The biennial Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) will take place virtually this year between June 24–26. Operating with the support of the Friends Historical Association, the CQHA focuses on the history of Quakers and Quakerism. This year’s conference will be free for all to attend.
Registration will open by the end of March, though you can check the CQHA website for updates on registration and program details.
The 2018 conference, held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, featured excellent presentations on diverse topics ranging from Quaker spirituality, transatlantic politics, persecution, discipline, and enslavement. Past programs can be found here.
“Assemblée des Quaquers à Londres” by A. Moubach, 1727-1738
We all love a mystery and this little story puzzled me for many years and finally has been solved.
Robert Hubbs Saylor (1827-1907), brother of my great grandfather, was a life-long resident of Bloomfield, ON, and a member of West Lake Meeting. In 10th month of 1876 Robert writes a letter home from Camden, NJ, where he is a guest of Richard Esterbrook (1812 – 1895)[i], Quaker and the wealthy owner of the Esterbrook Pen Company.
Robert joyfully describes eating his first banana and reports on the bustle of life in New Jersey. The mystery that stayed with me was – Why was he there? Were Robert and Richard friends from an earlier time? The letter is worthy of being presented here.
Camden [NJ] Tenth Mo 1874
Samuel C Saylor & Rachel J Saylor
Dear Sun and Daughter[ii]
I am now in a land far from my home and family although not forgotten them my mind has been much occupied in the affairs that has placed me here this time and it has seemed to me to be wright to attend to my feellings i believe it will prove a blessing to me and to my Little family that has been left behind to care for thing at home
I have seen more than i could tell in three weeks if i were to doo nothing but tell about it the City of Philadelphia it would take Three weeks to go through it and get any idea of it there are houses that would take all day to bare look through
I am looking a round among friends but it would be no place for to more go out for a visit unless there was notice given before hand informing them of your coming
I have seen such friends [probably meaning Friends, ie. Quakers] as i never before see
I have visited the grounds that Wm Penn made the Treaty with the indians and his house he lived in while he lived here and see his likeness over the door of the house of the same
I see the old bell that was rang untill it was split to pieces the day of the declaration of independence; Philadelphia is a large citty and to such a vast amt of vegitable production its wonderful
I have eaten fruit called Beaunanna [banana] it is in the shape of a cucumber but equal to the best pear thee ever eat
more drive and hurry than can be imagined
Samuel i shall get something for the school and as I am the only friend that Ever has come from Canada here so as to be known hereafter it will be long to be remembered by friends here and a warm feeling felt towards me and my family will be likely to remain for time to come
I am now at my old friends house an old friend indeed he employs about 200 hands to the making of steel pens and sell about $9,000.00 per mo. i will will fetch a sample of each home
R Esterbrook keep a horse in the livery and carriage. it is fetched to his door when ordered and drive to the door nothing to doo but drive him i have had a number + of rides cross the delaware river and on street cars
I shall have much to tell thee when i come home
I hope I shall be home soon and if my stay should be longer than i expected it will be for more money that i am staying for, hoping I shall find all well when i come home which there is no doubt but i will; doo the very best the can to get along and write to me while i am here so if i get away from this before receiving thy letter it would be sent to me
Direct thy letter to me in the care of Richard Esterbrook, tell thy Mother to doo so to direct thy letter
Camden NJ
US
I remain thy Father and friend
in Love Robert H Saylor
Rachel kiss that dear little RES for me one 100 times[iii]
Remember me to all Especially to Mother and David, and to friends in general RHS[iv]
About a year ago I was preparing, for transcription, a digital copy of the Norwich Monthly Meeting minute book for the years 1852-1866. I noticed the name Richard Esterbrook in a number of minutes. The first mention in 11mo 1859 was a removal certificate from the East Division of Cornwall “in favor of Richard Esterbrook and Mary his wife; he being certified as a minister in unity.” A little over a year later on 2mo 1861, Richard Esterbrook Jr resigns his membership and then later in 8mo asks for a removal certificate for himself, wife and daughter to Haddonfield Monthly Meeting of Friends in New Jersey. It is obvious from the minutes that Richard spent very little time in Norwich and was probably away in the US establishing his business.[v]
The Haddonfield minutes mention receiving the removal certificate from Norwich in 11mo 1861 for Richard Esterbrook, a minister in unity, his wife Mary and daughter Mary Ann.[vi]
This unexpected find rekindled my enthusiasm to dig a little deeper into why the letter came to be. The story of Richard Esterbrook (1812-1895) and the growth of his pen making company is easily found on the internet.[vii] By the time of Robert Saylor’s visit in 1876, Richard Esterbrook was well established as a successful business man and Robert’s letter gives us a small picture into the urban vitality of Camden. To Robert’s rural eyes, Camden was much different from Bloomfield.
