Category: People

Daniel Gould: A Voice for Social Justice in Early Quaker New England – Shane Peterson, Luke Bohmer 

April 20, 2020

AMH 4112.001 – The Atlantic World, 1400-1900

Daniel Gould (c.1625-1716), a recurring presence in the Pemberton Paper archive, spent his life dedicated to the Society of Friends in colonial America. His lengthy service to Quakerism and his community led to various positions of leadership and sent him through trials which tested his faith. His life was spent travelling all over the American colonies to preach the word of God and promote equality between Quakers and early Americans. 

Gould was born in Rhode Island as the son of two English immigrants. He was conscious of the hardships that Quakers endured and ultimately became a victim of violence himself in a land where many sought religious freedoms. Profoundly struck by the reality of persecution in the New World as a Quaker, Gould became a voice for and chronicler of his denomination despite its risks. The literature he published is a narrative telling of the deep religious introspection which voiced social injustice towards the Quakers during his lifetime. 1

Gould, in his June 1697 letter to Phineas Pemberton, shows a deep connection to the Quaker and Pemberton family. This letter laments the loss of Phineas’ wife, Phebe. He details the fond memories he has of her from the first time they met in Maryland, and he recalls how happy they had all been together. This letter is especially touching, containing genuine advice to Phineas about remembering her love and keeping her memory alive. Gould seems to not have words for the pain he feels for Phineas’ loss. “I Cannot forget her [kindness], when I parted from her out of MaryLand, [taking] my journey [homewards]; neither can I forget our Last parting, [which] was at [your] ferry, in much tenderness & Love …Her love will never be extinct.” This exchange also mentions the Quakers’ meetings that created a more connected network and closer relationships within the Society of Friends. This letter notes that a meeting had just ended and Gould asks Phineas to pass along his well wishes to their mutual friends. 2

As a Quaker, Gould was determined to serve a purpose beyond himself through the publication of Quaker experiences. This determination eventually led him to be punished harshly in a New England that was intolerant of his denomination. Late in his life, Gould published a pamphlet where he discussed the execution of two Quakers, as well as his own personal trial and sentencing. A brief narration of the sufferings of the people called Quakers, who were put to death at Boston, in New-England tells a story in which he met a group of Quakers in the woods just outside of Salem, Massachusetts in 1659 to speak about God and the persecuted state of the Friends. They met in secrecy to avoid the law, but it found them, nonetheless. A Constable and “a rude company” confronted them, leading to a heated argument where all the Quakers were arrested and taken to jail in Boston. 

After waiting several days for trial, Gould was stripped of his belongings, examined about many things pertaining to Quaker crimes, ridiculed and dehumanized, then sentenced to be tied to a “great gun” and whipped thirty times. 3 Fellow Quakers, Marmaduke Stevenson and William Robinson, were made an example after being picked out of the group and hanged for speaking blasphemy against Moses, God, and the civil government. 4 Gould recorded this graphic account as a testament to how poorly Quakers were treated in New England. He called the acts injustice because authorities never questioned those Quakers who were whipped and executed. Prosecutors never produced evidence against them and witnesses were either coerced into silence or never brought to testify. Gould took his jarring experience in the Boston jail as a reaffirmation of his faith. Thereafter, he spent most of his years as a traveling minister. He embarked on many voyages to Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland (where he later met the Pembertons).5

Despite his hardships, Daniel Gould was dedicated to justice for Quakers and highlighting their struggles. Through mutual hardship and camaraderie, Gould found strength and support in his fellow Friends.

“Our yearly meeting is just over, and a good Closig: [Closing?] we had, as by this Bearer yu [you] : may more fully know, yn [than] I have now time to tell thee [you].” Daniel Gould, Rhode Island, to Phineas Pemberton, Falls Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1697-06, vol. 2, pg. 144, Pemberton Family Papers, 1641-1880, 0484A, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PRINT, 16031, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/printmigrationnetwork-pemberton/395/.
Daniel Gould’s account of being harshly treated in prison. Gould, Daniel. A brief narration of the sufferings of the people called Quakers, who were put to death at Boston, in New-England also an account from their own hands, of their coming to Boston, and of their staying in their jurisdisction after banishment : with a precious epistle of William Robinson … and other epistles hereunto annexed. New York, By William Bradford?, 1700.

