USA > Maryland > Talbot County > History of Talbot county, Maryland, 1661-1861, Volume I > Part 13
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* * and all this was but for coming into their jurisdiction [Plimouth patent] when he was banished from yours [Massachusetts]." The above ac- count, copied verbatim, is not very lucid, but it is sufficiently clear that Wenlock Christison had been cruelly dealt with at Plymouth, before his imprisonment in November, 1660, at Boston, and it is prob- able he had been banished under pain of death from Boston before his arrest at Sandwich by Barloe .- Sandwich was within the jurisdiction of Plymouth. The succession of the several persecutions it is very dif- ficult to trace, but it is evidence enough he had been imprisoned, robbed,
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starved, whipped and sentenced to banishment, at more than one time and place, up to 1600.
When Wenlock Christison ws released from prison in Boston, he was ordered to leave the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts settlement, under a penalty of death in case he should return, as has been before mentioned. At the same time William Leddra was released, and banished under a similar penalty.
But these orders of the civil authorities were held as nothing compared with those commands that were laid upon them, as they were fully persuaded, by Supreme authority; so it is not astonishing, when they felt a spirit within moving them to testify in those places from which they had been driven, that they took their lives in their hands, as it were, and again appeared in Boston. This was not in bravado, but in conformity with a sense of duty which was deemed imperative. Governor Endicott, the Court and the Clergy interpreted their conduct differently, and as proceeding from a determination to defy their power and author- ity. Accordingly in the latter part of the year 1660, William Leddra, going to the jail in Boston to visit some Friends there imprisoned, was himself arrested placed in irons, chained to a log, and suffered to lie in prison without fire during a severe New England winter. On the ninth day of March, 1661, he was arraigned, in company with others, and re- fusing to accept his life on the condition of his leaving the province and going back to England, he was put upon his trial, if that can be called a trial where there was no denial on the part of the prisoner of the offences laid to his charge. While the trial was in progress, the pro- ceedings had a most extraordinary interruption, which shall be related in the words of Bishope himself.
But Wenlock Christison, being moved of the Lord, and brought by the Mighty Power of God, with his life in his hand; and being made willing by the same Power and Life, to offer up his life in Obedience to the Lord (in performance of which he found rest and peace) if he saw it good to require it of him, was not afraid of your Laws nor Gibbets, but in the Name and Power of God, though he stood in the Predicament of Death, having been already Banished by you, upon the pain of Death, came into your Court, not fearing the Wrath of the Devil nor the Fury of the Dragon in you, which had the Power to kill some, and persecute others of the Saints of the Most High God, even in the very time that you were Trying the said W. Leddra, and there nobly shewed himself over the Head of all your Blood and Cruelty, in the strength of the Lord. This struck a great damp upon you, to see a Man so unconcerned in his Life to come upon your Law of Death, and trample it under, insomuch that for a little space of time there was Silence in the Court;
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but you recovering your swoon, or the spirit of Iniquity, rising up over all in you again, you began to gather strength, and recover Heart, in your Wickedness, and one Cries out, "Here is another: Fetch him up to the Bar," said you, which your Marshal performed, and bad him "pluck off his Hat," who said "No, I shall not?" Then said your Secretary Rawson, "Is not your name Wenlock Christison?" Wenlock said, "yea." Then said the Governor John Endicott unto him, after he had acknowl- edged his name (which he denyed not, though in the Face of Death) "Wast thou not banished upon pain of Death?" Wenlock said, "Yea, I was." (See how Truth enables a Man to bear his Testimony, though the Consequence be Death.) "What dost thou there then?" said your Governor. He cried, "That he was come to warn them, that they should shed no more innocent Blood; for the Blood that ye have shed already Cries to the Lord for Vengeance to come upon you." Whereupon you said, "Take him away, Jaylor?" It must be remembered that three persons had already been hung for being Quakers, and returning to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts after being banished. Accordingly Wenlock Christi- son was again committed to jail, and his friend W. Leddra being sentenced to death on the eleventh of March, was executed on the 14th of that same month 1661, making the fourth victim of this cruel and senseless persecution.