Why did Robert make a visit to New Jersey and stay as a guest with Richard Esterbook? Eliza Varney was an active minister out of West Lake and travelled widely. It was custom to give her a minute permitting the travel and she would present this when visiting Meetings. The meeting would then record her visit in their minutes and also give her a minute confirming the visit. Upon return she would submit her minutes. Also, being female, “suitable company” would be chosen to accompany her. Could it be that Robert joined her on one of her travels?
Robert Saylor and his wife accompanied Eliza in January 1874 on a visit to Yonge St.[viii] Eliza received a minute in 5 mo 1874 to visit meetings in New England. Could it be that Robert accompanied her on this trip? However, six months later, Eliza returned the minute having not travelled to New England due to ill health.
No mention of a visit by Robert Saylor or Eliza Varney is found in the Haddonfield men’s and women’s minutes during the 1874 visit. Solving a mystery always includes blind alleys and the idea that Robert travelled with Eliza Varney did not solve the question.
As a last thought I searched Robert Saylor’s name in Ancestry’s Quaker holdings and was amazed that there were 111 references to his name in various Canadian minute books. Most of them deal with the Chancery Court case in 1883 dealing with the Orthodox and Conservative Quaker conflict over the ownership of the West Lake Meeting house. Luckily, some references were from 1874.
It did not take long to find this amazing statement in the Boarding School Committee minutes of 12mo 1874. “Robert H Saylor informs the Com that he raised in Philadelphia – New York etc and has in his possession subscription to the amount of about Five Thousand Dollars [$5000] American Currency. He is instructed to convert the amount into Canadian Currency when in his opinion is the best time and hand the proceeds to James Wetherald the Treasurer of the Boarding S[chool] Funds.”[ix]
That was a lot of money in 1874! Clearly Robert was visiting the eastern US meetings to raise money for the Boarding School. What role did Robert have in this venture?
West Lake was home to the West Lake Boarding School from the 1840s till 1865 when it was closed due to low enrolment. The Yearly Meeting proposed to build a new school at a more accessible location near Pickering.
In 1871 the Ontario legislature passed an act to incorporate the Trustees of the Friends Seminary which was to be built near the village of Duffins Creek in Pickering Township. In the minutes of the Pickering College Records dated 13 7mo 1873, Robert H Saylor is one of seven men appointed as “a Building Committee” for the new school. Robert H. Saylor “having offered his services to the Meeting to solicit subscriptions from all our members his services were accepted, and he encouraged to proceed …”[x]
In the Yearly Meeting minutes of the 7mo of 1876, the Boarding School Committee reported that the new Seminary was under construction and Robert Saylor is “released from the service of obtaining subscriptions” to pay for the new building.[xi] The new boarding school was a grand four storey building that had two wings that could accommodate 95 boarders.[xii] The school construction cost a little over $24 000 so the $5000 that Robert raised by subscription in 1874 was nearly 20% of the total. Robert Saylor made a significant “service” to the Society.
Pickering College, built in 1877 in Pickering Village. The building was heavily damaged by a fire in 1905 and was later rebuilt in Newmarket.
In the Building Committee meeting of 29 6mo 1877, Robert H Saylor was instructed to “box up and send by express … the library and apparatus of the old Boarding School” from the West Lake Boarding School that had been closed in 1865 and send it to the new Pickering College. This underscores the connection between the earlier school and the new school at Pickering.[xiii]
Robert Saylor was quite involved in the Separation in 1881 between the Orthodox and Conservative parts of the West Lake Quaker community. On 11 mo 1881, Levi Varney, Gilbert Jones and others who were called “Separatists” were disowned by the West Lake Orthodox meeting.[xiv] John T. Dorland stated that Eliza Varney who had been a minister, was disowned “because she did not act up to the discipline she professed.”[xv]
For a time, the Orthodox and Separatist parts of the meeting shared the meeting house, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon and kept separate minute books.[xvi] The Separatists even held their own quarterly meeting which they called a Four Months meeting. This minute was presented at the following Yearly Meeting in conflict with the Quarterly meeting minutes of the Orthodox group. The Yearly meeting did not accept the Separatists minutes. This all came to a head in December 1881 when the Separatists broke in the door and window of the meeting house to lay claim to the building. The resulting law suit was heard in the Chancery High Court in Belleville and the decision in 10mo 1883 sided with the Separatists. Robert Hubbs was one of the major witnesses as he was present at the conflict.
In Robert’s cross examination at the trial he states that he travelled “to raise funds” at the direction of the Yearly Meeting. He did not need a minute as a minute “is only needed for religious exercises.”[xvii]
The Orthodox group started a new minute book and continued to meet[xviii]. They appealed the case to the Ontario Supreme Court which reversed the decision in 1886. The Separatists (Conservatives) appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada which dismissed the appeal in 1887.[xix] The West Lake meeting continued as an Orthodox meeting.
