USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > New Garden > Two hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the Friends meeting at New Garden, Chester County, Pennsylvania > Part 2
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Joseph Sharp and others, all being Friends, and the whole amount purchased was 5,413 acres, at the price of 20 pounds per 100, or, by modern computation, $1.00 per acre. The east side of the township, next to Kennett, was taken up by Mary Rowland, part of which was occupied by the late Thompson Richards, and the extreme eastern part by James Lowden and others. The central part, which lies east of these grounds near the lyceum house, was owned by Michael Lightfoot and others, while the western part was owned by James Lindley, which is probably the property now owned by the estate of the late Benjamin P. Hoopes. John Miller owned 1013 acres, which extended from the middle part to London Grove township, and from the Toughkenamon hill east to New Garden meeting house, and as far south as the property now owned by Truman Cooper, including the properties of the late Joel B. Pusey, Charles Jones, W. Penn Hoopes, Samuel G. Wickersham and others.
Tradition says that John Miller resided at the old house, recently occupied by Joel B. Pusey, where he built a mill on White Clay Creek, known as the old mill (supposed to be the place where the paper mill now stands), which did the grind- ing for the inhabitants for many miles around, even, it is said, as far as Lancaster. This was the second establishment of the kind in the country.
In those primitive days the whole country around was covered with forest, and within the recollection of the writer, the Lancaster turnpike extended through solid forest from near the New Garden road to the outskirts of Avondale, then known as the Stone Bridge. It was said that John Miller's wife, having gone out one evening in pursuit of her cows, lost her- self in the woods, and after wandering about for many hours in complete bewilderment, at length arrived at her own house and begged for shelter and lodging, without knowing where she was, and so completely was her brain bewildered, that it was a long time before she was convinced of the identity of the place.
These first settlers divided their farms by ditches to pre- vent the ravages of the Indian fires. Traces of some of these ditches were visible not many years ago. From 1708 to 1712 these farmers attended meeting at Old Kennett, formerly called Newark Monthly Meeting, but as their colony increased, John Miller offered his home for the holding of First and Fifth-day meetings.
A request was forwarded through Newark Monthly Meet- ing to the Quarterly Meeting to that effect. The following is
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a minute prepared by Chester Quarterly meeting, Third-month 4th, 1713: "This meeting, considering the settling of a meet- ing at or near John Miller's do allow that a first and fifth-day meeting to be kept at John Miller's dwelling house, for this ensuing quarter or until further orders, the said meeting to belong to Kennett Preparative Meeting for the present."
Tradition says that the said John Miller, who owned over 1000 acres, agreed to donate the land on which this meeting house stands, if the colony would build a meeting house. I have been unable to find any official record of any such trans- action, but as the property is only composed of about three acres, the gift (if such it was) would not have been any great tax upon his resources, considering the original price of the land.
In Sixth-month, 1713, they sent another request to Ken- nett, then Newark Monthly Meeting, asking to build the meet- ing house, which was forwarded to the Quarterly Meeting. The following minute shows the request was granted: "Newark Monthly Meeting requests that the families of the meeting kept at John Miller's, may have the liberty to build a meeting house near Michael Lightfoot's, which this meeting taking into consideration, do allow the same Friends of that meeting to do so, and not to exceed a half mile from the said Michael's."
We can but vaguely imagine the conditions which those early Friends experienced, in this primeval forest, and the hardships, difficulties and privations that were endured, in clearing the forest, and building their lowly and lonely homes, but the religious fervor that burned so strongly within their breasts urged them on to building of a meeting house, and again they willingly gave their time and strength, some hauling stone for the foundations, others cutting the driveways, and others with axe and saw, cut the timber and hewed and joined it until in a little over three years from the time they first settled here a log structure, said to be of hewn logs tenoned into guttered corner posts was erected, and the first meeting was held here in the Fall of 1715.
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In this log meeting house those sturdy farmers and their children met twice a week and held meetings for worship. The marriage vows of many of our ancestors were made within its walls. This log cabin, as it were, served their every purpose, and many a powerful sermon, by such ministers as Dinah Lam- born, William Jackson and Jacob Lindley, and others, were preached from its galleries. This continued until the year 1743, when the growing population rendered it too small, and it was replaced by a larger brick one, which is now the south end of
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the present building. The bricks in this building were said to have been imported from England.
