USA > Pennsylvania > Welsh settlement of Pennsylvania > Part 38
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However, from 1707-8, when the country began to be peo- pled with promiscuous inhabitants, especially descendants of those who had persecuted Quakers in the old country, the "burning question," "Had Quakers the right to wear their hats in the Court of Chester?" was a popular one in non- Quaker Chester Co. The final answer, and settlement of the query, came about in this way in 1720. One day, in the Chester Court, the Quaker lawyer's, John Kinsey's, hat was knocked off by a tipstaff, when he refused to remor it upon
*John Churchman, of Philadelphia, : Friends' minister of the Gospel, in his Journal, 1738, tells of being joined in his journey in Maryland, by Mr. John Browning, of Cecil Co., "a Friend from Sassafrass" meeting. He relates that Mr. Browning, "some time before, had been convinced of the blessed Truth"; that he had been a member of the Church of England, and a vestryman; that "he had felt a scruple in his mind about taking off his hat when entering the church yard, so called, fearing it was superstitious adoration of the grounds from its supposed holiness, but would take it off when he entered the worship house, and walk uncovered to his pew. But after a time could not uncover his head until what they called Devine Service began." On his death bed, Mr. Browning told his wife to have the Friends place the tomb-stones, which he had prepared for his parents' graves, for hearth stones in the new brick house he was then having built, which was what he intended doing himself, as he, as a Friend, did not approve of monuments.
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the announcement of the opening of the court. The Quakers of the country were very indignant, and the matter came formally not only before the Chester monthly meeting, but the Haverford monthly meeting, which presented a remon- strance to Gov. Keith, signed by Richard Hayes, Morris Morris, Anthony Morris, Evan Evans, Rowland Ellis, Reese Thomas, &c. The Gov. vnor ruled that Friends, should they so desire, may wear their hats in Court, and especially in the Court of Chancery.
This reminds me that visitors to the old Merion meeting house are shown a wooden pin in the wainscoting above the elder's benches. About this pin itself, or its location, there is nothing remarkable, but the guide will inform you that it was on a similar pin, that used to be in the same position, William Penn hung his hat whenever he addressed this meet- ing. So much was said about this at the bi-centennial, that some rascal stole William Penn's hat pin, and, therefore, the similar, new peg in the wall.
Of course, it is possible that William Penn visited the Merion meeting, when he was the second tiine in his pro- vince, but I have seen no contemporary record of it, and only know of the tradition, the same that connects him with the house built by Robert Owen, it is claimed about 1695, which is that he "often made it his stopping place whilst travelling through these parts." For this reason the old house has been known in late years as "the Penn Cottage."*
But the good evidence that he was present at least once at a meeting of the Haverford n 'hly mecting may be found in the Journal of Thomas Story, the English Friends min- ister who came over here on a visit in 1698-99, stopping
.
*This once little stone house, told of elsewhere, which stands Montgomery Ave., back of Wynnewood RR station was changed fi its original appearance about 1873, and subsequently to its presc .: appearance, yet the walls of the original house remain. When Col. Owen Jones's father built tì. ; mansion house near the Owen house, and removed from the latter into it, the older house became the farmer's house, but before that, every occupant of it held a prominent
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most of his time with Samuel Carpenter, in Philadelphia. He records :- "I remained here [Philadelphia] till the 2d of the 11th mo. [1699], and then went in company of the governor and other friends to a general i. peting at Haver- ford, among the Welsh, wherein we met with great refresh- ment. After the meeting, the governor returned to Philadelphia, and I staid at a Friend's house, accompanied by my near friend, Dr. Griffith Owen, who, with our valued Friend Hugh Roberts, and some others, went with me the next morning to a meeting at German- town."
