Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

of the Religious Society of Friends

Quaker History

African American Suffragist Movement

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In conjunction with its story on Quakers involved in the suffragist movement, Merion Meeting researched the commitment and leadership provided by the African American women’s club.

During the Saturday, October 3rd, virtual event event hosted by Merion Meeting’s History and Archives Committee, a slide show was devoted to the important story of  African-American activists’ involvement in securing women’s right to vote.

The presentation was researched and created by Janet Frazer for Merion Friends Meeting with technical aid from Susanna Frazer.

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PART II: History of a Quaker Farm + Quaker Meeting + Quakertown NJ

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This is part II of our story about a Quaker farm and Meetinghouse in Quakertown, NJ. We share this with thanks to Quakertown attender and farm owner, Marty Campanelli. Marty is writing about the farm she inhabits and the Meeting she attends.

Marty begins where she left off last week, with the Allen and Laing family farm on the outskirts of Quakertown, NJ.

Think back to the first part of the 19th century. It was a time of horse drawn carriages, coal-fired factories, steam engines, and the birth of the railroads…

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Quakers in Education: Nitobe Inazo, Elizabeth Gray Vining, and Joseph Wharton

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This is the second in a series of articles about Quakers who’ve impacted the fields of education and contributed to global scientific, medical, political, or economic leadership. The first article was published on September 23 and covered Elise Goulding, Ezra Cornell, and Johns Hopkins.

Nitobe Inazo (1862-1933) was a Japanese Quaker who became the first Under Secretary General for the League of Nations. Nitobe was born into a samurai family on Honshu, the main island of Japan. While in college, he became a Christian and later a Friend. In 1884, He moved to the US for post-graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University. There he began attending Quaker meetings, telling friends, “I very much like their simplicity and earnestness.”

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Interconnected History: Quaker Farm + Quaker Meeting + Quakertown NJ

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Last summer we promised to share additional stories about Quaker farms and farmers. We never quite got them underway due to the pressure of reporting on Annual Sessions, but now remedy that with thanks to Quakertown attender and farm owner, Marty Campanelli. Marty is sharing a three part series on the farm she inhabits and the Meeting she attends. A researcher of fun Quaker facts and a farmer herself (raising sheep and vegetables), Marty is also a knitter of scarves for Mercer Street Friends and a regular attender at Quakertown Meeting today. [Read more…] about Interconnected History: Quaker Farm + Quaker Meeting + Quakertown NJ

Quakers in Education: Elise M. Boulding, Ezra Cornell, and Johns Hopkins

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Quaker education has always been grounded in the most basic principles of the Religious Society of Friends. Each child has that of God within, and Friends’ education is centered in truth, practical learning, scientific inquiry, simplicity, and concern for civic society.

Quakers have a long history of questioning power and engaging in social action for human rights and peace. Today, many Quaker schools or Quaker affiliated institutions of higher education frame their learning environments with social or civic responsibilities and define community expectations through the lens of Friends’ values while still honoring the individual.

As the United States grew from colony to nation, the Quakers advocated for and delivered universal pubic education in Pennsylvania, built colleges, and created private Quaker secondary and elementary schools. The motto of the William Penn Charter School; “Good Instruction is Better than Riches” dates back to its founding in 1689 and still serves to describe Friends’ fundamental belief that knowledge outperforms wealth over time.

In the United States, Quakers were key to the founding of Haverford College (Pennsylvania), Guilford College (North Carolina,) Earlham College (Indiana), Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania), Johns Hopkins University (Maryland), Cornell University (New York), and the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania).

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Historic Quaker Treasures Added to Unprecedented Digital Archival Effort

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18th century manumissions and 17th century burial records are among tens of thousands of early Quaker documents recently added to a major digitization project spearheaded by Christ Church Preservation Trust. Contributed by Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, these records will be available to free online access for the first time.

The “Digitizing Philadelphia’s Historic Congregational Records” project began two years ago, when the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) awarded a Hidden Collections grant to Christ Church Preservation Trust. The $385,000 award — funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation — allowed the Trust to digitize the records of eleven of Philadelphia’s historic congregations, including the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Gloria Dei, Christ Church, Mikveh Israel, the First, Second and Third Presbyterian Churches, St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s Episcopal Churches, St. George’s Methodist Church and the First Baptist Church. [Read more…] about Historic Quaker Treasures Added to Unprecedented Digital Archival Effort

Willits Book Trust Participates in A Community Reading of Frederick Douglass’ July 4 Speech

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As a representative of the Willits Book Trust Committee, a grantmaking group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Lisa Stewart Garrison, a member of Greenwich Friends Meeting in Salem Quarter, was invited to take part in a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ “4th of July Speech” sponsored by the National Park Service and the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

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Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust Welcomes Sean Connolly as Executive Director

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The Board of Trustees of Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Connolly as its new Executive Director, beginning June 9, 2020.

Sean comes to the Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust from Pennsbury Manor, where he oversaw the Education Department. Formerly, he was the Assistant Director for Historic Philadelphia Inc.’s Once Upon A Nation program and the Executive Director of the Manayunk Theatre Company. He has also taught in the Department of History at Drexel University. [Read more…] about Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust Welcomes Sean Connolly as Executive Director

Quaker Farms – Then and Now

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Not long ago, a typed narrative from a transcribed letter written by a Quaker farmer in “Chester Township” Pennsylvania showed up in some files. It was dated 10th month, 1725, and began “Dear Sister Mary Valentine, this goes with a salutation of love to thee, brother Thomas, and the children…”

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News from 1652 Country, England

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This story was adapted from an email distributed by Terry Winterton, the Friend in Residence at Glenthorne’s guest house in Grasmere, Great Britain. Anyone who has read William Wordsworth will know that the walks, hillsides, and lakes in this region were powerful sources of inspiration for Wordsworth’s poetry. They also charm Quaker travelers seeking to access Pendle Hill, Swarthmore Hall, and the rural country roads and fells (mountains and hills) walked by George Fox in 1652. All are featured in this short film. (Interested educators can teach this history to children though Faith & Play Stories on George Fox and Margaret Fell.) The region also serves international hikers and nature lovers from around the world.

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