When the log one was taken down, it was re-erected for a barn by William Miller, son of John, who then occupied the Avondale farm. It was later taken down and converted into fuel, to the regret of the venerable Jacob Lindley, whose re- ligious reminiscences are said to have been so excited that he almost deemed it sacrilege to burn that temple made with hands which had witnessed his early devotions. But his remonstrance did not avail to place it above the reach of sacriligious hands.
This meeting belonged to Newark Monthly Meeting which perhaps it might be of interest to state, was originally held in Newcastle county, Delaware, on the east side of the Brandy- wine, at the home of Vincent Hollingsworth, who called his plantation Newark, and as he gave a half acre for a burying ground and meeting house, this became the name of the meet- ing. It was held there until 1707, when Centre Meeting House was built, it was moved there for a time, but at length it be- came settled at Old Kennett and on that account changed the name from Newark to Kennett Monthly Meeting.
In 1718 permission was granted by Chester Quarterly Meeting to establish a monthly meeting here, the first one be- ing held here on the 12th of Fifth-month, 1718. It then alternated with Nottingham until 1729, when they established a monthly meeting of their own. Andrew Moore, and Samuel Miller, who married a sister of Andrew Moore, whose descendants are thick- ly settled all through this locality, brought their certificates from Ballanacree Meeting, Ireland, in 1723, to New Garden Monthly Meeting and settled in Sadsbury, twenty miles away, it being the nearest monthly meeting.
It would seem fitting on this occasion to pause and reflect for a moment on the fidelity of these ancient Friends in the attendance upon their meetings. We can scarcely imagine the sacrifices and privations they must have endured to leave their homes and duties and travel that distance with no mode of conveyance except on horseback or wagon, to do their part in upholding and carrying out the precious principles and cus- toms that George Fox and his followers had suffered so re- cently to establish.
At the present. day, with all the modern conveniences of travel, and the settlement of new meetings here and there, so easy of access, are we failing in duty by falling so far short in carrying out those things they considered so essential to their well being? Would it not be well for us to stop and think whether we are allowing ourselves to drift too easily
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into the current of fast living, greed for gain, and love of amusements, which will rush us on at headlong rate if we choose to enter.
After the separation of Nottingham from New Garden, it alternated with London Grove until 1792, when a monthly meeting was established at that place. From that time it was held alternately at West Grove until 1845, when it began to circulate with Millcreek and so continues until the present time.
Up to the year 1758 New Garden Monthly Meeting was one of fourteen monthly meetings composing Chester Quarter. At this time the meeting had grown so large and the business so extensive, and the members so scattered, that it could not be dispatched in a single day. It was concluded to divide, and the subject was laid before the Yearly Meeting, which was approved. The new Quarterly Meeting was styled the West- ern Quarter, with London Grove Meeting House as the place of meeting.
Of the. fourteen meetings composing Chester Quarterly, nine were transferred to Western Quarterly Meeting, namely- Newark, New Garden, Nottingham, Bradford, Sadsbury, Duck Creek, Hopewell, Fairfax and Warrington.
It surely takes a vivid imagination to picture in our minds the possibility of those early Friends, with no modern modes of conveyances, traveling that distance, in many cases 25 or 30 miles or more, to attend the Quarterly Meeting every three months.
At the time of the Revolutionary War the New Garden Friends suffered greatly from the depredations of the British Army, which passed through here on their way to the Brandy- wine, where the famous battle was fought: History tells us they encamped near Allen's Tavern, supposed to be the present residence of John Schrader, and scoured the surrounding neighborhood for supplies for the army. Thomas Lamborn, who owned the farm just south of here, still in the Lamborn name, was an especial sufferer. His plain spoken advocacy of the principles of peace as held by Friends not suiting their turn of mind, they took everything available; almost everything that could be carried or driven away, beating the wheat battens against the posts in the barn to get the grain out, then throw- ing back the balance into the mnow, saying, "There, Lamborn may have that."
At another time he was plowing in the field, when some officers of the army detached the horses from the plow and unceremoniously appropriated them to the use of the army,
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leaving this defenseless and non-combatant progenitor an as- tonished spectator alone with his horseless plow in the field.