Robert Saylor was as a valued member of the West Lake Orthodox community and attended most Yearly meetings as a representative. John T. Dorland, minister, travelled widely and in 1882 Robert accompanied John to North Carolina and the Western Quarterly Meeting.[xx]
Robert died in 1907 and the Yearly Minutes record that “The decease of Robert H. Saylor was reported and there was a general expression of appreciation of his Christian character and the loss sustained by the church.”
It has been a pleasure to connect Robert’s letter from 1874 to the funding of the new Pickering College and to shed light on the fact that Richard Esterbrook was being generous to his Friend from Canada. It is very likely that Richard was himself a subscriber to the new College and perhaps he introduced Robert to individuals and meetings that might help in the subscription for the construction of Pickering College. It seemed fitting to extend this story to include the separation in 1881 given Robert’s significant role in the proceedings.
[ii] Samuel Charles Saylor and his wife Rachel Jane Cronkhite – daughter in law to Robert.
[iii] Robert Ernest Saylor was born in 1874 and died young on 23 Jan 1875. RES was Robert’s first grandchild.
[iv] The letter is found in the Rachael Cronkite family Fonds, AO, F550, transcription on line Randy Saylor web site
[v] Norwich Monthly Meeting 1852-1866, AO, MS 303, reel 6, C-2-8, not yet transcribed by CFHA. The minute book is available on Ancestry.com at Canada, Quaker Meetings 1876 – 1988, Ontario, Oxford, Norwich MM 1852 – 1866, images 53, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68.
[vi] Haddonfield MM Minutes 1831 – 1867, Online at Ancestry, US Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, New Jersey, Camden, Richard Esterbrook and family certify recd. p. 512, image 516.
[ix] Pickering College Records, (D-1-12) reel 50; Online at Ancestry, Canada Quaker Meeting Records, 1786-1988, Durham County, Pickering College Records, Minutes of Pickering Boarding School, p. 4, image 916. Not transcribed on CFHA.
[x] Pickering College Records, (D-1-12) reel 50; p. 3, image 915
[xiii] Pickering College Records, (D-1-12) reel 50; p. 10, image 919
[xiv] West Lake MM 1876-1883, O-10-3, reel 24. Online at Ancestry.com, Canada Quaker Meeting Records, 1786-1988, Ontario, Prince Edward, West Lake Conservative, 11mo 1871, p. 76, image 47. This is an Orthodox minute book.
[xv] Appeal from the Chancery Court at Belleville, Jones vs Dorland, 1884, 2 Vols, 747 pages. This contains of all the evidence from witnesses and transcriptions of relevant minute books. On line at Ancestry.com. Canada Quaker Meeting Records 1786-1988, Ontario, Prince Edward, West Lake Conservative, Ontario Court of Appeal, Vols 1 and 2, image 459, p 434. See “Distinct separate meetings” on image 24, p. 22. See image 2 for the Index listing the names of all the witnesses called and the page number of their testimony. It is fascinating reading. The first three witnesses are: Robert Saylor starting on page 9; Eliza Varney on page 29 and John T Dorland on page 53. Volume 2 starts at image 453 and the index to Vol 2 is at image 455. Note that Robert Saylor and John Dorland are cross examined at length.
[xvi] West Lake MM 1881-1899, C-4-6, reel 9. Online at Ancestry.com, Canada Quaker Meeting Records, 1786-1988, Ontario, Prince Edward, West Lake Conservative. The minute book commences 2mo 1881 and in 7mo 1883 complaints for disownment are brought against Robert H. Saylor, John T. Dorland and numerous other Orthodox Quakers. Over the next few months they are disowned, p. 39.
[xviii] West Lake MM 1883-1903, O-10-4, reel 24. On line at Ancestry.com Canada Quaker Meeting Records 1786-1988, Ontario, Prince Edward, West Lake Conservative, WLMM 1883-1903. This Orthodox book is mistakenly catalogued by Ancestry as Conservative. In 5mo 1887 right after the Supreme Court dismissed the last appeal, the minute names those who have been absent for over three years with the exception of Levi and Eliza Varney. Robert Saylor is to inform them that they can return as members by “amendment of life”, p. 89.