Mr. Story says he was again, on 5. 1mo. 1699, at a very large gathering at the Haverford monthly meeting, and re- turned after it directly to Philadelphia. On 13. 10mo. 1699, he records that he was with Penn on a visit to Chester, that they dined with Caleb usey, two miles off, and they went to. lodge with John Blun. con, eight miles off. And on 20. 10mo. without Penn, he went "to 4th day meeting, which fell in course at Haverford-West, among the Welsh Friends, and Griffith Owen was with me. The meeting was small, no Notice being given, but comfortable. And that night we lod ed with John Beva ... The next day, Radnor meeting falling of course, we went to it. It was small, for want of Notice of our coming, and because of the Badness of the Weather, for it rained and froze at the same time. That night we lodged with Richard Orms. The day following we took Merion meeting, also in course. It was large and heavenly, for Friends had heard from the former meetings that we were going that way, and several from thence met us there likewise. After meeting, we went with John
social and official position in Merion. In the builder's time, it could have been called the local court house, since as the magistrate, the judiciary head of the township, Robert Owen, here held his court for the hearing of cases that were not such that the monthly meeting could adjust. His son, Evan Owen, inherited his father's judicial mind, but was a magistrate in Philadelphia, and Robert Jones became His Majesty's Justice in Merion.
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Roberts, and lodg I at his House that night, and the next morning returned to Philadelphia." On 19. 1mo. 1699, Mr. Story attended the Burlington meeting with William Penn.
Not only were the men of the Welsh, or Haverford or Radnor monthly meeting active in what could be termed "church work," but the women also had a large part to per- form. For it is in the records of the Women Friends of this monthly meeting, after 1684, they were obliged, occasion- ally, to take up collections of corn, wheat, &c., for the relief of unfortunates in their midst, who had to be helped along when their crops failed, or were the newcomers who needed assistance till their time of harvest and plenty. Or a loan would be made by the monthly meeting, "to collect [for] him, out of each meeting, effects to buy him a Cow and Calfe at Spring, provided he doth repay it, if he be able, here- after. It being his proposall to ffriends when he requested the same." Or, "It was ordered as followeth: That Three pds of the Collection of Haverford & Merion is ordered by this Meeting to be paid to assist to build him a Home, viz; Thirty shillings of each Township." "At our Women friends meeting, held at Haverford, ye 17th of 1st month, 1697-8, it is ordered thirty Shillings out of the Collection for John Cadwalader to help him att his p'sent necsity." And in another instance, "it was ordered by this Meeting that Cadder Morgan and James Thomas do re- ceive the voluntary gift of Meirion Meeting to assist . in his present distress, he having sustained loss by fires, that Richard Ormes and Stephen Bevan, for Radnor, and Maurice Llewellyn and David Hum- phrey, of Haverford, to receive the voluntary subscriptions of each of the sd Townships, to the sd us. . " Such items show that there was in early days of first settlement that neig borly interest in the Welsh Tract common later among the pioneers of the "middle west."
But the charities of this monthly meeting were not con- fined to local needs, as it contributed £60. 14. 11. collected by John Roberts, and sent the money, towards aiding desti-
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tute Friends in and about Boston, Mass., when being per- secuted by the fanatics there. And on another occasion, sent £10. 10. 4. towards a fund raised for the redemption of the wife and children of John Hanson, who were carried off by Indians in New England, in 1724. This monthly meeting was also generous towards weak preparative meet- ings, and always prompt in payment to the quarterly meet- ing its proportion, and upon the erection of "the new Meet- ing House," in the city, the contributions of the preparative meetings were Merion, £6.5.0, Haverford, £6.0.0, and Rad- nor, £1.7.6. This indicates the relative ability of these mect- ings to raise money, and possibly the extent of membership in each.
From the earliest times, the meeting houses were recog- nized as centers of information in the Welsh Tract, and we find that on the first establishment of the postal service, notice of the time of departure of mails was ordered to be tacked on mer ting house doors, where also were placed the notices of the time and place of receiving quitrent, notices of strayed domestic animals, &c.