 

Henry Haydock: Networks and Support Across the Atlantic – William Rebarick, Luke Bohmer

March 19, 2020

AMH4112.001 – The Atlantic World, 1400-1900 

Henry Haydock lived in a turbulent time in American history. While there is little written on the life of Haydock, we can infer a few things about him from his letters to his fellow Quakers across the Atlantic Ocean. We know that Henry and his wife Martha lived in Warrington in Lancashire, England and that he communicated with Phineas Pemberton, a prominent Quaker who moved from England to Pennsylvania in 1683.6 We can see from the letters they left behind that the two wrote to each other often and frequently exchanged goods and money between England and Pennsylvania. 

Haydock often seems to discuss matters of business with the Pembertons. For example, in one of his letters, he discusses the delivery of certain goods, such as trousers, pickled foods, and slippers, for Phineas’ family.7

Image 1. In a postscript to their letter, Henry Haydock writes that he has sent Phineas Pemberton 2 pairs of shoes for him, 2 pairs of shoes for Phineas’ wife Phebe Pemberton, and 4 pairs for their children. Henry Haydock and Martha Haydock, [England], to Phineas Pemberton, [Pennsylvania], 1686, vol. 2, pg. 28, Pemberton Family Papers, 1641-1880, 0484A, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PRINT, 15919, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/printmigrationnetwork-pemberton/384/.
Image 2. Accounts included in a letter Henry Haydock sent to Phineas Pemberton. Henry Haydock and Martha Haydock, Warrington, Lancashire, England, to Phineas Pemberton, Falls Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1686-09-06, vol. 2, pg. 13, Pemberton Family Papers, 1641-1880, 0484A, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PRINT, 15904, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/printmigrationnetwork-pemberton/142/.

Another letter includes accounts with prices of goods, such as socks.8

Through this information we can infer that he was running a business with Phineas Pemberton, or at least had a business-like relationship with him across the Atlantic. Networks like these were vital for religious minorities like the Quakers, who used them extensively in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to trade money, goods, information, and religious support between Europe and North America. These networks were sophisticated and efficient, allowing for reliable communication and mutual assistance for Friends on both sides of the ocean.9 Henry Haydock was likely one of the many brokers of information and goods in England who communicated with Pennsylvania Quakers like Phineas Pemberton. 

Through his letters, we can also infer that Henry was a religious man. He was a Quaker, whose religious beliefs closely connected him to the Pembertons and whose language reflects his piety. For example, in a letter written in 1686, he spends about 75% of his letter exhorting Phineas.10 He greets Phineas by writing “beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ,” and he reminisces about when they “have sat down together and [in] unity of the one spirit and in the bond of hevenly [heavenly] pece [peace] we have to our [mutual] Joy inioyed [enjoyed] ech [each] other.”11 So we can tell that religion played a central role in his life. We can also infer that his wife Martha was very close to him, and that he valued her very much, so much so that when he conducted business correspondence, she was mentioned as an author of the letter. Martha also is brought up subtlety when he and Phineas write and ask about each other’s wives.12 Quakers, due to the personal nature of their religion and their belief that everyone was equal before God, allowed women a public and active voice in their communities.13 Many other Protestants saw this dynamic as women overstepping their place, especially on the subject of women preachers. However, many Quaker women occupied religious roles often assigned to men, including preaching to congregations.14 Martha Haydock actively participated in Henry’s religious networks, as is indicated by her co-authorship of his letters and the existence of at least one letter that she sent Phineas Pemberton herself. 15 [insert image 2]

Henry and Martha Haydock provided a vital service for the Quakers of Pennsylvania. By supplying them with goods, information, and religious exhortation, they assisted their fellow Friends, the Quakers of North America, in establishing new communities away from religious persecution.