[xx] US Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, North Carolina, Guilford, Western Quarterly Mtg, Minutes 1860-1900, 8th mo 12, 1882, p. 644, image 673, Ancestry. Also see Canada Quaker Meeting records 1786-1988, Ancestry.com, West Lake MM 1876-1883, 9th mo 21 1882, p. 89, image 55
On the subject of marriage, William Penn wrote, “Never marry but for love; but see that thou lovest what is lovely.”[1] Marriage was an expectation for most young Quakers, yet the practice of endogamy and the parameters surrounding marriage set out by Quaker discipline governed the choices Friends made. Particularly in the early nineteenth century when discipline surrounding endogamy was strictly enforced, marriage outside of the faith ended in disownment. In Robynne Rogers Healey’s study of the Yonge Street Friends, From Quaker to Upper Canadian, she argues that while companionate marriage was common in Quaker communities before it became popular in nineteenth-century society, “membership still took precedence over emotion.”[2]
For Friends who married out, their names quickly disappeared from meeting records. Though some might have remained adherents to the faith but not actual members, their experience in Quakerism is not reflected in the minutes. Other Friends produced acknowledgements for their behaviour, only to later leave the faith for other reasons. The marriage of Isaac D. Noxon, a Quaker from a prominent family, and Janet (Jennet) Demorest, a young woman raised Presbyterian, gives us insight into a couple who married outside of their faith backgrounds and their experience of religion and Quakerism throughout their relationship. In many ways, their lives follow a number of trends common to Friends in the nineteenth century.
Isaac D. Noxon and Janet Demorest Noxon
Isaac D. Noxon was born 11 March 1809 in Adolphustown, Ontario, the eighth child of James Noxon and Elizabeth Dorland. Both James and Elizabeth were weighty Friends who were involved in the Adolphustown Monthly Meeting and later theWest Lake Meeting. James served as a minister and Elizabeth as an elder. During the 1828 Orthodox-Hicksite schism that devastated North American Quaker communities, both James and Elizabeth were vocal supporters and leaders of the Hicksite faction in the West Lake community. Isaac was a young man at the time of the schism and was likely affected by the volatile nature of the break.
Janet Demorest was born 23 April 1813 in Demorestville, Prince Edward County, to Jane Davis and Guillaume Demorest. Guillaume emigrated from Dutchess County, New York in 1790 to Adolphustown, marrying Jane Davis in 1793. The couple settled in Prince Edward County soon after their marriage and built a grist mill near Fish Lake, and the surrounding area soon grew into a small village called Demorestville. Guillaume was a Presbyterian but later became a Methodist and donated land to both the Presbyterians and Methodists in the area.[3]
Where Janet Demorest and Isaac Noxon met is unknown, but their communities were small, and any number of events could have brought them together in 1832. Janet clearly made quite an impact on Isaac, as he wrote her an acrostic love poem soon after their initial meeting. The end of the poem reads:
Remember those who think of you
Each have their fault, but pass them by
So you may find, among these true
The one that hopes it may be I
The pair were wed soon after in the spring of 1833 in Demorestville. The wedding was performed by Janet’s brother, Thomas Demorest, who was a Methodist minister. As Janet was not a Quaker and they were married outside of Isaac’s meeting, the issue of their marriage was soon raised in the Green Point Preparative Meeting.[4] The matter was brought to the West Lake Monthly Meeting (Hicksite), where Cornelius White and Stephen Bowerman were appointed to visit Isaac and look into the report. By the next meeting, Isaac had produced an acknowledgement, stating:
Dear Friends – I have so far deviated from good order as to marry a person not of our Society and to have said marriage accomplished by the assistance of a Priest which practice I condemn and wish to be continued a member.[5]
Though his wife Janet never became a member, Isaac maintained his membership for eight years after their marriage. His acknowledgement demonstrates a willingness to stay in good standing with the meeting, and he is named on a committee in 1835. However, in 1841, a complaint was brought against Isaac for not attending meetings and going out of plainness. When visited by a committee this time, Isaac made no attempts at acknowledgement and was disowned.[6]
In the 1871 Census of Canada, Isaac and Janet listed their religion as Methodist New Connexion. Arthur Dorland addressed the influence of Methodism on Canadian Quakers in his 1927 study, A History of the Society of Friends (Quakers) In Canada. Dorland argues that despite attempts by more conservative Friends to maintain separate from Methodism, Canadian Quakerism in the mid to late nineteenth century eventually adopted “many things peculiar to this type of evangelical religion, including many of its methods of evangelistic propaganda.”[7] He concludes that the most important influence on the life and thought of Canadian Quakerism was Methodism, a reality that led to a further schism in the community in 1881. The turn towards Methodism is thus unsurprising for Isaac Noxon. His wife, Janet, likely identified as Methodist herself at the time of their marriage, and both her brother and father were Methodist ministers.
Despite different faith upbringings, Isaac and Janet had a happy and long-lasting marriage. They raised their seven children in Sophiasburgh, eventually taking over the Noxon family farm.[8] Their children were Elizabeth, Isaac James, William Grant, Bartholomew Davis, Harriet Isabel, Emma Gertrude, and George Relyea. Isaac and Janet remained in Ontario until 1877 when the couple moved to New York to help one of their sons. Some of their children remained in Ontario while others emigrated to the United States.
