Elizabeth Riley

Elizabeth Cook Riley (; c. 1792 – 1855) was an African-American Bostonian abolitionist who aided in the escape of fugitive slave Shadrach Minkins. She was a member of the committee which raised the first funds towards William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator, a prominent antislavery newspaper. Afterwards, she was active in the Boston abolitionist community, helping to organize meetings and events.

Biography

Personal life Born Elizabeth Cook, Riley was married to William Riley, the owner of a clothing store at 22 Brattle Street, which he had been operating since 1827. She also had two daughters, apparently from a previous marriage, named Sarah and Ann Jackson. With William she had three more children: William Jr., George, and Eliza Riley. Minkins was able to successfully escape to Canada as a result. This residence had been purchased by Mr. Riley in 1835, along with the adjacent house at 68 Southac, The adjoining no. 68 was occupied by a barber named Thomas Cole, another active member of the abolitionist community who endowed large sums of money to the cause. Riley died in 1855 at the age of 63. Her funeral was reportedly attended by a large number of mourners.