Have you checked out the Canadian Yearly Meeting’s latest Canadian Friend magazine for 2023? It includes a few historical articles that might be of interest to members, including one by Daniel Nelson on Harry Orchard and the Wooler Monthly Meeting in Ontario. Wooler MM was first established in 1815 as the Cold Creek Indulged Meeting under the care of Adolphustown.
The Canadian Quaker Library and Archives (CQLA) has also been contributing to the Archives Corner, with tips and information for meetings and researchers. You can find the full online version of the Canadian Friend here.
We are excited to share this guest post by Daphne Davey. In the Winter 2016 Meetinghouse, Daphne wrote about the New London settlement of English Quakers in Prince Edward Island. Her original article can be read here (pg 12–13).
“THE CANADIAN FRIEND,” AROUND THE FAMILY
NEW LONDON QUAKERS: A CODA
The Winter 2016 issue of the Meetinghouse carried an article I had submitted, “The Lost Dream Revived,” briefly outlining the story of the first settlement of Quakers on Île-Saint-Jean/St. John’s Island (now Prince Edward Island). My summary was based on the then just-published history of this settlement, New London: The Lost Dream, the Quaker Settlement on PEI’s North Shore 1773–1795, by Island historian John Cousins. The publication of this book in 2016, dedicated wholly to a little-known and -explored chapter of PEI and Quaker history, was truly exciting. But fast-forward to 2023 for a delightful coda.
Wendell Feener with the John Adams clock. Photo courtesy of Doug Sobey
I recently visited the Bedeque Area Historical Museum having learned that our Lieutenant Governor had just opened two new exhibits, one of which was the “Wendell Feener Clock Collection: Clocks of the Island 1770–1960.” Mr. Feener donated 173 clocks from his enormous collection to the Museum, all restored by him and in working order.
As the Museum website notes, “[The collection includes] especially significant clocks such as the Adams [longcase or grandfather] clock, brought out from England in 1774 to New London by John Adams …” The clock has been made a focal point for the whole exhibit. It is also reputed to be the oldest known clock extant on PEI. There is a definite thrill (if not a tingling at the back of the neck) when coming face-to-face with an artifact of such historic significance – not to mention craftsmanship and beauty – especially meaningful to PEI Quakers.
The John Adams longcase clock Photo courtesy of Doug Sobey
John Cousins records in his book that Robert Clark, the London Quaker merchant who sponsored and led the settlement expedition, sent a recruiter to Derbyshire who was successful in persuading John Adams and his family (wife and five children, according to a list of settlers dated 1775) to make the transatlantic crossing in 1774. The Adams family were not Quakers, but arrived on the Island in the mixed group of Quaker and other settlers aboard Robert Clark’s ship, the Elizabeth, and were a part of the company which established the Quaker settlement of New London on the north shore, a short distance west of the present-day town. John Adams was one of those who put down roots in the area after many had left, as he is mentioned as being a “farmer” in nearby Springbrook in 1795.
It is very moving to stand at the grave in Charlottetown of Robert Clark, who faced many heartbreaking setbacks to his vision. It would be equally moving to stand at the grave of John Adams (local Friends are hoping it might be located) and contemplate how he would have been pleased to know that his clock has survived right down to the twenty-first century and is giving such pleasure to Museum visitors.
This coda to the story will be especially meaningful to historians and local Quakers who are more deeply familiar with the New London story. My thanks to historian Doug Sobey who recognized the significance of this historical gem and for his permission to use his photos.
On Sunday, 11 June 2023, the Committee of Friends’ Meeting House, Uxbridge, Ontario, held its 214th anniversary service.
A video of the service is available online thanks to Olivia Croxall, and thanks to Sandra Fuller for passing this information along to CFHA.
Built in 1820 on Quaker Hill to replace the former log meeting house, the current Uxbridge Quaker Meeting House is the oldest building in Uxbridge Township, Ontario.
To read more about Uxbridge heritage, you can find Allan McGillivray’s talk on Uxbridge Friends from CFHA’s 2004 annual meetinghere. If you’re interested in reading about how CFHA co-founder Kathleen Hertzberg became involved with the Uxbridge Meeting House, her 2004 account can be foundhere.
