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Bucks Record Society . r ................... .... • -: j ,- ,12. " i #rl "~ d~:ef2 , J i; 4 l i I.... t ~ 'i J / r J QUAKER MINUTE BOOK THE MINUTE BOOK OF THE MONTHLY MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS FOR THE UPPERSIDE OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE I669--I690 Transcribed, with Introduction & Notes, by BEATRICE SAXON SNELL, M.A. (Lond.) PRINTED FOR THE RECORDS BRANCH OF THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 3 ¸ Printed by Hague & Gill Ltd., High Wycombe for the Records Branch of the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society (being Volume I of the publications of the Branch and issued for the year I937) d ~J 7"2 (:!! '4 U~~ Printed & made in Great Britain CONTENTS Introduction page i The Minute Book I Appendix 233 Index 239 4' NOTES ON TRANSCRIPTION (a) Symbols used In t} I. Words underlined, underdotted, or crossed through, for dele- men tion from the original manuscript, which form no part of the final :i ficat record, are enclosed in braces (unity} :J 1TIO¥ ,ii asso 2. Additions and interlineations, which fbrm part of the final re- stud cord, are in half-round parentheses, and marked by a ~ dagger i ever (were) i of ir 3. Marginal notes by the scribe are similarly in (), but are marked ingl" an asterisk in addition * (see 6: mo: 7 i) by wor 4. Interpolations and additions by the transcriber, other than the and usual expansions, are in crotchets [given] are 3;. Letters, words, and phrases, of which the reading is uncertain, T are enclosed in square crotchets with a query . [ ? refuse] offe: and (b) Superior letters pub In the manuscript, superior letters are used in such words as ye, yt, the w oh, but, principally for reasons of economy, this usage has not been sho" retained in the printed book. Mis Mr (c) Marginal notes adv:' In the margin, opposite the beginning of the entry for each Meeting, the scribe has entered the date. As this information is precisely re- peated in the heading to each Meeting entry, the marginal date has been omitted. All other marginal notes have been incorporated in the text and indicated by the symbol described in No. 3 above. (d) Marriage formulas The formulary words relating to intentions of marriage and assents to marriage have not, after the initial entries, been printed verba- tim. The essential information has been inserted in crotchets, the original spelling of personal names and place-names being retained. PREFACE In the history of Nonconformity in this country, the Quaker move- ment holds an honourable and important place, and no plea of justi- fication need be entered for making some part of the records of that movement the subject of a volume issued in this County, so closely associated with the early history of the Society of Friends. To the student of religious history, the genealogist, the topographer, and even the general reader, the present volume should provide material of interest and importance. That the Records Branch of the Buck- inghamshire Archoeological Society has been able to produce this work so soon after its formation is due entirely to the enthusiasm and energy of our editor, Miss Beatrice Saxon Snell, and to her we are greatly indebted. To those who have helped us in various ways our thanks must be offered, notably to the Jordans Monthly Meeting and the Luton and Leighton Monthly Meeting for permission, readily given, to publish the Minute Book, and to Mr Bertram Crosfield, the Clerk of the Jordans Monthly Meeting, for the generous interest he has shown towards the project. A special word of gratitude is due to Miss Nina Saxon Snell for her compilation of the Index, and also to Mr John Nickalls, the Librarian at Friends' House, whose valuable advice and help have been always at our service. j. G. Jenkins Secretary Twitchells End Jordans Bucks INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION The Upperside Minute Book T H E earliest known Minute Book of the Upperside Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends is a parchment-bound volume I I½ in. × 7½ in. × i in., tied with leather strings. It is in very good preservation, only one word in the whole volume being illegible owing to wear; the back cover is slightly worn at the bottom edge, leaving the paper lining exposed. Eight leaves are missing at the front; it is possible that they contained the earliest minutes of the Meeting, which was founded, according to George Fox's Journal, in 1668. At the back of the book are copied various letters, papers and minutes from other Meetings. So far as can be ascertained the Minute Book remained in the cus- tody of the successive Clerks of Upperside Monthly Meeting until it was amalgamated with Leighton Monthly Meeting in 18~7, the Clerk of which took over the Upperside records. In December 1899 the Minute Book was deposited, along with other records belonging to Leighton Monthly Meeting, in the Library at Devonshire House, which