open May 1 through Oct. 31. Hours: Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays by appointment.
r Where: 86 Friend St., Amesbury
r How: Guided tours $6 adults, $5 seniors and students 7 to 17. Children under 7 free. Call 978-388-1337, e-mail wh.tours@verizon.net or visit www.whittierhome.org.
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