This year, CFHA’s Annual General Meeting will be held onSaturday, September 23rd.
The executive committee plans to present on the Threshing session held last October on “Reimagining the Future of the CFHA.” As CFHA moves forward, the executive welcomes thoughts, ideas, and blogs from members.
More information and a link to the online meeting are forthcoming. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us!
Thank you to Sheila Havard for transcribing the minutes and to Randy Saylor for overseeing the transcription process. CFHA is grateful for their generous donation and time.
According to the Swarthmore Archives, “Nine Partners Monthly Meeting was set off from Oblong Monthly Meeting by Purchase Quarterly Meeting in 1769. It then became part of Nine Partners Quarterly Meeting upon its establishment in 1783. The meeting separated in 1828 into Orthodox and Hicksite branches. The Hicksite branch became an Executive Meeting in about 1928 under Nine Partners Half Yearly Meeting; in 1951, membership had dwindled and it merged with Oswego Monthly Meeting. The Orthodox branch moved to a new meeting house in 1882; in 1926 Friends in Millbrook joined with two other denominations to build a new church building in a union known as Lyall Memorial Federated Church.”
Many families who settled in Adolphustown and West Lake came from Nine Partners, and the family names included in the transcription will be familiar to those who have looked into Upper Canadian Quaker families.
Exterior of Nine Partners Meetinghouse in 1936, courtesy of the Historic American Buildings Survey. The meeting house was built in 1780.
The London & Middlesex Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society is hosting an upcoming presentation tomorrow by Dave Zavitz on the history of Coldstream Friends. Join them this Saturday, January 7th, at 10am eastern time. This is a hybrid presentation, so you can register to attend over Zoom, or in person if you’re in the London, ON, area.
In this presentation, Dave Zavitz will cover the following questions:
Who are the Society of Friends (Quakers) and what do they believe?
What form does their worship take?
How did the village of Coldstream come about and develop: Meeting House, burying ground, local business and industries
Who were the main forces behind the development and how did they help shape this community: Education, literacy, communication, social & family?
Hugh Webster Zavitz (1854 – 1943) was a member of Coldstream Preparative and Lobo Monthly Meeting. His diaries, held by the Canadian Quaker Archives and Library, detail his life in the community of Coldstream. Jane Zavitz Bond was given Hugh’s diaries by his son, Vincent Zavitz. Jane writes, “We are grateful for Hugh Webster’s care over many years, knowing that he jotted down the key events of the day. Surely there were omissions, but this is a valuable skeletal fossil record.”
Thanks to Hugh’s records, we have a glimpse into how he and his family spent over twenty-five Christmas days. He commented on his daily chores, the weather, the health of his family, and attending meetings.
Hugh’s Christmases consisted of chopping wood, threshing peas and oats, visiting family, husking corn, making soap, and splitting wood. He noted oyster suppers, turkey dinners, and plum pudding. Gifts were seldom mentioned, though he recorded receiving mittens, a lantern, and a generous present of $500 from his mother in 1895. As part of the First Day School committee, he also attended a philanthropic meeting on peace and arbitration in 1892, and in 1898 another philanthropic session on peace where “the subject of temperance also claimed a share of our attention.”
Logging Sleigh in the Woods, c. 1890 Ontario
Hugh’s records can be read below.
1874 – Friday, December 25, 1874
Jonah was drawing saw logs to day he took down 24 logs today Father and I were choping some it was a very fine day for Christmas Mary Elizabeth was here yesterday and today.
1875 – Saturday, December 25
This has been a green Christmas as the snow is all gone except some drifts and the frost nearly all out of the ground Grand Mother is some better today.
1876 – Monday, December 25
Our folks all went over to uncle Samuels except Joah and I we were threshing peas and this evening us young folks were up to George Zavitz (except Jonah) and had a splendid good time uncle James arrived this evening.
1877 – Tuesday, December 25
We were threshing on the Haight place threshed 2 bush oats and Jonah was helping Samuel P. thresh this afternoon Willie and Phebe and a party of little folks here today which was very pleasant Charlie Vail is here this evening so ends a Merry Christmas.