was removed to Friends House, Euston Road, in 192 ~. The handwriting is almost entirely that of Thomas Ellwood, the first Clerk of the Meeting. A few of the preliminary entries are in a hand which somewhat resembles the signature of Nicholas Noy. He came originally from Bradenham, where, in i648 , he married a woman with the remarkable name of Philocrista or Filia-Christi Fish. He subsequently became a Quaker and settled at High Wy- combe as a bodice-maker. Thomas Ellwood, who was thirty in I669, when the Minute Book begins, had been educated at Thame Grammar School, and his handwriting does the school credit, being legible and full of charac- ter. The old-fashioned, precise and rather legalistic style of the minutes reflects the early life of their author, who was the son of a Puritan Justice of the Peace, and often transacted legal business for his father. He was considered one of the best Quaker writers by his contemporaries--even an avowed opponent like Henry Pickworth writes of him as "their most dexterous Scribe,"--and his autobio- graphy holds a high place among works of that kind in the English language. ii INTRODUCTION O~aker Organization The organization of the Society of Friends was developed during the five years preceding the period covered by the Minute Book, and, with a few modifications, has remained unchanged up to the present day. The framework of the Society consists of--- I. Particular Meetings--groups which assemble regularly for wor- ship in a settled place, generally at least once a week. Every Quaker Meeting, whether for business or worship, is held in the belief that the Holy Spirit, present in the hearts of its members, is at the head of the Meeting, presiding over and directing their deliberations, When meeting for business, in preparation for Monthly Meeting, the Particular Meeting is now known as a "Preparative Meeting," and has a secretary or "Clerk" who announces and records the busi- ness, and also gives out notices at the close of a Meeting for Wor- ship. At the period of the Minute Book this would be done by some Friend of standing--"weighty" is the traditional term; e.g. when Monthly Meeting gave conditional consent to the marriage of Rich- ard Hawks and Hannah Parret, (vide Minutes for I .iii.72) "yt if, upon publication made at the next Meeting in Amersham, no Ob- jection or cause of Obstruction arise, they may in convenient time proceed," it was ordered that "ye care of this business be committed to William Cooper." At the present time an announcement ordered by Monthly Meeting would be sent in writing to the Preparative Meeting Clerk. 2. Monthly Meetings for business, attended by members specially appointed by each Preparative Meeting, by those who have business to bring forward, and by any other Friends who are able to go. These are held in some convenient meeting-place in the district covered by the Particular Meetings belonging to them ; sometimes in different places by rotation. They have their own Clerk, and deal with any questions of finance which are beyond the powers of Pre- parative Meetings, (e.g. the continual assistance given by Upperside to Amersham Meeting "burdened with poor") ; organize collections for the work of the Society both in their own district and at large ; authorize intended marriages; take disciplinary action against offen- ders ; hear any business brought to them from Preparative Meetings ; INTRODUCTION iii send forward matters they are unable to deal with to Quarterly Meeting, and deal with such matters as Quarterly Meeting and Yearly Meeting send down to them. 3. O~uarterly Meetings for business, consisting of representatives and others from the Monthly Meetings belonging to them. A Quar- terly Meeting generally covers at least one county. Here is heard any business from Monthly Meetings, and business sent down from Yearly Meeting is sifted and sent on if necessary. 4. Yearly Meeting, held annually, generally in London, and repre- sentative of the whole Society. 5. Meetingfor Sufferings, (vide under Persecution infra,) now the national standing executive Committee of the Society in Great Britain. Position of the Upperside Monthly Meeting The exact meaning of the term "Upperside" is not altogether free from doubt, but it is reasonable to suppose that it signified the high part of Bucks in the Chiltern Hills, as contrasted with the "lowerside," which covered the Vale of Aylesbury. The "Particular Meetings" belonging to Upperside Monthly Meet- ing were as follows: Amersham, Aylesbury, Burnham, Chalfont, (= Jordans), Chesham, Chorleywood (Hefts), Farnham Royal (----- Tiler's), Meadle, Missenden, Owlswick, Rickmansworth (Herts), Watford-with-Flaunden (Hefts), Weston Turville, Wingrave, Wooburn and Wycombe. The Meeting, after its establishment in 1668, fluctuated between the houses of Henry Ball, Thomas Lane and Ralph Trumper, and finally settled at the house of Thomas Ellwood "Hunger Hill" in the parish of Coleshill.
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