Mary Becket Bowne and the Quaker Family – Tyler White, Luke Bohmer

March 19, 2020

AMH 4112.001 – The Atlantic World, 1400-1900

Mary (Becket) Bowne (c. 1670-1707) was born around the early 1670s in England.8 Mary was adopted at a young age by Roger and Elinor Haydock in England, due to her biological mother’s death early in her life.12 She migrated across the Atlantic Ocean in 1682 during one of the waves of immigration prompted by William Penn, Quaker and founder of the Colony of Pennsylvania. When she arrived, she lived with Phineas and Phebe Pemberton and their children in Philadelphia until her marriage to Samuel Bowne, at which point she moved with her husband to Flushing, New York.16 Mary bore ten children (two of whom died in infancy) over the course of their marriage.17

The specifics of Mary’s life prior to her immigration to Pennsylvania have been mostly lost to time. Mary was not born into a family of Quakers; rather, she was baptized in the Anglican tradition. At some point after her adoption, she converted to Quakerism. Her adoptive father, Roger Haydock, was a prominent Quaker minister in England, who preached extensively despite the danger of violence against members of the Society of Friends. He ultimately sent Mary to Pennsylvania, along with a few other members of the Haydock family.18

The Haydocks corresponded with the Pembertons extensively before and during Mary’s voyage to Pennsylvania, expressing their genuine love for their adoptive daughter. During her transatlantic voyage, Roger Haydock wrote: “Along wth [with] ye [the] bearer hereof cometh daughter Mary as by ye [the] contents of ye [the] enclosed to thy fathr [father], Which on purpose I leave unsealed, thou [you] may understand, to yor [your] care wee [we] commit her…& place you as in our stead.” He expressed his trust in the Pembertons when he wrote “wee [we] rest in hope you will take upon you, that is a fatherly & motherly care over her, who we truly love & who comes in her owne [own] inclinations.”19 Therefore, Mary already had a home to go to when she arrived in America. She lived with the Pembertons for about nine years before her marriage to Samuel Bowne in 1691.

A letter from Roger and Elinor Haydock, Liverpool, to Phineas Pemberton, Pennsylvania, dated June 26, 1684, in which they ask Phineas and his wife Phebe to care for Mary Becket as their own daughter. Roger and Elinor Haydock, Liverpool, to Phineas Pemberton, [Bucks County, Pennsylvania], 1684-06-26, vol. 2, p. 57-58, Pemberton Family Papers, 641-1880, 0484A, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PRINT, 15952, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/printmigrationnetwork-pemberton/387/.

After Mary married Samuel, she moved in with him and his father, John Bowne, in Flushing, New York.20 John Bowne was a wealthy man who was a Quaker and major benefactor to the local meeting; he donated the home that would house the congregation and that became known as the Quaker Meeting House. 21Mary kept a close relationship with the Pembertons even when they lived a colony away from each other. Her letters are filled with longing for connection and a sense of hope to see them again. In 1693, she wrote:  “deare [dear] phebey [Phebe] I greatly want thy [your] company and assitanc [assistance].” Mary recently had learned she was pregnant and thought Phebe’s “motherly advise [advice] would be a great comfart [comfort] to mee [me].” 22

A letter from Mary Becket Bowne to Phineas and Phebe Pemberton, dated August 19, 1695. Mary Bowne, Flushing, New York, to Phineas Pemberton and Phebe Pemberton, Falls Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1695-08-19, vol. 2, pg. 113, Pemberton Family Papers, 1641-1880, 0484A, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PRINT, 16011, https://stars.library.ucf.edu/printmigrationnetwork-pemberton/222/.

She continued to be a member of the Pemberton family for the remainder of her life. She refers to them as her true parents on multiple occasions throughout the letters. Abigail, daughter of Phineas and Phebe, took the time to write to Mary as well.23

Mary spent the rest of her life taking care of her children. She died around the age of thirty-four in 1707, the same year as the birth of her last child, Benjamin.24 Unfortunately, Benjamin died the same year, but there is no information on the cause of death for either Benjamin or Mary. Mary more than likely died of childbirth complications. Though Mary’s life was short, she left an indelible mark on the people who knew her, including the Haydocks, Pembertons, and Bownes, who constantly remarked on her gentleness and kindness.25