Thomas Galt

Thomas Galt (September 12, 1805 – September 12, 1857) was an American Presbyterian minister and abolitionist who organized two Presbyterian churches in Sangamon County, Illinois. He was Vice-President of the Illinois Anti-Slavery Society and a conductor of the Underground Railroad.

Biography

Thomas Galt was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to James Galt and Mary Martin Galt. He graduated from Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and later attended Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. Although licensed by the Presbytery of Ohio on June 18, 1834, he was ordained and installed as pastor at Farmington Presbyterian Church in Farmington, Illinois in early 1836.

In 1837 Galt answered the call by Elijah Lovejoy (American abolitionist and newspaper publisher) to attend the Anti-Slavery Convention in Upper Alton, Illinois. At the convention, Galt, Edward Beecher (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) and other attendees countered attempts by Illinois Attorney General Usher Linder to derail the proceedings.