1878 – Wednesday, December 25
Went to meeting and us young folks spent the afternoon and evening at Franks Eugene and Libbie Marion & Martha, Ella, Wellington, Laura were there also and had a very pleasant time.
1879 – Thursday, December 25
Amelia Mercy Jonah and I went up to uncle Elijahs this P.M. and spent the day and then spent the evening at Edmond Henrys. Dan was choping.
1880 – Saturday, December 25
Drew out two loads of wood this morning then we went over to Father’s. Uncle Merritt aunt Emily uncle James, Dellie & uncle Samuel’s there. Called on Lexie in the evening.
1882 – Monday, December 25
Carrie & Libbie washed. Husking corn. Edgar called with bills for the next lecture.
1884 – Thursday, December 25
Spent Christmas at Fathers. Uncle Zachariahs Tamer Daniel P. Emily and a cousin of theirs Kitty Shotwell were there also.
1885 – Friday, December 25
Colder and pleasant. I have been getting wood in the wood house, and spent a very pleasant Christtmas have been burning the big elm top that fell in the corn field in the summer.
1886 – Saturday, December 25
Spent Christmas at Fathers. Uncle Samuels and Melvin and Mercy there also and uncle Zacharia & Tamer. Spent a very pleasant day.
1887 – Sunday, December 25
Georgia went to meeting with Jonahs and our team. After meeting they came this way and we all went over to Fathers to an Oyster dinner uncle Samuels were there also. had a very pleasant time. Carrie went by covering her head to keep from the wind mild and snowing.
1888 – Tuesday, December 25
A rainy Christmas. We took Jonah & Emily over to Father’s Uncle Samuel’s there. Elma came home with us. Aunt Lexy brought over a present for each of us – mittens for self &c
1889 – 12-24 – 3 rd day
Helping prepare a Christmas tree to surprise the children. Libbie came this morning. Rainy. Joseph took all the children over to Walters. Walter called. After supper we had a nice little tree with presents on it for all. Frank came at night.
12-25 – 4 th day. Grand father and Grand mother and Walter Phebe & Rebecca here to dinner. Uncle John called in the P.M. We have spent a very pleasant Christmas. Weather quite mild.
1890 – Thursday, December 25
All spent Christmas at Fathers. Uncle Zachariah Tamer Thomas and Emily there also and we had a very pleasant time. Jonahs went over with us. I got 2 pairs of mittens and a lantern for my Christmas.
1891 – 12-25 Xmas. 6th day
All over to Fathers to dinner. Uncle Zachariah and family there and Annie McGilvery also, had a very pleasant time. warm and muddy.
1892 – 12-25 First day
Christmas, All but Carrie Vincent went to meeting. Father Mother and Phebe took dinner with us and we all but Carrie attended the Philanthropic meeting on Peace and Arbitration in the P.M. in place of the F.D.S. which was good. A very snowy stormy day.
1893 – 12-25
Christmas Father and Mother spent the day with us. Lexie & Annie took dinner with us. Father helped clean some more of the clover seed and started to run off the leach to make soap A warm pleasant day.
1894 – 12-25 3rd day
All went to Jonahs to spend Christmas Uncle Eli and Aunt Mary were there they came yesterday. Lexie and Annie were there also and Tommy Tompkins. We had a Christmas tree and got a good many presents. Uncle Zachariah & Tamer were there also. Colder today and a little snow flying but the ground is bare.
1895 — 12-25 4th day
All went to meeting Lexie going with us, and we all went to Jonahs to a Christmas dinner of turkey. Uncle Ambros Tamer and Katie Shotwell there also. Had a pleasant time. I went to the P.O. and got a letter for Carrie from Mother containing $500 Quite a Christmas present. Warm and pleasant no frost or snow.
1896 – 12-25 6th day
Splitting wood in the wood house and choring.
1897 – 12-25 7th day
Christmas All went over and spent the day at Fathers Lexie and Annie going along. Tamer did not come back with us, it has been pleasant to have her here with us. A pleasant day but miss the dear one who has passed on.
1898 – 12-25 First day
All went to meeting and in the P.M. attended the Philanthropic session on Peace. The subject of temperance also claimed a share of our attention.