The records show that at different times he was fined al- most 760 pounds or nearly $4,000. On account of being so stripped by the war, he was sold out by the Sheriff, but his brother, William, who lived near London Grove, a very prom- inent Friend, who always wore his clothes the natural color of wool or flax, and on that account was called "White Grand- father," came to his rescue and bought the property. After selling off sufficient to clear himself, he gave back the balance, 100 acres, which permitted Thomas to remain at the old home- stead the remainder of his life.
In these distressing times, New Garden Friends were loyal to each other, and it is recorded that a committee was appoint- ed in New Garden Preparative meeting to attend to having relief extended to the sufferers. The Committee reported that although the sufferings of many had been very great, that none appeared to be in want of the necessaries of life except one family, which they referred to the care of the meeting; and that they generally appear to bear their sufferings with a good degree of cheerfulness.
Friends took early action against the institution of slavery. As early as 1696 members were advised by the Yearly Meet- ing not to encourage the bringing of any more negroes, and cautions and advices were frequently given by the Yearly Meeting until 1761, when a member was dealt with and dis- owned, if he persisted in buying and selling negroes, but not until 1777 was the simple holding of a slave sufficient cause for disownment. This ruling of the Yearly Meeting was brought about by the efforts of Isaac Jackson, who lived in New Garden, and belonged to this monthly meeting, who labor- ed in conjunction with John Woolman and others to induce the Yearly Meeting to take steps toward the emancipation of slaves, and it was by his labors that the different steps were taken by the Yearly Meeting, until the right of membership was denied to any one holding slaves. In this service he visited the own- ers of more than 1100 slaves within the limits of a single Quar- terly Meeting.
The assistance that Friends gave to slaves, who were es- caping from slavery to a country where they might be free, gave origin to the term known as "The Underground Railroad," and the Friends in this locality were very active in that work. The residence of Isaac Jackson was one of the stations, as also the home of Jacob Lindley, who then owned the property now occupied by Annie M. Lawrence, where the supposed hiding
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places are still to be seen. These men usually acted together, and were sometimes involved in considerable personal danger, for the claimants were generally armed and well attended, and were always vindictive and very often desperate. The efforts of the two Friends were in many instances effective and not a few owed to them their freedom.
The home of Joshua Lamborn was also a stopping place for the fugitive slave. At one time a female slave came in a hurry : "Oh, hide me quick, Master after me!" So the good- hearted soul did hide her. Soon the slave-holder came in a hurry, horse panting. "Ho, did you see my slave up this way?" "Indeed, I did, and if you hurry down that road, maybe you can catch her. Go quick!" So he wheeled about and off as fast as his horse could carry him. And old Joshua had her so well hidden that she escaped recapture.
These three families were very prominent and consistent Friends of that day, with strong religious convictions, firmness of purpose, hard to drive against their consciences and persist- ent in effort. They were a preaching generation, and mem- . bers of each of these three families traveled in the ministry both in this country and abroad, which are matters of memorial record.
One of the descendants of the Jackson family, John Jack- son, was a famous botanist, and originated the once beautiful grounds near West Grove, called Harmony Grove. He had some beautiful aloes planted, on the smooth leaves of which visitors would thoughtlessly scratch their names. He resorted to a mild and ready-witted method of rebuke, by attaching cards to his favorite aloes, having them speak for themselves. Attached to one large one, he had written:
"Ye Beaux and Belles, I pray, forbear My pretty leaves to scratch and tear ; You little think the pain I feel Fiom puncture of your polished steel."
To this the golden-edged aloe replied :
"Ah, sister, well thou dost complain, For I have felt the poignant pain, Which, Oh forgive me! almost drives To curse their needles, pins and knives.
The prickly pear then chimes in :
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"I hear those ryhmers make complaint In sober style and verses quaint ; But if on me you try your skill, I'll prick your fingers, that I will."
