Friday, April 11, 2014

The Pennsylvania Quaker Split

I did not know this!

I had enjoyed the pilot of the new series, Turn.
I was thinking about it while doing my usual perusal through our various online sites and decided to look up the names of the characters to keep them straight in my head. 
Well! I ended up looking up Anna Strong as the female spy and then ended up in Townsend's  history and some how found a connection to the Pennsylvanian Quakers.

It is noted that during the tension of our nations uprising some of the Quakers began siding with the colonists that felt they had rights to what they had worked for and the stirrings of patriotism along with Thomas Paine's writings caused a split between 'political Quakers' and 'religious Quakers".

Ok, so I've been diverted.
My attention has now been focused on my ancestors.
I could say some Quakers married into my family or my family married Quakers...

Way back in the beginning of my husband and my quest to find the Quaker cemetery and site of the Quaker meeting house built on a piece of ground donated by my ancestor we wondered why the religion was not continued down through the generations.
One of my ancestors felt so deeply about the religion they donated land for a meeting house but the names disappear form the meetings records after so long...
Why? 
I don't know. 
We have fractured off into so many different quests I haven't found all the info in my families history but am documenting as much info as I can. 

I have always loved history and have focused more closely on American history as I've progressed.
With this new info found about the Pennsylvanian Quaker split I have a new bit of insight into why some Quakers diverted to Patriots.
I knew Ben Franklin had started a Militia to protect Philadelphia because the Quakers were pacifists and Philly was a bedazzling jewel ready to be plucked!

 Not to mention I've still not found out why there is a GAR marker in the Quaker cemetery...
History is who we are!
Don't you just love it?