1899 – 12-25 2nd day
All went out to Ceaf Cissons to spend Xmas The Bond and Cisson families well represented. about 30 there to eat turkey Plumb Pudding &c. Had a very nice time. went in the sleigh.
1900 – 12-25 3rd day
Christmas, Sarah Ethel and I went to Amos Wiltons to spend the day. About 30 there of their relatives and a pleasant time had turkey Edward & Bertha went the eve before
Hugh Webster Zavitz’s diaries are held at the Canadian Quaker Archives and Library. Sheila Harvard transcribed the diaries and Randy Saylor prepared them for posting.
Thank you to Carman Foster for transcribing the minutes and to Randy Saylor for overseeing the transcription process. The CFHA is grateful for their generous donation and time.
Beginning in 1845, this Orthodox-held minute book details the business of Pickering Monthly, reorganized in 1842 by the Canada Half Yearly Meeting to combine Uxbridge and Pickering. Meetings were held alternatively at both the Uxbridge and Pickering meeting houses. According to Arthur Dorland, Pickering Monthly Meeting changed to Pickering Executive in 1886 due to the general decline of the meeting and the movement of younger generations to other districts.[1]
Pickering Township was settled by families from Yonge Street, most notably Timothy Rogers. In 1809, Rogers and his family left Yonge Street and settled at Duffin’s Creek. Friends in the area were devastated soon after by an epidemic in 1809–1810 that killed many. At the end of 1810, Rogers returned to the United States and brought back with him more friends to settle the area.
Photo of the Uxbridge Meeting House, May 2019. Photo courtesy of the Uxbridge Quaker Meeting House Facebook page.
Photo of the Pickering Meeting House, built in 1867. The brick building replaced the former two-story meeting house, used from 1833–1866. Photo courtesy of Ajax.ca
[1] Arthur G. Dorland, The Quakers in Canada: A History, 2nd ed. (Toronto: The Ryerson Press, 1968), 174.
The new Executive Committee of the Canadian Friends Historical Association invites all interested parties to participate in a broad ranging session to help determine the future direction of CFHA. Rob Leverty, the Executive Director of the Ontario Historical Society, who has considerable experience with organizations like ours, will be present to help facilitate the discussion, and provide information.
The virtual session will take place on Zoom – Saturday, October 22nd at 1pm Eastern Time. Zoom link to follow.
At this time of transition, we are faced with some important questions and considerations:
While we are blessed with some people willing to serve on the Executive Committee, we do not at present have people willing and able to assume the offices (chair, treasurer, publications officer) that our charter outlines. How might we address this situation?
Despite gearing back on expenditures, we continue on a course where our spending is outpacing our income at what might be considered a dangerous rate. What is the best way to address this?
With full respect to all of those who have made significant and even sacrificial contributions to CFHA, is it time to ask whether our lifespan run its course? Interest in Quaker heritage may be waning among progressives, and the number of interested parties may no longer be adequate to support the Association (both in terms of volunteer participation, and in terms of financial support).
Might we envision CFHA as a separate chapter of the Friends Historical Association (run out of Philadelphia—not clear what this would mean for our charitable tax status in Canada), or as an arm of CQLA, in order to share administrative costs and be part of something larger and more sustainable?
In lieu of adequate volunteer support (which would be the ideal), how do we continue hiring people to get the work done? Do we, for example, need to replace Chris when he leaves us as our ongoing administrative assistant, or could we hire someone on an “as needed” basis for specific tasks? (For example, hire an accountant for a couple days a year to prepare our financial statements and file our tax returns.)
What responsibility do we have to our members? The meaning of membership changed when we went digital: one does not need to be a member to access materials. We have not recently been offering the annual historical trips, in-person gatherings, or lunches (especially since Covid). With activities moving online, our historic meeting houses may not be as big a part of our lives. What can/should we revive, and what should we let drop permanently? What new initiatives might we undertake to energize and serve our membership?
Please consider participating in this important event!
CFHA is pleased to share information regarding the following event.
Please join the Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) on three days in October for a set of virtual sessions foregrounding expanded approaches to the study of Quaker history and culture. The sessions are held over Zoom and there is no cost to attend. Registration is via Eventbrite.
