Immigration of the Irish Quakers Into Pennsylvania, 1682
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Columbia llniDt rsJftp inti)f(£itpofl1fttgork THE LIBRARIES fy^ 1 'JA- An Irish Quaker's Certificate of Removal to Pennsylvania. 1729 Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania 1682-1750 Mitb ^bcir EarlB IfJiatorv? in HrelanC* nv ALBERT COOK MYERS, M.L. Member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania "There is not one of the family but what likes the country very well and wod If we were in Ireland again come here Directly it being the best country for working folk & tradesmen of any in the world, but for Drunkards and Idlers, they cannot live well any \v\\^v&."—L€tter 0/ an Irish Quaker, ijzs- THE AUTHOR SWARTHMORK, PKNNSVLVAMA 1902 Copvri(;ht, 1901 By ALBERT COOK MYERS All Jiights Reserved rf 2 r- '^G Printed from type ; edition limited PHtU OF THE NEW EN* PNrNTINO COMPANY LANCAftTCR, PA. (So Mn Jfatbct anti ilWatbcr 3fo!)n C anS :§)aral) 31. iRptro (Ct)is 'i2Boolt IS «BtatcfuHp fnsciibcb 351305 ; PREFACE This volume is the outerowth of an iiivestiwa- tion begun in the year 1897, ^'i*^ carried on at intervals to the present time. While the move- ment of the Encrlish and Welsh Quakers to Pennsylvania has been treated to some extent by historians, that of the Irish Quakers has been overlooked, and it was with the hope of filling, in a measure, this deficiency that the present work was undertaken. It has been my endeavor to give a plain, orderly presentation of the facts, without embellishment and I have deemed it of greater interest to let the contemporary records, as much as possible, tell their own story. The inequality of treatment in portions of the book is due partly to variation in the materials ; at one point they are abundant and at another scanty. In Part I., I have attempted only an outline of the early history of the Quakers in Ireland ; the full history is yet to be written. An abundance of material for such a study lies buried in the manuscript records of the Society in Ireland, and it is to be hoped that some one will be sufficiently interested to prepare a thorough and systematic treatise upon the subject. The propriety of introducing so much genealogical matter in the Appendix may be open to question, but I find justification in the belief that this ma- vi Preface terial will have a special interest for many of Irish Quaker ancestry. While I have endeavored to be careful and painstaking, yet by the very nature of tliis work, drawn as it is from many sources, errors and omissions are likely to occur ; and I shall be very glad to receive corrections, so that they may be noted in a standard copy of the book to be placed in the collection of the Historical Society of Penn- sylvania, or incorporated in a possible future edition of the work. I desire to express my grateful appreciation of the kindness of the many persons who have as- sisted me in various ways in connection with this work ; especially would I mention Professors Wil- liam I. Hull and John Russell Hayes, of Swarthmore College, to whom I have been indebted through- out for helpful criticism and kind encouragement. In no less de<jree am I under obliration to Gilbert Cope, of West Chester, Pa., for valuable sugges- tions and for material from his unrivaled private collection of manuscripts relating to the early history of Chester County. My thanks are also due to Howard M. Jenkins, of Philadelphia ; to Professor Arthur Beardsley, Librarian of I'riends' Historical Library of .Swarth- more College; to John W. Jordan, A.M., and the other courteous officials of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; to Professor John Bach Mc- Master. of the University of Pennsylvania ; to Preface vii Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker, of Philadelphia ; to Dr. Henry C. McCook, of Philadelphia ; to President Isaac Sharpless, of Haverford College ; to Dr. Joseph S. Walton, of George School, Pa.; to Dr. John A. M. Passmore, of Philadelphia ; to the late Charles Roberts, of Philadelphia ; to Thomas Hamilton Murray, of Woonsocket, R. I., Secretary-General of the American-Irish Historical Society (for a copy of his paper " Early Irish Friends in Rhode Island"); to Warren S. Ely, of Doylestown, Pa.; to Ellwood Roberts, of Nor- ristown, Pa.; to Edward H. Ogden, of Philadel- Maxwell Potts, of Canons- phia ; to Thomas bure. Pa.; and to custodians of Friends' records, in particular, George J. Scattergood, John H. Dillingham, Alfred Moore, Benjamin Walton and the late Joseph M. Truman, Jr., of Philadelphia, the late Ellwood Michener, of Toughkenamon, Pa., Truman C. Moore and wife, of West Grove, Pa., Lewis Palmer, of Concordville, Pa., Charles Pal- mer, of Chester, Pa., Henry Mendenhall, of Media, Pa., Morgan Bunting, of Darby, Pa., William Woodman, of Buckmanville, Pa., and Kirk