Family anecdotes about their lives detail the importance of faith for both Isaac and Janet, and it seems that the pair passed on aspects of Quakerism to their children despite their Methodist faith. Paul Noxon, the great-grandson of Isaac and Janet, wrote about the family’s history and commented on the continuance of certain practices. He stated, “Although the family later abandoned the strict observance of the Quaker customs, during our childhood we still had silent grace at mealtime.”[9] Though Paul was born after Isaac’s death, he grew up in Avoca and spent time with his great-grandmother, Janet.
Another anecdote comes from a letter written by Ruth Winn Huntley, the wife of Isaac and Janet’s son, Isaac James. Isaac James and Ruth were married in Newmarket in 1861. Ruth’s parents, Theodore Huntley and Hulda Winn, were members of the Yonge Street Meeting (Orthodox).[10] Ruth’s letter was written to her daughter Eudora on 26 May 1889 and discusses the family’s attempt to attend church one morning in Avoca. In the letter, ‘Pa’ and ‘Grand Pa’ both refer to Isaac D. Noxon, who was eighty at the time.
“… There was no Church to the Lutheren Church, & George would
not go anywhere else & Dell would not be cause she had no
new hat & Grand Pa says I’ll go I said Come on, & we started
for the Methodist Church. It was then late but we trugded on
got way down there & there was nobody there. Pa says we aint
agoing to be beat, let’s go to the Babbist [Baptist]. So we come part
way back crosed over and got there before the first Prayer
was over. The house was more than full. Found it was Union
Memorial Servises, Pa had not heard anything about it. But
he thought & so did I that the services were very nice not
haveing heard anything of the kind before. We had dinner to
Grand Pas, boys were there too. Ma has her house all cleaned
& papered looks real nice …”[11]
Travelling from church to church to find a service was not an uncommon occurrence. Avoca, in Steuben County, was a small rural town and church services relied on the availability of ministers and attendance. As well, evangelical culture in late nineteenth-century North America tended to homogenize a number of otherwise separate religions. In his study of Orthodox Friends and their place in broader religious movements, Thomas Hamm argues that by the 1880s, American Quakers were “in the final stages of adjusting the society’s traditions to the evangelical and holiness teachings that they had embraced.”[12] The prominence of evangelicalism in America meant that moving between different denominational services was just another reality for many. For Isaac Noxon, his persistence on attending a Sunday service suggests the continual importance of religion and faith in his life.
November 1892 photo of Isaac and Janet with three of their children.
When Isaac Noxon passed in 1896, his obituary detailed his religious upbringing in the Society of Friends as well as his father’s role as a minister. On his adherence to Quakerism, his obituary specified that, “In early manhood he felt to discard some of their forms and peculiar customs although retaining the fundamental doctrine of that denomination to the close of his life.”[13] He was further remembered as a genial, peace-loving man, and a true Christian gentleman. At Isaac’s funeral in Avoca, NY, a Quaker preacher from Ontario conducted the service.[14]
Janet lived another eighteen years after Isaac passed, dying in 1914 at the age of one hundred. In a newspaper clipping celebrating her hundredth birthday, she was described as “a woman who has loved life with all the genuineness and depth of her nature, imparting to others her joy of existence.”[15]
–
My thanks go to Don Howe, the third great-grandson of Isaac Noxon and Janet Demorest, and descendant of Isaac James Noxon and Ruth Winn Huntley, for permission to use his family’s photos and for sending Isaac Noxon’s obituary and Ruth Huntley’s letter. Don graciously shared his recollections of his family with me and filled in many of the gaps of Isaac and Janet’s life.
I’d also like to thank Erin Fraser for her permission to use Isaac Noxon’s letter. Erin is a descendant of Emma Gertrude Noxon, the daughter of Isaac and Janet.
[1] William Penn, Fruits in Solitude, in Reflections and Maxims Relating to the Conduct of Humanlife, 10th ed. (Philadelphia, PA: Benjamin Johnson, 1792), 22.
[2] Robynne Rogers Healey, From Quaker to Upper Canadian: Faith and Community Among Yonge Street Friends, 1801–1850 (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2006), 55.
[3] Women’s Institute, History of the Churches of Prince Edward County (Picton, ON: Picton Gazette Publishing Co., 1971), 97.
[4] 17 April 1833, West Lake Monthly Meeting, Book C, 1824–1837.
[5] 15 May 1833, West Lake Monthly Meeting, Book C, 1824–1837.
[6] 19 May 1841, West Lake Monthly Meeting, 1837–1849.
[7] Arthur Dorland, A History of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in Canada (Toronto: MacMillan Co., 1927), 132.