After the execution and upon the very day that Willaim Leddra was hung, the magistrates, thinking "that his Death would cool or bring under Wedlock Christison," and wishing, as is very clear, to save the life of this man, as well as vindicate their laws, had him arraigned before them. It was then said to him, "unless you will renounce your religion you shall surely Die." To this he firmly answered, "Nay, I shall not change my religion, nor seek to save my life; neither do I intend to deny my Master. But if I lose my life for Christ's sake, and the Preach- ing of the Gospel, I shall save it." The Court was amazed and confound- ed by this "Noble Valour for Truth." A Friend, the same who pre- pared his grave clothes, standing by, said, "Wenlock, Oh! thy turn is next." To whom Wenlock replied with fervor, "The will of the Lord be done." He was then remanded to prison to await the next term of the court, to be held in the 3rd and 4th month, 1661. Before the time for the assembling of the court, there was apparently a reaction on the ยท minds of the people and the magistrates, with the exception of Governor Endicott. Consequently some hesitancy was shown in proceeding to the trial of Wenlock Christison, and the Governor became enraged at this reluctance to enforce the laws,-laws which he seemed not to per- ceive were not only ineffectual in arresting but were most efficient in spreading the obnoxious doctrines and practices of these scismatics the Quakers, for conversions were made under the very gallows, and which shocked the sensibilities of all by their unnecessary harshness. The Governor after absenting himself, in his anger, for two days from the court, was prevailed upon to return, the magistrates having con- sented to proceed with the trial of Wenlock. It was a prevalent senti- ment of that day, and is one not entirely dispelled at the present, in
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which the Quakers were participant, that nature, sometimes-mani- fests a sympathy with man in his joys or sorrows, by an inversion of her laws, and by giving birth to "signs and wonders." Accordingly, the writer from whom all these circumstances are gathered states, that during two weeks the "conspiracies of blood" were revolving in the minds of the judges and others engaged in the prosecution, "the natural Sun in the Firmament shone not," "a remarkable demonstration of the Displeasure of the Lord" * "and a true figure and repre- sentation of this your wickedness and work."
At last Wenlock was brought to the bar for his trial, of which we have this most singular account, drawn from, and given in the very words of Bishope's book.
"So you being agreed, before the judgment seat Wenlock was brought; who thither came in a good Dominion, because he felt the Power of God over all; who being there set your Governor asked him, 'What he had to say for himself, why he might not dye?'-'I have done noth- ing worthy of Death,' (reply'd Wenlock) 'if I had I refuse not to dye.'- 'Thou art come in amongst us,' said another of you, 'in Rebellion, which is as the Sin of Witchcraft, and ought to be punished.'-'I came not in among you in Rebellion,' answered Wenlock, 'but in obedience to the God of Heaven; not in Contempt to any of you, but in love to your souls and bodies, and that you shall know one day, when you and all men must give an account of your Deeds done in the Body. Take heed' (said he) 'for you cannot escape the righteous judgments of God.'- Then said your Major General Adderton 'you pronounce woes and judg- ments, and those that are gone before you pronounced woes and judg- ments; but the Judgments of the Lord God are not come upon us yet.' -'Be not proud' (reply'd Wenlock) 'neither let your spirits be lifted up; God doth but wait, till the measure of your iniquity be filled up, and that you have run your ungodly Race, then will the Wrath of God come upon you to the uttermost: And as for thy Part, it hangs over thy Head, and is near to be poured down upon thee; and shall come as a Thief in the night, suddenly, when you thinkest not of it.'-'By what Law' (said Wenlock) 'will ye put me to death.'-'We have a law' (reply'd you) 'and by our Law you are to Dye.'-'Who empowered you,' said he, 'to make that Law.' One of you answered, 'We have a Patent, and are the Patentees, judge whether we have not power to make Laws.' -Wenlock replied again, 'How, have you power to make laws repug- nant to the laws of England?'
" 'Nay,' said your Governor.
"'Then,' answered Wenlock, 'you are beyond your bounds, and have forfeited your Patent; and this is more than you can answer.' And he cryed out and said. 'Are you subjects to the King, yea or nay?' "'What good will that do you,' replied your Secretary. 'What will you infer from that?'
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"Wenlock answered, 'If you are, say so, for in your Petition to the King, you desire that he would protect you, and that you may be worthy to kneel amongst his Royal subjects,' or words to that effect.
