Henderson Luelling (as he more consistently spelled his surname, following his father's practice[2]) and his wife Elizabeth were among the first settlers in the Quaker community of Salem in 1837.

The Lewellings were abolitionists associated with the Society of Anti-Slavery Friends, and his home is thought to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.

The Lewelling's continued to own the house after they left Salem, and Nelson Gibbs, the local Justice of the Peace, used it for his office.

In 1848 he held a hearing in the house concerning the slaves of Ruel Daggs from Clark County, Missouri who had escaped to Salem.

Because of the size of the crowd, the hearing was moved to the Anti-Slavery Quaker Meetinghouse (no longer extant) across the street.