[8] James Noxon’s account book has been fully transcribed and is available on Randy Saylor’s website.
[9] This anecdote was relayed by Don Howe, found in Paul A. Noxon’s 1985 work, “A History of the Noxon Family.”
[10] Records of Theodore Huntley and Hulda Winn’s marriage can be found in the Yonge St Monthly Meeting Records, 1828-1835 (Orthodox), 16 October 1834; 13 November 1834; 18 December 1834.
[11] This letter was transcribed by Don Howe’s father and reflects the spelling and grammar of the original letter. I have added capitalisations in places for clarity. In the letter, George refers to George Noxon, Isaac and Janet’s youngest son.
[12] Thomas Hamm, The Transformation of American Quakerism: Orthodox Friends, 1800-1907 (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1988), 121.
[13] Isaac Noxon’s obituary appeared in the Avoca Advocate in 1896.
[14] The preacher in question was likely Isaac Wilson. Wilson, part of the West Lake Meeting, travelled extensively around New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, and was in New York in 1896. Many of his trips are detailed in the Friends Intelligencer, a Hicksite journal that ran from 1844 to 1955.
[15] “One Hundred Years Young Today: Many Generations Pay Homage to Mrs. Janet Demorest Noxon,” Herbert Clarence Burleigh Fonds – Family Files – Demorest (i), 50.
In this month’s Founders and Builders Series, we introduce you to Jane Zavitz-Bond, a dedicated member who has served in many executive appointments and has been instrumental in every way to CFHA’s success.
Jane Zavitz-Bond By Robynne Rogers Healey
Jane Zavitz-Bond (born Mary Jane Vandervort) has had a lifelong interest in Quakerism and Quaker history. She was born in Columbus, Ohio, on 19 May 1930 and grew up in southwestern Ohio in a Quaker-settled region similar to southwestern Ontario. She earned a BA in History from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana and teaching credentials from the Ontario College of Education. During her university years, she married Paul Zavitz, a Quaker from Elgin County; the couple planned to settle on Paul’s family farm.
Jane Zavitz-Bond, from Pickering College’s website.
Feeling led to teach in Friends schools, Jane and Paul spent two considerable terms at Olney Friends School (1956 – 1961 and 1963 – 1975) as well as teaching in schools in southern Ontario. During those years the family expanded with the birth of six children: Kit, Pheobe, Martha, Daniel, Louisa, and Jamie. Paul was head of Olney Friends School from 1969 until his tragic death in a bulldozer accident in 1972. Jane remained at Olney for three years after Paul’s death to support the school; in 1975 she returned to Ontario with their children and pursued a master’s degree in library science from the University of Western Ontario.
In 1976 she became teacher-librarian at Pickering College in Newmarket where she remained until her retirement in 1995. In 1978 she completed some graduate courses in archival studies at the University of Maryland. In 1991 she married Everett Bond and the two shared a double life, Everett in St Thomas, Ontario and Jane commuting back and forth between St Thomas and Newmarket. Despite her retirement in 1995, Jane remained on in the library until December 1997 to allow her successor time to get teaching certification. Her ongoing service and commitment to Pickering College was acknowledged when she retired with the Class of 1842 Award.
It was during her MLS studies at University of Western Ontario that Jane became involved with the Canadian Friends Historical Association when it was still in its early years. She edited the newsletter in 1976 and wrote a history of the Sparta Meeting. That same year, she led local tours for visitors at Canadian Yearly Meeting when it was held at Alma College the same year that Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) was being held at McMaster University in Hamilton. As part of her MLS studies, Jane worked to organize Quaker records deposited in the UWO library, connecting her support of CFHA with her love of working with Quaker archival materials. Walter Balderston was chairperson of CFHA at that time; following his unexpected death in 1978, Kathleen Schmitz-Hertzberg became chair and Jane moved into the position of vice chair, one she filled for many years. She, herself, became chair of CFHA in 2003, a position she held until 2007.
Photo of Jane in historical Quaker costume, wearing Elma Starr’s bonnet
Jane’s name has been synonymous with both CFHA and the Canadian Yearly Meeting Archives at Pickering College. The Arthur G. Dorland Friends Historical Research Collection Room (which holds the Rendall Rhodes collection of disciplines purchased by CYM in 1981) was established in the Library at Pickering College in 1983. In December of that year, the Canadian Yearly Meeting began to deposit its archival materials at a vault that Pickering College had constructed specifically for that purpose. Involved in CFHA and serving as the school’s librarian, Jane was appointed as volunteer archivist of CYM Archives in 1984. She continued in this position, commuting back and forth between her home in St Thomas and the archives at Pickering College, for over thirty years. In addition to her work with CFHA and CYM Archives, Jane has been active in the Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists (CQHA) from its first biennial meeting in 1978; Jane was instrumental in Pickering College playing host to two of those meetings: the sixth biennial conference in 1988 and the nineteenth biennial conference in 2012.