At the very first, the Haverford Monthly Meeting began being careful about those coming from abroad asking to be admitted into membership. In all cases the old World Friends' custom of requiring Certificates of Membership in good standing, and orderly removal, and transference from the meeting the applicant had claimed to be connected with, were required and demanded, and the old world meetings sustained Haverford Mo. Mtg. in this. It may be seen there was good reason for this cautiousness in early times from the following extract from one of the earliest certifi es filed with the Haverford monthly meeting, though it is un- dated, and without stating what meeting gave it, but evi- dently one in Merionethshire, and possibly one near J 1- gelley (phonetically written Dolgethle by Leland). It is that of "Evan ap William Powell, late of the parish of Llanvaehreth, Merioneth," who removed with his wife, Gwen, and two sons, David, then married, and Philip, and
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his daughter-in-law, Gainor, with her two small children :--- "Whereas, Likewise many have been known to transport themselves, or were transported upon account of their Evill doeings, as theft, murther, Debts, or running away in pas- sionate discontentedness with parents, wifes, or the like," therefore, this Meeting took pleasure in giving this family a clean bill. This description of some of the early Pensyl- vania settlers, not from Wales, as the signers were un- likely acquainted with the class of immigrants from else- where, was signed by Messrs. Evan and Hugh Rees, Ellis Davids, Evan, Lewis, Rowland, David and Robert Owen, William and Owen Humphrey, Humphrey Howell, Griffith Ellis, Griffith and David John, Rees and John Evans, and Richard Davies.
These certificates, originally intended as vouchers for the good character of the bearers, have become valuable genea- ogical assets for descend: nts of the Quaker immigrants, since they indicate the home of the immigrant, and often told something of his people. The certificates, and the writ- ten accounts of immigrants required to be filed with meet- ings by them, are the sources of much genealogical data, hence through these papers we can identify almost any family of Quaker settlers. This fact appears of more im- portance when we read in Mr. Diffenderffer's "German Im- migration into Pensylvania, 1700-1775," that descendants of these immigrants bewail the dearth of information as to the antecedents of the Germans, and a knowledge of the towns, and districts even whence they removed, for they brought no gen alogy with them, so back of the German settlers, with very few exceptions, their family history is as blank as a negro's.
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MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR
As already noted, the Welsh Friends of Merion and Hav- erford, in Nov. 1684, selected si es for their burial places. Up to this time, there had been in Merion only two deaths in 1682, five in 1683, and none in 1684. But there is no similar minute preserved which records that these Friends considered the erection of meeting houses for their neigh- borhoods, at so early a period. From their minutes, we learn that from 4mo. 1684 to 22. 2 mo. 1698, the monthly meetings were at the private houses of Hugh Roberts and John Bevan, when they began to take place at the Merion meeting house. But from this, we are not to imagine there was no publie meeting place in Merion before 1698, as there are a few items, as below, that proved the Merion Friends had a meeting house as early as 3mo. 1689. It may have been a log house, or a stone building, but no record has turned up guaranteeing its material, or its quality, nor the location of such a meeting house, unless as tradition says, it stood just east of the present house. And, if we are to have any confidence in Friends' records, there certainly was some building used for publie worship here for the accom- modation of the Merion preparative meeting, as there is the record, under 19, 3mo. 1693, of a wedding "in a solemn and publie assembly in our public meeting place at Merion." A private house would hardly be thus described.
From the minutes of the Merion Women Friends' meet- ings, 1689, 3mo. "Paid towards the meeting house, one shil- ling, and 41% bushel of wheat, @ 3s. 6d per bushel."
1689, 8mo. "Paid towards the meeting house."
1690, 11mo. "2 bushel of wheat paid to B. S. for swiping [sweeping] the meeting house."
1693, 10mo. "Paid Blaineh Sharplus for cleaning ye meet- ing hous . 8. 0." [This Blanch Sharpless, the caretaker of
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the Merion meeting house, was a widow at that time, and on 11mo. 23, 1694, she married at the Haverford meeting, Owen Morgan, widower, of Haverford, and was succeeded as caretaker by "Tho Phey."]
During the days of the commemoration of the present stone meeting house of Merion Friends, or the bi-centen- nial of its commencement or completion, there was, as could be expected, since the question was not settled in the minds of some, and there was some petty jealousy on the part of members of some other meeting whose meeting house is supposed to rival that of Meriou in age, inquiry as to the true date, or proof of date when the Merion meeting house was erected, and this while Ive the heads of the dis- putants was the positive assu. nce that it ; as "Built in 1695." Of course, it is evident that the present date-tablet was made and placed in the gable wall in the year 1829, on the order of the "Hicksite Friends," after they came into sole control of the property, when they repaired the build- ing. This should strengthen the claim as to "1695" being the correct date of completion, for who would accuse the then trustees of the meeting of manufacturing and trans- mitting a false date. For this reason, this date-stone cannot be classed with "tombstone evidence," which is never reliable unless we know by whose authority the inscription was made, and the quality of his integrity and veracity. Apparently there was once another, smaller date-stone in the front gable, about the size to state "BUILT IN 1695, which was stolen, as was the one from the old Rowland Ellis house back of Bryn Mawr. In both cases the niche in which it rested is prominent.