CQHA’s October sessions have been chosen with a focus on interpretive approaches in mind. In each, CQHA is delighted to welcome both emerging and established practitioners in their areas of Quaker scholarship. Short CQHA informational briefings and the biennial CQHA business meeting will also be held as part of these sessions.
The sessions are scheduled for October 12, 19, and 26, beginning at 12:30 pm EDT. They are:
Graphic Novels: Quakers in Pictures and Print Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Marcus Rediker,Distinguished Professor, University of Pittsburgh
David Lester, Artist and musician (Mecca Normal) in Vancouver, Canada, and graphic novelist of Prophet against Slavery
Will Fenton, Associate Director, Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis, Stanford University
Katelyn L. Lucas, Tribal Historic Preservation Assistant for Delaware Nation and PhD Candidate, Temple University
Dash Shaw, American comic book writer/artist and animator, and cartoonist of Discipline (2021) published by the New York Review Comics
Description:
This session focuses on three historical graphic novels to consider issues of interpretation in presenting the Quaker past through the lens of graphic or visual presentation. David Lester and Marcus Rediker will discuss the collaboration of artist and historian in the making of Prophet against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel (Beacon Press, 2021), a graphic adaptation of Rediker’s biography of Benjamin Lay. Katelyn Lucas and Will Fenton will share insights from Ghost River: The Fall and Rise of the Conestoga (Library Company of Philadelphia, 2019), which reimagines the Paxton massacres of 1763 as an educational graphic novel, introducing new interpreters and new bodies of evidence to highlight Indigenous victims and their kin. Dash Shaw’s presentation will detail his process and the historical materials and references for Discipline (New York Review Comics, 2021), a graphic novel about a Quaker soldier in the American Civil War, which incorporates Civil War-era Quaker letters and diary entries. Together these presentations will give insights into innovative ways of engaging and imagining the Quaker past.
CQHA: A short briefing on CQHA and upcoming business will follow the presentation.
Thought and Action in Decolonizing Practices: A Conversation Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Sa’ed Atshan, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Anthropology, Emory University
Paula Palmer, Co-Director of Toward Right Relationship, a project of the Indigenous Peoples Concerns committee of the Boulder Friends Meeting
Tanya Maus (moderator), Director, Peace Resource Center and Director, Quaker Heritage Center, Wilmington College
Description:
Focusing on academic practice and activism, this panel is devoted to a dialogue between Sa’ed Atshan and Paula Palmer regarding their interventions into upholding and uplifting the rights of first peoples and colonized peoples. Tanya Maus will moderate. Atshan’s scholarship has brought into focus the trauma of Palestinian identities including Queer and Quaker Palestinians as well as the potential for intersectional activism and solidarity among various constituents. Palmer’s lifework and activism have focused on the rights of Indigenous peoples. She witnesses the roles Quakers played in colonization and the forced assimilation of native children by means of the Quaker industrial boarding schools. Through dialogue, both participants will focus on the relationship between thought and practice, the various meanings of decolonization within the context of their work, and the necessity of restorative justice.
CQHA: A short briefing on CQHA and upcoming business will precede the presentation.
Esther Sahle, Research Associate in Global History, Freie Universität Berlin
Michael F. Suarez, S.J., Professor of English and Director of Rare Book School at the University of Virginia
James Truitt, Senior Archives Technician, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Description:
New attention to network analysis in the humanities has invited new opportunities to explore the dense set of religious, economic, and social interconnections that characterize historical Quakerism. In this session, Esther Sahle will revisit what we know on the development and significance of Quaker business networks, contextualizing them within broader social and economic developments of the long eighteenth century. Michael Suarez will discuss the essential role played by Transatlantic Quaker networks in the campaign to abolish the slave trade, c.1787–1807. James Truitt will introduce participants to Friendly Networks, an online project that maps social networks within archival sources using the journals of eighteenth-century New Jersey minister John Hunt together with EAC-CPF and TEI, widely-used standards for authority control and text encoding.
CQHA: The biennial CQHA Business Meeting will follow the presentation.
Please see CQHA’s website for full information, or contact the organizers by email at [email protected].
CQHA’s