Brown, of Baltimore, Md. Nor must I neglect to make acknowledgment of the many courtesies extended to me in the course of my researches in England and Ireland during the summer of 1900. At the British Mu- seum and at the Bodleian Library I received kind attention. To Isaac Sharp, Secretary of the Soci- viii Preface ety of Friends, I owe thanks for his kindness in o-ivino- me access to the areat collection of Friends' books at Devonshire House, Bishopsgate Street, Without, London. In an especial measure do I wish to express my appreciation of the kind interest and generous hospitality accorded me in Ireland. I am indebted to William Moore, K.C., M.P., of Moore Lodge, County Antrim, who received me most cordially at his pleasant seat, and in every way possible befriended my investigations ; to John Pim, J. P., of Belfast, who freely opened to me his rich stores of notes on the early Friends of Ireland ; to Jane M. Richardson, of Moyallon House, Gilford, County Down, author of Six Getierations of Friends in Ireland, for kindly reception and valued criticism upon parts of my manuscript ; to William D. Braithwaite, Head Master, Joseph Radley, formerly Head Master, and Frederic Bell, Secretary, of Ul- ster Provincial School, Lisburn, for much courtesy and valuable information ; to John Bewley Beale, for opportunity to examine the Friends' records in the Meeting House in Eustace Street, Dublin ; and to Henry F. Berry, M.A., of the Public Record Office, Dublin, for permission to search the records in his care. I also received kindly attention in Paris at the Bibliotheque Nationale. Albert Cook Myers SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, March I7, I9O2 CONTENTS PART I. Fagb The Planting of Quakerism in Ireland 3-37 CHAPTER I. The Rise of Quakerism in England 3-6 State of England in the Middle of the Seventeenth Century 3 Beginnings of Quakerism 3-6 George Fox 3-5 His Work and Followers 5-6 CHAPTER II. The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland 7-12 The Plantations 7-8 The Great Rebellion of 1641 8-9 Cromwell in Ireland 9-10 The Settlement 10-12 CHAPTER III. The Beginnings of Quakerism in Ireland 13-31 William Edmundson 13-16 In England 13-14 Settles in Ireland 15 Becomes a Quaker 15-16 The First Meeting in Ireland, 1654 16 The Travelling Ministers and their Work 16-25 The First Ministers Arrive 16 Ulster in 1655 16-19 Richard Clayton's Visit 17-18 Anne Gould and Juliann Wastwood 18-19 Edmundson Bears a Testimony Against Tithes 19 is X Contents PAGS Leinster and Munster in 1655 I9~2$ Elizabeth Fletcher and Elizabeth Smith 19-20 Francis How-gill 20-24 Edward Burroiigh, " A Son of Thunder " 21-24 Cromwell's Cornet of Horse Becomes a Quaker 21 Howgill and Burrough Banished 24 Barbara Blaugden Arrives 24 The Restoration of Charles II. and the Organiza- tion of Quakerism 25-28 The Restoration 25 Persecutions 26 Edmundson Secures Release of Friends from Prison 26-27 Thomas Loe Converts William Penn, 1666 27 Organization 27-28 Troubles Under James II. and William III 28-31 Tyrconnel 28 Terror of Protestants 28 The Friends 28 The Revolution of 1689 29-30 After Battle of the Boy ne 30 William Edmundson' s Sufferings 30-31 Edmundson's Death 31 CHAPTER IV. Racial Origin of the Friends of Ireland 32-37 The Celtic- Irish 32-35 The Scotch-Irish 35-36 The Anglo-Irish 36-37 PART II. The Migration of Irish Friends to Pennsyl- vania 41-102 CHAPTER I. Causes of Emigration 41-49 Introductory 41-42 Contents xi PAGE Religious Causes 43-46 Acts of Uniformity 43 Tithes and Other Ecclesiastical Dues 43 Oaths 44-45 Lawlessness of the Irish Catholics 45-46 Economic Causes 46-49 Restriction on Manufacture and Commerce 46-47 High Rents 47-48 Failure of Crops and Famine 48-49 CHAPTER II. Inducements that Led the Irish Friends to Immi- grate INTO Pennsylvania 50-80 William Penn and his Colony 50-52 His Charter 50-51 His Scheme of Colonization 51 Constitution and Laws 51 Growth of the Colony 52 Penn's Invitation 52-55 His Personal Influence 53-54 Descriptive Pamphlets 54 Activity of the Free Society of Traders 54-55 Favorable Reports Returned to Ireland 5 5-80 By the Traveling Ministers and Others 56 Ann Millcum's Certificate 56-57 Nicholas Newlin's Certificate 57-59 Ministers Traveling in Ireland Tell of Penn- sylvania 59 Friends Return to Ireland for Short Visits 60 Favorable Reports by Letters 60-80 George Harlan's Letter, 1696 62-63 Thomas Hutton's Letters, 1726-1734 64-67 John Carpenter's Visit to Ireland, 1755 67-68 Robert Parke's Letter, 1725 69 The Parke Family Emigrate 69-70 Parke's Letter 70-79 xii Contents PAGE False Reports 71 A Good Country for Working Folk 71 Purchase of Land 71 Cultivating the Land 72 Good Crops 73 Prices for Farm Products 73 Country Abounds in Fruit 74 Laborers' Wages 74 Climate 74 Dress 74 Markets and Fairs 74 What to Bring to Pennsylvania 76 How to Come 77 CHAPTER III.