Though it is of little or no consequence now whether the Merion meeting house, as it stands, was, as its date-stone says, built in 1695, or was not, and whether, or not, the so- called Hicksite Friends can make good their statement, the fact is, that it was on this spot, in this house, or its prede- cessor, that the Welsh Friends held their early "town meet-
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ings"; first considered together formally the needs of their "barony," after attending to their spiritual needs, and both under the leadership of their ministers and elders, for here, no less than in any of the American colonies, the "Church" was paramount at the beginning, yet it is a subject inter- esting archeologically.
Of this date tablet, which from its position it may be supposed records the year of completion of the building, although it is not a cap-stone, just as a "corner-stone" would have told the time of its beginning, the two deceased local authorities, William J. Buck, and Dr. George Smith, are on record as saying that "this was the means of leading many astray, they supposed the present edifice had been erected at that date [1695], whereas, it was the date of the erection of the original building whose pla :e it supplanted eighteen years later." And further, "this has now been so long and widely published that the impression will not to so readily removed." These archeologists decided, "the fir .; meeting house was of wood, built in 1695, and used till 1713, when the present one [of stone] was built." They agreed that the date "1829," also on the tablet, referred to the time when the rough stone of which the house was built were overcast with cement to make them appear like some- thing better, or uniform, and when the building was gen- erally overhauled and repaired by the Hicksite branch when it entered upon possession.
Unfortunately, the minutes of the Merion M a's Meeting are wanting in the very years so necessary for data of the first meeting house, as the minutes between 6 mo. 1686 and 5 0. 1693 have been lost. But, thankful for the little that has survived concerning the Merion meeting, and its house, in the earliest years, I here assemble what data there is extant in relation to the meeting house that came before Merion men Friends in their meetings, but first giving two little items, of some importance in this discussion, from the extant minutes of the Merion Women Friends' meetings
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"In ye year 1694, an account of what was laid out of Merion Women's collection : [paid] Tho Phey 2 bushels and half bushels ( f wheat for cleaning ye meeting house, 8. 0."
"1695, 3mo. 9th. For cleaning ye [meeting] houses, hay- ing received 3s. of collection. Lay'd out £1. 13, 2. Contribu- tions in wheat, bushels and half bushels."
There is no question that there was a "Merion meeting house" about the year 1700, as Friend Thomas Story, in his Journal, under 15. 10mo, 1699, records, "this day held a large meeting at the Merion meeting house." And the extant minutes of the Merion Men Friends' meetings, in 1700-1705, tell that these assemblies were held regularly in the meeting house of Merion, and that in 1700-1702, an addi- tion was built to the Merion meeting house, and paid for. and in 1702-3, sundry items of hardware, &c., for the Merion meet ig house were ordered and paid for. And all these little items suggest they were procured for a newly built house. But the minutes of the Merion Men's Meeting between 5 mo. 1693 and 8mo. 1699 are extant and accessible, and it was within these years that the present stone house, the "Hicksites" advertised, in 1829, on the tablet, was built, yet the minutes up to 1699, record nothing whatever of such work, which would be looked after by the men Friends of the meeting. In order to appreciate this, it can be seen in the extant minutes of the same body, as below, that it was the custom at that time, to record in their minutes items the like we would expect to find in them between 1693-99, if building the present stone house, before, or about 1695.
1702-3, 4. 12mo. A minute under this date, of the Merion Men's Meeting, records a call for cash contributions to pay for an addition to the meeting house, the minute reading : "griffith John is continued [as collector] to speak to those that have not paid neir subscriptions towards building the a. dition to the meeting House, and to receive it, and to bring Account thereof to the next meeting." In the absence of any details as to this addition, it is presumed it referred to building the stone kitchen and warming room for the
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females, which adjoined the meeting house, on the west side, and was there many years for the accommode .ion of Friends coming from a distance, and spending a whole day at a meeting in cold weather. According to these minutes, the usual meetings for worship and business were held in the meeting house during the year 1700-1705, therefore, what- ever this "addition" was, the work of building it did not interfere with the use of the main building, and it may have been the kitchen that was the "addition," as supposed, and not the "transcept," as has also been claimed by those who imagined the "nave" was first portion of the meeting house built. But expert builders have examined the build- ing to see if there was anything in this idea, and have declared the house was built all at one time, and just as it now stands, excepting the stucco embellishment inflicted on it in 1829, and interior partitions, a uniform and choice little piece of architecture.
