Remember the Sabbath Day and Keep it Holy

Jonathan and his wife, Mary, firmly believed in preserving the Sabbath. They believed that traveling on the Sabbath was a sin. The journey to Galesburg, where Jonathan was to take charge of Knox College, tested the strength of the Blanchards' conviction. The Blanchards chose to travel by steamboat to St. Louis, but were delayed by winter weather. The Blanchard family chose to disembark from their steamboat before St. Louis to keep the Sabbath. They set down in slave territory, Missouri – a dangerous place for a known abolitionist. The winter weather was severe, and the Blanchard’s oldest child was seriously ill. Their journey was delayed for three weeks. Jonathan bought a wagon and a team of horses and drove the remaining 350 miles to Galesburg. The detour cost them about a quarter of their savings.