Thus far in this sketch, it has been devoted to the long ago; let me for a few moments before closing dwell on my recollections of some things that have happened. I see away back in the misty past the old log school house as it used to stand down in the field, with a stone built in the east gable, marked 1777, the date on which it was erected. I see the im- mense fire place, and can imagine the crackling fire on the hearth, where some of our parents, and their parents before them, huddled around its ruddy blaze, with face burning and back freezing, in their efforts to master the three R's, "Read- ing, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic," as they were called, which in most cases was the only education they would receive, as the high schools were few and far between in those days, and only the favored few received the benefit. The records say the school was kept up by subscription of the members of New Garden Monthly Meeting until 1829, when it could not be supported by the members alone without admitting other contributors, not members, to have an equal voice in its management. The Monthly Meeting then released its control, and it remained in charge of the contributors until 1838, when the free school law went into effect. It was then decided to place it under the school law. In 1848 this Preparative again resumed the management, with a committee in charge and a Friends' School was again opened, with a member appointed as teacher. The minutes state that it was quite small, on account of so many Friends patronizing the public school, but it was kept open un- til about 1856, when the committee in charge, with the appro- bation of the meeting, thought best to fit it up for a dwelling house, which rented for $35 a year until 1872, when the com- mittee reported it in need of so many repairs that the meeting directed it should be removed, and it was accordingly torn down after almost one hundred years of constant service.
And again I see the old Lombardy poplars, eight of them in line, front of the old meeting house, as it was after the north end was added which was done in 1790, and . as they stood there like sentinels, guarding the old building, I was re- minded of the poet's description, when he said:
Thou, Oh, poplar, tall and taper, Reaching up on high, Like a preacher pointing upward, Upward to the sky.
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I always looked on those old trees with a certain degree of reverence, and it was with feelings of regret that I saw them hewn down in 1863, and replaced by the present ones, on account of them giving more shade. The new shades trees and the improvements made in the old building in 1905 removes every vestage of the dear old meeting house as I saw it in my childhood days.
Again, I see the long galleries from end to end, as they used to be, and the dear old Friends, who were seldom absent from their accustomed seats: George Gawthrop, Sr., who sat at the head; then Joshua Thompson, George Roberts, Dr. Mich- ener, Jeremiah Starr, Amos Barnard and Silas Stackhouse on one side, while on the other were Sarah Wickersham, Mary S. Michener, Alice Roberts, Phebe Hadley, Phebe Thompson, Mary Starr and Mary Stackhouse.
Jeremiah Starr and Phebe Hadley frequently appeared in the ministry and tenderly exhorted and encouraged us in the way of righteousness and peace. As these dear Friends were called home one by one, I can see their paces refilled by the younger ones, namely, Ellwood Michener, Sharpless Moore, George Webster, Harvey Stackhouse, John Lamborn, John Richards, Martin W. Meloney, Daniel Hallowell, Rachel Hal- lowell, Rachel Moore, Phebe Webster, Phebe Richards, Alice Stackhouse and Ruthana Michener. Martin W. Meloney and George Webster frequently appeared in the ministry, and both were fearless in expressing their convictions of what our duties should be in following out the principles of true Quakerism, and were especially faithful in making their own lives coincide with the precepts they gave forth to the world.
And pictured in my memory 45 years ago, I see the galleries of the lower meeting house, too, filled from end to end, and these are the faces that come before me as the standard bear- ers of that meeting: Joseph Chambers, George Taylor, John Thomas, James R. Cooper, Charles Cooper, Mifflin Cooper, James P. Cooper, Jabez Thompson, Caleb Hoopes, and Richard and Daniel Thompson, while on the other side I see Lettuce and Elizabeth Thompson, Rebecca Ann Cooper, Elizabeth R. Cooper, Sarah Thomas, Phebe Cooper, Jael Chambers, Susan Cooper, and Mary Hoopes. Rebecca Ann Cooper, George Tay- lor and John Thomas frequently apeared in the min- istry with messages of love and encouragement, urging us to renewed faithfulness in following out the teachings of our Divine Master, Jesus Christ.
Every one of these dear Friends has gone to their great reward, but where are the faces to fill our galleries today?
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There seem to be but few to take their places there, but while absent from that post of duty may we not hope, and believe, that we of the present generation are equally as earnest, but in a different way, in laboring for the uplift, not only of our- selves, but humanity at large.
George Fox has said that one righteous man would shake the country for ten miles around. If that be so, how mighty the influence that would be exerted if all its members were faithful advocates of the testimonies that Friends hold out to the world !