Apparently, the subscriptions referred to did not come in satisfactorily, or the cost of the "addition" was more than the estimate, for there was not money enough to pay off the charge in the year 1706, when, in the 2d and 3d months of that year, Evan Owen (son of the Friends' minister, Robert Owen, deceased), Edward Cadwalader. Moses Roberts, Evan Jones, Jonathan Wynne and John David, desired permission of the Merion meeting to add their subscriptions to the collection to help pay for the "addition." The list sub- scribers to this building fund has not been preserved.
In theniselves, they are little things, but the following acts were of sufficient interest at the time to be noted, and like many trivial matters, ay have been preserved to us, while those of great importance to us have not been. On 5. 1mo. 1702-3, the Men's Meeting "ordered that Robert Roberts make a cubord [cupboard, or closet] in ye meeting House to the use of ye Meeting to keep ffriends Books or papers." Robert seems to have filled the order, but not as well as he should, or something had happened to "ye cub- ord," for, on 7. 3mo. 1703, Thomas Jones was ordered to
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get hinges and a lock for this meeting house closet. It looks as if a burglar had visited the Merion meeting house, as on the same day, Owen Roberts was ordered to speak with David Maurice, (who may have been the caretaker), "con- cerning securing the meeting house," and John Moore, (probably a blacksmith), was ordered "to make hooks and staples to the meeting House Windows." John was also commissi med "to make a gryb .ing how [grubbing-hoe] to the use of the meeting." This was in the month of May, and the ground about the probably new building would need to be graded. Or possibly there had been no trespass on the meeting house, and the new hooks and staples were neces- sary for the new building, for, under the same date, 7 May, 1703, Owen Roberts and Robert Jones were "to gett boardes sowed for Benches, and for the Loft." From this item, it looks as if a new building was being slowly completed and fitted up. John Moore was certainly slow about his wor', for a month later he had not filled his order, nor had Thomas Jones, and were so reported to the Men's Meeting, but they were "continued," and in the following month, Thomas had fixed the book closet, but Maurice had not "secured" the house, therefore, on 3. 7mo. Sept. John Roberts, Owen Roberts, and Robert Jones were appointed to see carpen- ters "to secure the meeting House," 'This may not have been, however, to make the meeting house "burglar proof," but may have meant anything from stopping leaks to put -- ting a roof on a new or old meeting house.
If these extant items refer entirely to an addition to the new meeting house at Merion, it will be seen they are few, and that they refer to a period after "1695," and are the earliest references to any work on a new meeting place for the Merion meeting. It further appears in the minutes of the Merion Men's monthly meeting, that John Roberts acted as the treasurer of what we may suppose was the building fund, and that this money was accumulated by subscrip- tions from individuals and from other meetings, but. whether all for the "addition," or in the most for the new
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building, it is only a guess. However, whatever was built, was finished and partly paid for before 6mo. (Augi. ). 1703, for on 6 August, this year, John Roberts reports, his account showing the "balance due ffriends £2. 19. 11," and of this amount he himself owed £1. 8. 5, (probably the balance of his subscription), which he proposed to cancel with his bill "for Sawing upon ye account of ye meeting," as he conducted a sawmill. As to the balance, or £1. 11. 6, he said it would have to be determined whether he, or the ex- ecutors of Robert Owen, deceased, should pay this to the meeting, as the balance due it from contributors. He said if it was his obligation, he would let it also go towards paying his bill for sawing out timbers, for the meeting owed him this much. He also reported that he had paid himself "out of ye poores taxe, £2. 10. 0," "in sawing in behalf of ye Meeting." The following is the only other accounting that is extant, made by Mr. Roberts to the Merion Men's meeting, and it may be seen is all in the matter of the "addition."
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