Who Sends Thee?

The plaque with this statue at Wilmington College in Ohio reads:

“’One day while plowing I heard a voice, whether inside me or outside of me I knew not, but I was awake. It said, “Go thou and see the president.” I answered, “Yea, Lord, thy servant heareth.” And unhitching my plow, I went at once to the house and said to mother, “Wilt thou go with me to Washington to see the president?” “Who sends thee?” she asked. “The Lord,” I answered.’

In September of 1862, Isaac Harvey, Quaker farmer, and his wife, Sarah Edwards Harvey, traveled to Washington D.C. to speak to President Lincoln on their concern for the emancipation of the slaves. At the conclusion of their visit, he gave them a note, which ended with these words: ‘May the Lord comfort them as they have sustained me.’

The Emancipation Proclamation was announced on September 22, 1862.”

Sculpture by Alan Cottrill, 2010
American sculptor and entrepreneur