The Bowne House Historical Society, Inc. AUTUMN 2018
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Bowne House Historical Society, Inc. AUTUMN 2018 Bowne House Mourns Trustee Senator Frank Padavan pg 9 Bowne House has been a museum for seventy years. It is operated by the Bowne House Historical Society, which is responsible for its educational programming. The Society’s mission Literacy and Communication includes preservation of the house, its collections and grounds for their historical and educational interest, and for their significance to the history of New York, a consequence of events which took through the Centuries at the Bowne House place there early in its history, events which played a role in the establishment of the fundamental principles of freedom of By Ellen M. Spindler, Collection Volunteer, conscience and religious liberty in America. WNE H Bowne House was built by John Bowne in 1661; it O O B with Special Thanks to Charlotte Jackson, ArchivalU Consultant is an amalgam of New World Dutch and English E S E H 37-01 Bowne Street Flushing,traditions of building, NY 11354with rare and sometimes T 37-01 Bowne Street, Flushing, NY 11354 unique examples of construction techniques used by M M (718) 359-0528 www.bownehouse.orgthese groups. Continuity of ownership by the Bowne/ U S U The Bowne House has numerous documents and artifacts in its CollectionE (718 showing 359-0528 the www.bownehouse.orgParsons family provides an unusual view of changing cultural values and increased prosperity over time. importance of reading, writing, and literacy to the Bowne and (through marriage) Parsons’ The house was occupied by nine generations of the family, whose offspring37-01 included Bowne prominent business Street- Flushing, NY 11354 families, throughout its occupancy by descendants from 1661-1946. Even more men, educators, abolitionists and horticulturalists. significantly, the Collection demonstrates how their Quaker faith inspired them to fulfill Bowne House(718) is best known359-0528 for its association www.bownehouse.orgwith the principle of freedom of conscience and religious liberty. John a mission of providing and improving educational opportunitiesFor to more the less than advantaged. 300 years, the Bowne HouseBowne and his has fellow stood residents of Flushing helped establish this For more than 350 years, the principleBowne in America. InHouse 1662, Bowne defied has a ban imposed stood by Governor by the side of the road37-01 in Flushing, Bowne Queens,StreetPeter Stuyvesant Flushing, New on theYork. practice NYof religions 11354 other than the by the side of the road in Flushing,Dutch Reformed Queens, Church by permitting New Quakers toYork. worship in For John Bowne and his descendantsFor morehis than home.in Bownethe 300 wasBowne arrested years, and deported the to HollandBowne where he House has stood by (718) 359-0528 successfully www.bownehouse.org pleaded his case before the Dutch West India Forand ParsonsJohn Bowne families, andit was his home. descendants ForCompany. the He returnedcolonial homein victorious the in Bowne1664, and the John Bowne’s 17th Century the side principleof the of freedom road of religion in was Flushing,established in the colony. Queens, This New York. For andQuakers Parsons of Flushing, families, it was John ita placewas Bowne toprinciplehome. worship and was enshrined hisFor over God.descendants 100 yearsthe later in theColonial Bill of Rights. in the Bowne and Parsons Journals, Writing Paper Sales and Book Trading Bowne House is a New York City Landmark, a New York State QuakersFor thousands of Flushing,of visitors, ititfamilies, haswas been a itLandmark, placeawas memorial and home. is listedto on worship Fortothe National the Registercolonial God. of Historic Quakers of Flushing, For more than 300 years, the BownePlaces as a New HouseYork State Site of hasNational Significance.stood John by Bowne and John Bowne and his significant rolethe Flushingin Remonstranceestablishing are part of the New York State curriculum. The House Archives include several copies of a Journal ofFor Johnthe thousands Bowne side offirst the ofbegun roadvisitors, in init Flushing, wasit has a place been Queens, to a worship memorial New York.God. to For ForJohn thousands of visitors, it 1649, a year after he moved from Matlock, England to Bostonthe atreligious age 21, freedomincluding ain America.has been For a memorial many more, to John Bowne and his significant role BownenotablyJohni Bownethoseand hiswho and significant passhis descendants the Bowne role House,in in the establishing Bowne walking and Parsons religious daily record of his voyage to England in 1650 and return in 1651.families, The itjournal was home.spans Forin establishingthe colonial theQuakers religious of Flushing, freedom in America. For many from 1649-1694, including