"To which one of you said, "Yea.'
"Then Wenlock answered and said, 'So am I; and for anything I know, am as good as you, if not better; for if the King did not know your Hearts, as God knows them, he would see that your hearts are as rotten towards him, as they are towards God. Therefore seeing that you and I are subjects of the King, I demand to be tried by the laws of my own nation.
Thus terminated this remarkable trial. It has been given in all its details, as far as they can be gleaned from the book of George Bishope, not only because the incidents are extremely interesting of themselves, and illustrative of the character of the man around whom they cluster, as well as of the class of people with whom he was allied in religious sympathy, but because they are profoundly suggestive to the reflecting mind of certain inferences bearing upon the philosophy of human char- acter and conduct. These reflections there is no room here to give, and perhaps nothing new could be said upon a subject that has engaged the best minds.
The sudden change in the conduct of the magistrates and other authorities may be accounted for readily. There was unquestionably a reaction in the minds of the people of the colony, if not favorable to actual toleration, at least to a more lenient treatment of the obnoxious scismatics. It revolted the men who had left the old country that they might enjoy freedom of worship that a fanaticism, as they esteemed Quakerism, so harmless should be treated with so much severity, as to lead some to the gibbet. Another cause of this milder method of deal- ing with the Friends was the apprehension that the King did not approve of the extreme measures. The first part of the very book from which quotation has been so liberally made had been circulated in England, and had served to awaken public attention to the enormities practised. The King had himself been listening to the representations of persons friendly to the persecuted people, and corrupt and vile as he was, he was neither cruel nor fanatical-A man of the easy virtue of Charles II, was not going to allow his pleasures to be disturbed, or his equanimity to be shaken by the cries of certain of his subjects or the indulgence of malign passions of certain others. Rumors of the disapprobation of the King had reached the authorities in New England, and in anticipation of Royal commands, they modified their laws so far as to exempt the Quakers from the punishment of death. The order of the King was
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issued, and sent over by a special messenger in a ship chartered for the purpose in England, not by the government but by Friends; but before it reached Boston, the prison doors had been thrown open, and the prisoners released, as related above. But the New England authori- ties still continued to inflict the other penalties of these laws with the same rigor and cruelty. The Edward Wharton, who so singularly interrupted the proceedings of the court, as related above, who in dis- regard, or as they esteemed it, in defiance of the authorities, remained at his home after banishment, and so impudently as they deemed, de- manded unconditional pardon and release, was whipped from town to town out of the Massachusetts jurisdiction. And he was not the only one who suffered this ignominious punishment by very many. The following is one of the orders of the court to the constables with refer- ence to this man, and will serve to exhibit the character of the punish- ment inflicted upon many of the victims of these senseless persecutions of the Quakers:
To the Constables of Dover, Hampton, Salisbury, Rowley, Ispwich and Wennam.
You, and every one of you, are required in his Majesty's Name, to receive into your Custody Edward Wharton, a Vagabond Quaker, and convey him from Town to Town, until he come to the place of his Habitation in Salem; and the Constables of Dover, Hampton, and Newbury, are to whip him through their respective towns at the Cart's tail, not exceeding ten stripes in each town, according to the law of Vagabond Quakers, in that behalf. This being the sense of the court held at Dover, the 4th July, 1663. And hereof you are not to fail at you Perils. Dated the 4th July, 1663.
Per Silas Stilman, Cleric.
Thus, E. Wharton on this occasion alone, received three whippings, and these were but three of many. Indeed, he seemed the special object of legal vengeance .- One John Chamberlaine, who was convinced, that is converted to Quakerism at the execution of Will. Leddra, was whipped nine times in two years. Worse than all, women, even old and weakly women, were stripped and whipped at the cart's tail through the towns. But to return to W. Christison.
