Richard Cordley (September 6, 1829 – July 11, 1904) was a Protestant minister and abolitionist associated with the Jayhawkers of Kansas.

[5][1][6][7] In 1857, he became the pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence, Kansas, a position that he held until 1875.

Then, in 1884, he returned to Lawrence and resumed his role as the pastor at Plymouth Congregational Church.

[9] Slavery, in particular, was despised by Cordley, and he established the Plymouth Congregational Church at least in part to aid and educate runaway slaves.

[10] During the Bleeding Kansas period, Cordley was known as the "Abolition Preacher", due to his opposition to slavery.

[11] Cordley spoke frequently about his belief in the importance of loyalty to God, family, and national identity, and is quoted in his posthumously released book Sermons as saying, "There are some things to which a man gives a specified service, and there are others to which he gives his entire self.

A man owes his friends certain social obligations, but to his home he gives his entire self.

"[12] In the same sermon, Cordley spoke of his belief that the education system in America only turned out copycats and instructors rather than genuine masters of a craft, saying, "Our schools are the glory of our age, but there are limitations to their capabilities and things in which they should never attempt to do.

Because Cordley was an abolitionist who supported the free state movement,[13] during the Lawrence Massacre (1863), he was hunted by pro-Confederate forces led by William Quantrill.