almost all of the years he lived infreedom orthe driving Bowne inorHouse onAmerica. a until city his bus For along many Bowne more, Street, walking it is or driving it was a place to worshipmore, God. notably For thousands those who of passvisitors, the Bowneit House, walking or death in 1695.ii The journal indicates frequent travel by Bowneby,a bit it andofhas a correspondence mystery—anbeen a bit ancientof a drivingmystery house or under–on an a ancientcity towering bus housealong Bowne under Street, it is a bit of a with Friends in Europe. He also maintained regular correspondencetoweringtreeshas in been a vibrant withtrees a memorialQuakers urban in a inneighborhood— to Barbados.vibrant John Bowne urban a and house neighborhood his that significant role– a in establishing the religiousmystery—an freedom ancient in America. house Forunder many towering trees in a vibrant There are also copies of an account book for the period 1649-1703housemust have that that stories must includes to have tell. an agreementstoriesurban neighborhood—to tell. a house that must have stories in 1692 between John and his son Samuel Bowne (born 1667)more, on how notably to harvest those a crop who of passwheat the Bowne House, walking or These stories come alive throughto tell. the Bowne House and Indian corn, oats, wheat flax, and barley and their respectivedriving shares. or on a city bus along Bowne Street, it is a bit of a Thecollections.mystery—an Bowne Chairs Houseancient and tables,housepresentsThese underteapots storiesthe towering and story winecome trees of alive inone a vibrantthrough family the Bowne House glasses, iron skillets and copper kettles, portraits thaturban grew neighborhood— with America, acollections. house witnessed that mustChairs Americanhave and stories tables, history teapotsand wineglasses, and documents that have descended in the Bowne to tell. iron skillets and copper kettles, portraits and documents John Bowne traded cloth and many other products, but unfolding,alsofamily traded tell usbooks and how throughout theytook lived great hisand life. prideworked, in how fostering they American that have descended in the Bowne family tell us how they Records from 1663 indicate that writing paper was for salevaluesinteractedThese in his of house.stories freedom,with theiriii Income Dutch1676, liberty alive heneighbors, was ofthrough conscience the Citythe Bowneand economic House lived and worked, how they interacted with their Dutch commissioned to bring two bibles from England. From 1686of collections.toNew 1691, York, he and acted Chairs the as wider a andmiddleman world, tables, and teapotsand how they wineglasses, opportunity. neighbors, the City of New York, and the wider world, and in the sale of books. He mostly bought books from England,preserved andiron then skillets soldtheir themand patrimony copperin Flushing, of kettles, family but possessions portraits and to documents how they preserved their patrimony of family possessions he also sold books for William Bradford, a Quaker printer inremember Newthat Netherlands. have John descended Bowne This includedand in thethe thestandBowne he family had taken tell us how they almanac, the most popular book of the time.iv These stories come aliveto remember through John the Bowne Bowne and theHouse stand he had taken forlived religious and freedomworked, inhow 1662. they interacted with their Dutch for religious freedom in 1662. andneighbors, its collections, the City preserved of New York, and and treasured the wider world,by the and nine generationsThe Bowne House of family Legacy who presents lived the in objects the house. that Chairs and Family Bibleshavehow witnessed they preserved Flushing’s their historyThe patrimony Bowne and tell House ofus familythe Legacy possessions presents the objects that have tables,storyto rememberof oneteapots family John thatand Bowne grew winewitnessed with and glasses,Americathe Flushing’s stand and heiron took historyhad skillets taken and telland us the story of one The Collection also includes numerous family bibles. Forcopperreal example,for pride religious kettles, inthere fostering freedom is portraits the American title in family page1662. and values of thatdocuments grew of religious with that America tell usand how took real pride in fostering American values of religious freedom and Samuel Bowne’s bible, date unknown, listing his children onthefreedom reverse,The occupants Bowne and aeconomic Housebible lived gifted Legacy opportunity.and to Samuel presentsworked, the how objects they that interacted have Bowne (likely Samuel’s grandson) from Thomas Pearsall (likely the father-in-law of hiseconomic daugh- opportunity. withwitnessed their Dutch Flushing’s neighbors, history and the tell City us the of storyNew of York, one and ter, Mary) with inscriptions