After the release of Wenlock and his fellow sufferers from the Boston jail in 1661, and his expulsion from the Jurisdiction, we have little information respecting him during several years. He is mentioned more than once incidentally by Bishope, apparently during the time from 1661 to 1664, but the writer is so confused in his chronology, that it is
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quite impossible to determine the dates of many of the events he narrates. Wenlock appears to have traveled about from place to place, among Friends. At one time he was in Rhode Island, at another at Salem, at another at Hampton, in what is now New Hampshire. At this last named town we hear of him in connection with one Eliakim Wardel, a resident of that place and a Friend. It appears that Eliakim Wardel contrary to the law gave him entertainment, or hos- pitality, and was fined therefor, but refusing to pay the fine his horse was seized, "a pretty beast for the saddle, worth about fourteen pound."-This same Eliakim was again arrested at the instigation of one Seaborn Cotton, a clergyman, for a like offence in receiving W. Christison, "in the name of a Disciple." On this occasion Wenlock showed that he was not without a certain kind of grim humor, and not at all intimidated by the fierce laws, or their executors. Seaborn Cotton, the Priest, came to arrest Eliakim, accompanied by the con- stables and posse; or, in the words of Bishope
like a Sturdy Herdsman, he got to him some of the fiercest of his swine. and himself in the Head of them, with a Leader's Truncheon in his hand,
Wenlock meeting them as they approached Eliakim's house asked Cotton "What he did with that Club in his hand." He answered, "He came to keep the Wolves from his sheep." Wenlock asked, point- ing to the rough fellows that accompanied Cotton, "whether these were his sheep," and impliedly if Eliakim and he were the wolves. This enraged Cotton, but the keen satire did not deter him from ordering his lambs to carry off the Quaker wolves. The dates of these incidents are not known, but on the 30th June 1664 we find Wenlock again at Boston whither he had come from Salem to meet Mary Thompson and Alice Garey, two female apostles, who had just returned from Virginia where they had not escaped persecution similar to that they had endured in New England; for there too they had endured the pain and indignity of being whipped, receiving
thirty-two stripes apiece, with a nine corded whip, three knots in each cord, being drawn up to a pillory in such an uncivil manner as is not to be rehearsed, with a running knot above the hands, the very first lash of which drew Blood, and made it run down in abundance from their Breasts,
and had been robbed of their goods for fines imposed upon them and finally "expelled those Coasts." To see these returning friends W.
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Christison and Edward Wharton came from Salem, and with the women were arrested, convicted of being in the jurisdiction after their banish- ment contrary to law, and sentenced as usual, to be whipped through the towns. But a Colonel Temple and the wife of the Governor, interceded in their behalf, and all were exempt from the suffering except E. Wharton who was sentenced to be bound to the wheel of a "great gun" and to receive thirty stripes, which sentence was executed in such a cruel manner, says Bishope,
That Pease might lie in the Holes that the Knots of the whip had beat into the Flesh of his arms and back.
In the early part of the year 1665, as near as can be determined, Wenlock Christison was again apprehended for being in Boston, con- trary to law, and carried before Deputy Governor Bellingham, Endicott being now just dead, when this colloquy took place between the prisoner at the bar and the Deputy:
Bellingham .- "You shall be whipped."
Wenlock .- "For what?"
B .- "Because you are a vagabond."
W .- "Cain was a vagabond, he slew his Brother, yet he was great in the Earth and built a city. What is a vagabond, as saith your Law?"
One of Cain's Flock .- "Such as have no certain dwelling place."
W .- "How do you know that I have no certain dwelling place among you? If it be so, go then and whip out the King's Commissioners from among you, for they came out of England since I did. They do hire rooms, and carry the keys in their pockets, and so can I. I have Money in my pocket, and clothes to wear, and a Beast to ride on. And what is a vagabond saith your Law. At this Bar the time was, that sentence of death was passed upon me, yet by the help of God, I continue unto this Day, standing over the Heads of you all, bearing a faithful witness to the truth of the living God. Some of your associates are gone, and the Lord hath laid their Glory in the Dust and yours is a Fading Flower.
It is worthy of note, that many of the expressions of Wenlock Christi- son, uttered under great exaltation of feeling were regarded by his friends at least by Bishope, as prophetic, as for instance in this case, this author declares the words above to be predictions of evil to the authorities. Elsewhere in the book, the realizations of these prophecies are narrated. The sudden death of Maj. Genl. Adderton by a fall from his horse, is adduced as a fulfillment of a prophesy uttered by W. Christison in his trial, as related above. It does not appear that W. C. consciously claimed prophetic powers, but evidently he regarded his words as
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prompted by a Divine intelligence, and his prognostications of evil to come as something more than the anticipations of human reason, or the denunciations of human passion. [The prisoner was then ordered to be carried to jail but he appealed to the Laws of England. It must be observed that he always called himself a "foreigner" disclaiming citizenship in the Colony, and regarded himself amenable to the laws of the mother country. His appeal was denied. He then said,
Bellingham .- "We are Commissioners, and more than Commissioners." W .- "Do you own these men whom the King hath sent among you." B .- "We will let that alone now."