Our predecessors started far in advance of their day in the advocacy of practical truths and duties, and the pure prin- ciples they promulgated are springing up with life and power amongst individuals of many different sects. We are making a high and holy profession, and as individuals and a Society, there is a deep responsibility resting upon us, so let us not slumber over the righteous testimonies of our fathers, but let us ever be engaged in still holding them up to the world. And may we also hope that this bi-centennial review of the lives and labors of our predecessors will be an inspiration to us to strive for the goal they so earnestly and faithfully sought for.
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THE PROMISE OF THE EARLY FRIENDS
BY FRANCIS R. TAYLOR.
I T will be very hard for any one today not to feel at home here, even if he did not have ties that brought him here and that made him feel at home. Your welcome has been so cordial, and the response has so amply voiced the feelings that we all have, that I can but echo the response that Benjamin Whitson has given in behalf of those who are strangers. In fact, some of us who come to New Garden once or twice a year (and I try to make it a practice to do that) appreciate occasions of this kind.
It is of particular interest to me because my grandfather, Thomas B. Taylor, started in the store right opposite there, and remained there for a few years. My great-granfather, Jacob Taylor, was a farmer down the pike in 1812, and the farm has only recently passed out of the family name. George W. Taylor, my great-uncle, of whom we have heard already, was a very inspiring example to me in my very young days.
This audience also reminds me of the description that "occurs in an old letter that I have in my possession, written by my grandfather to my great-uncle during the troublous days of 1827-28. He describes a meeting which was held in this house in which Elias Hicks was expected to preach, upon one of those three or four tours that he made from Philadel- phia, in which he would come west along what is now the Main Line, out to Sadsbury and the Gap, then over to the river for Wilmington and Chester. In describing this meet- ing he said the benches were packed full and people were sitting in each other's laps. The windows were full of peo- ple, the doors were jammed, and 200 people in the yard could not get inside. We can see from that the importance of such gatherings as the meetings for worship in those days in the lives of the community.
I regret that it is not my opportunity to go on longer in this vein. The committee has strictly confined us to our subjects, and I believe in sticking to those confines. But those are very inter- esting recollections in my mind, which make it extremely interesting for me to be with you today.
In speaking of the early Friends 260 years ago (my memory is not very keen that far back, but speaking from
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what we are told) I have chosen as a subject, "The Promise of the Early Friends." You will hear this afternoon of the possibilities and responsibilities for the future, but my part is to talk to you of what we have inherited-not to gloat over it; not to presume upon it, but to treat it as a sacred heritage -something that has been passed on to us, not to treasure as an heirloom, but to develop and expand and to apply to modern day conditions of which the early Friends had no conception.
With that in mind, I want to speak to you of one or two phases: First, the machinery or the organization which we have inherited; secondly, and more important, the power behind the machinery by which it is possible for us to keep it well oiled and greased and in proper working trim.
There was no such thing as membership in the Society of Friends until a comparatively recent date. I do not like to indulge in dates very much, but you remember George Fox was born in 1624, and began to preach during the 40's, and died in 1690.
During his lifetime there was very little of what we call the discipline or the organization of the Society of Friends. George Fox did not think of founding a new sect at all. His idea was "primitive Christianity revived." He began to preach during the 40's. I do not know the exact time, but we can take as a nice round date 1645, approximately.
During the 50's the work of the Society was largely car- ried on by the ministers. There was no membership until 1737, when applications for membership were first entertained ; so that during the period from 1650 to 1737 the Society was not a compact or orderly or systematic body, with regular meetings held at regular intervals, with regular queries to answer and regular meetings to attend; but it was a num- berless body, because nobody could number them, and com- posed of very common ordinary people. A very small minority of the membership of the Society was composed of very well educated and wealthy people. There were a great many fishermen, a great many carpenters, bricklayers, and laborers -a great many people of the lower walks of life, to whom the message of the Friends particularly appealed. A great many people were carried into the Society of Friends on the first wave of enthusiasm that swept over England when the "valiant sixty" went out-a great many from the Anabaptists and the other small sects at that time in the Commonwealth- who were not particularly anxious to keep order; so that the people that kept order in the meetings had their hands full
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