Jane’s ongoing commitment to the CYM Archives and to the researchers who utilize the documents there means that she continues her work as much as she is able. When she is unable to be at the archives in person, she responds to extensive queries over email. There is not a researcher in Canadian Quaker history who has not benefitted from Jane’s encyclopedic knowledge of Quakerism, Quakers in Canada, or the material held in the CYM Archives. Her enthusiastic encouragement and support of researchers is echoed in her support of the work of CFHA over the past thirty-five years. She has worked in almost every aspect of CFHA. In addition to her executive appointments, she was for many years instrumental in the production of the newsletter and journal; depending on the technology of the time, she has written copy, edited, cut, paste, folded and mailed the newsletter and journal. When it was necessary, she personally delivered and collected material to and from the printers and binders. She has assisted in organizing and leading tours at annual general meetings and, no matter the place, seems to know a unique story to accompany every tour. Jane has an uncanny ability to see the way in which seemingly disparate threads are interwoven in the rich tapestry of life. It seems most fitting to let Jane’s own memories of her association with CFHA conclude this tribute to her service for CFHA:
the people who worked with me, and those who came for research have enriched my life. Many became friends, some joined CFHA, and, yes, some became Friends. At present I am still answering queries, and supporting as I can. Now it is time for others to come forward, before the baton is dropped in this special relay to maintain our Quaker history. The race is exciting and we never know what is around the next curve. Winning together brings joy! I am grateful to those who have shared the journey this far.
William Allen, a Black American Quaker, spent his later years as a minister in Canada and the pastor of Newmarket Friends Church. Allen first visited Canada in 1875, though his return in the 1890s was permanent. A gifted orator, Allen spent five years preaching to different meetings in Canada and was described in his memorial as a “man of sterling character, noble in spirit,” and “firm in his conviction for the truth.”[1]
Born in Tennessee in 1821, Allen’s father was an Irish plantation owner and enslaver, and his mother was enslaved. He lived his early years under the bondage of his own father, and according to the writings of his ministerial companion Fred L. Ryon, his mother was sold when he was a young boy.[2] Allen spoke often of his experience living in slavery and the cruelties he witnessed growing up. This included the racism he faced when he preached.
Ryon’s memories include an incident that took place in a New York meeting where a group of men had gathered to stop Allen from speaking. Ryon recalled that Allen, upon being unable to continue due to the noise caused by the gathered group, “poured forth such a deluge of oratorical denunciation of infidelity as I had never heard before. The very foundation of the house seemed to tremble neath the tread of his indignant feet. The large part of the congregation was spellbound.”[3] Ryon also noted that when Allen travelled, many families that hosted him at first “felt a hesitancy about receiving him into their homes,” further demonstrating the racial inequalities that Allen faced. This never stopped Allen from sharing his story, and a pamphlet about Allen’s life recorded that Allen’s “reference to slavery days was full of pathos, and his graphic word-picture of his mother and his parting with her, burning into the memory of his audience.”[4]
In Allen’s memorandum book, he recorded lecturing on slavery in the following Ontario townships: Hibbert, Hatchley, Mariposa, Colebrook, and Moscow.[5] He also spent time in Pelham, Toronto, Gowrie, Uxbridge, Plymouth, Wellington, Bloomfield, and Pickering. On the subject of his calling to preach, Allen wrote:
My motto is to preach the preaching that the Lord bids, [re]guardless to what men may say, or what they may think. For it is God I am working for and not man. So I hold up a free salvation, every person can have it by repentance towards God & faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. If we keep on the straight line with God we will have power to do his will. He will bless us in so doing.[6]
Allen also believed wholeheartedly in social reform and valued the role Quaker women played in public ministry. When he fell ill during his travels, he recorded that Alma Dale, a minister from Uxbridge, was able to take over his work and run the meetings. He stated: “the Lord blest us in sending us Alma Dale.”[7]
William Allen was an influential Friend and upon his death in 1898 he left behind a lasting legacy of great faith. Described as an outstanding leader, Ryon wrote that Allen’s “eloquence and sincerity left a lasting impression upon the large audiences which gathered wherever it became known that he would hold service. As the years passed, his ministry, broadened by diligent and continuous study, won for him the distinction of being known as the ‘traveling theological seminary of the Society of Friends.’”[8] Allen’s life and his work are a testament to the continual importance of anti-racism work and learning from the work of Black leaders.
[2] Fred L. Ryon, “William Allen, Evangelist of the Society of Friends,” Bulletin of Friends Historical Association 47 (1958): 94. Ryon’s memoirs can also be read in the Canadian Quaker History Journal 65 (1999): 37-53.
