Samuel Aiken was the first pastor of Cleveland's Old Stone Church, serving in that role from 1835-1861. Though Aiken helped found an antislavery society in the city, his moderate stance on the issue angered a portion of his parishioners who demanded an immediate end to slavery and non-compliance with fugitive slave laws. In 1850 -- the same year that Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act -- Aiken is said to have stood by while slave hunters removed a fugitive slave hiding in his church. A number of parishioners left Old Stone Church that same year to form Plymouth Church.
Image courtesy of J. Cosmas Vintage Photography, Providence, Rhode IslandDownload Original File
