Steadfast Friend

Jonathan Blanchard was great friends with Thaddeus Stevens, the representative of Pennsylvania. Jonathan worried about Stevens' immortal soul. He would often close his letters with an entreaty that Stevens turn his life around and follow Christ.

Jonathan first met Stevens during the year Jonathan spent as an abolitionist lecturer in Pennsylvania. At one of Jonathan’s debates, he was continuously interrupted by the audience. They pelted him with missiles, and one county judge had continuously interrupted him by shouting insults from the balcony. Upon hearing of this shameful treatment, Stevens arrived the following day and shamed the unruly crowd into silence, allowing the debate to proceed.

Many of Jonathan’s friends supported Jonathan’s mission first at Knox College and then later at Wheaton College. Entrepreneur J. P. Williston gave generously to both colleges. Jonathan maintained contact until Williston's death in 1872.