Another of the Court .- "If thou hadst been hanged it had been well." W .- "You had not Power to take away my life from me; but my Blood is upon you for you murthered me in your hearts.
One characteristic of these Quaker trials as related by Bishope is, the accused frequently attempted to turn the tables upon the members of the Court, by trying to involve them in treasonable or disloyal utterances, or in profane, sacriligious, irreverent, or heretical expressions. Doubtless this was designed to affect the minds of the people, to bring the Court into disrepute at home; and to invite condemnation from the Royal government, in England. Wenlock was now, with Mary Thomp- kins, Alice Ambrose, the two women who had been so cruelly whipped in Virginia and banished from that province.
stripped to the waste, and made fast to the Cart, and whipp'd through Boston, Roxbury and Denham. Wenlock had ten cruel stripes, in each Town, and the other two, his companions, six apiece.
They were driven "into the Wilderness,"
but the Lord was with them, and the Angel of his Presence saved them, who had none in Heaven besides God, and none in Earth in Comparison of Him. Let the Living sign Glory to the Highest, saith Wenlock Christison.
These people appear to have taken refuge in Rhode Island, where there was an asylum always open for those who would escape religious intolerance, under Roger Williams, himself, a banished and persecuted man, or his successors in the Presidency of that colony .- But impelled either with a desire to preach the "Truth" in foreign parts, or at last wearied out with the cruel persecutions in New England all three of those mentioned came up to Boston from the Providence plantations under the protection of one of the King's Commissioners, Sir Robert Carr, for the purpose of taking ship, Wenlock for Barbadoes, and the
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two women for the "Bermudes." Here they met other Friends from Salem-the inevitable and irrepressible Edward Wharton, of course, be- ing of the number; for whenever kindness was to be shown to Friends, or suffering to be endured,-why may it not be properly said suffering to be enjoyed, for verily these good people went to it, and seemed to seek after it, is though it was a real pleasure to suffer for the cause of Truth-Edward Wharton was almost certainly present. This was in May, 1665. The Constables were soon on the alert, to ferret out the "Cursed Quakers as you call them whom the Lord calls Blessed." They were not hard to find, and were arraigned before Deputy Governor Bellingham. As preparatory to the trial Bellingham went to say his prayers, and the "irreverent gestures" of the prisoners, their "sitting, walking about with their hats on their Heads" during his devotions was made one of the grounds of action against them .- The trial was soon despatched and Wenlock, Edward Wharton and Alice Ambrose, alias, Garey, were sentenced to be whipped through three towns out of the Jurisdiction, but Edward, being an old offender, was also imprisoned, as well as whipped.
Although there exists no positive knowledge, circumstances, here- after to be related, render it highly probable that Wenlock Christison, though foiled in this effort, did embark for Barbadoes, at some subse- quent time. After this trial, for standing with his hat upon his head during the Governor's devotions, there is no account of his move- ments for some years. But certain it is he did leave New England, and there are grounds for belief that he did go the to West Indies, upon some of the islands of which there was, at this early period, societies of Friends. We lose sight of him as he is driven forth with blows into the wilderness, a wanderer, without certain home, truely a vagabond, but not in the opprobrious sense, imprisoned, starved, robbed, beaten, outlawed. When we catch glimpses of him again it is under more auspicious cir- cumstances: we find him settled in his own quiet home, sitting at his own fireside in the midst of loving wife and children; we find him sur- rounded by kind and honoring neighbors, occupying the seat of the elders among Friends, without fear of pillory, jail, or constable's whip; we find him protected by benign laws, and even daring to stand covered, a precious privilege, in the presence of Governors and magistrates; we find him in short in tolerant Maryland, and in our own beautiful Talbot. Of his life here, an account will be given in the next number.
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