[4] Jessie M. Walton, From the Auction Block of Slavery to the Rostrum of the Quaker Ministry: The Life of William Allan (Aurora, ON: J. M. Walton, 1938).
[5] William Allen’s memorandum book was transcribed by Jane Zavitz Bond and can be read in the CQHJ 64 (1999): 54-73.
[6] “William Allen’s Memorandum Book 1887-1891,” CQHJ 64 (1999): 71.
[7] “William Allen’s Memorandum Book 1887-1891,” 59.
Since October, the blog has featured articles about Coldstream from both Donna Moore and Dave Zavitz. We continue this week with an article by Dave Zavitz on Benjamin Cutler, an influential Friend who settled in Coldstream.
Benjamin Cutler, born 1779 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was the fourth generation of a family who had emigrated from Britain. His family was one of the group of Friends who came to Upper Canada following the American Revolution seeking religious freedom and better access to land. The group settled in Bertie Township, Ontario near Fort Erie. Benjamin married Sarah Marsh (1793–1878) in 1808, sister of John Moor Marsh. Benjamin and Sarah were active members of Pelham Monthly Meeting, serving on committees early on in their marriage. and in the Lobo (Coldstream) Preparative Meeting.
Photo of Benjamin Cutler courtesy of Dave Zavitz. This photo can also be found in the London Public Library.
Benjamin invested his money wisely in land holdings. As his family grew, he realized that he needed more land to leave to his family. Around 1832, he visited his nephews, Jesse and Jonas Zavitz, on the 11th Concession of Lobo Township (Charlton Drive). They were the sons of his sister, Letitia, and her husband Samuel Zavitz. His daughter, Margaret Ann, had married John D. Harris and had purchased Lot 3 Concession 11. While visiting, he saw the land around Bear Creek (Sydenham River) and thought that it would be a good place for his family. Soon after, he returned to Bertie Township to present this proposition to his family. In 1837, at about sixty years of age, he sold his large land tracks in Bertie Township and prepared his family to move to Lobo Township.
He purchased two hundred acres on both sides of the Bear Creek on Lot 9 Concession 9 Lobo Township. He built a grist mill and sawmill on the shore of the river. His sister Sarah and her husband John Moor Marsh came with them and purchased four hundred fifty acres down river from Benjamin. John also built a dam and mill. Since there was no close source for the goods they produced, local people flocked to the mills. They were hard pressed to keep up to the demand.
While visiting the village of London, Benjamin and John saw the plans of a house they liked. They proceeded to build identical houses down the road from each other along what was later called Quaker Lane. Their mills provided the lumber for the frame and clap board construction. John’s furniture factory, built on the small creek entering the river from the north side, provided needed furniture for the homes.
In 1843, Daniel Zavitz followed his sister Sarah Marsh to Lobo purchasing one hundred acres on Lot 7 Concession 9 at the west end of Quaker Lane.
The Quaker community had grown, and meetings were held in their homes until 1849 when they could no longer house all the participants. At this time Benjamin and John donated land and a log meeting house was constructed near the south end and on the south side of Quaker Lane. Benjamin took a leadership role in Friends Meeting as well as serving several terms as Reeve of Lobo Township.
The little hamlet soon blossomed and other businesses were established (a general store, blacksmith, wooden factory, tailor etc.). By 1859 the meeting had outgrown the log cabin and it was decided to build a permanent larger structure. The bricks were purchased from the Rutherford Brick Yard in Poplar Hill. Caroline (Carrie) Cutler Zavitz donated one half acre to expand the church yard and burying ground.
Benjamin and Sarah had thirteen children who came to Lobo with their parents. Several died young but others married and purchased land in the township. Benjamin and his family connections helped settle the area and established the hamlet of Coldstream, Ontario. Their descendants are still part of the Coldstream community. Today, most of the businesses are long gone but the hamlet continues to grow with new houses, municipal offices, a road yard, and fire station.
The vision of this strong-willed man led to the development of this part of Lobo Township. He helped establish a close-knit Quaker community that still exists today. During a visit from Baltimore travelling minister Rebecca Price, she dined at the Cutler’s home and wrote she “enjoyed a conversation of so good a Friend.”[1]
[1] Rebecca Price, Memoranda and Reflections of Rebecca Price: A Recorded Minister Belonging to Baltimore Quarterly Meeting of Friends (Philadelphia, PA: William H. Pile’s Sons, 1896), 94.
This new transcription is two books in one. The first forty-seven pages include removal certificates from 1797 to 1808 and record a number of removals from the Muncy Meeting in Pennsylvania to Pelham Meeting in the Niagara area and the Yonge St Meeting in the Newmarket area.
As well, the minutes detail a number of Friends, including Ellen McCarty and Mercy Ellis, who travelled to Upper Canada in the aftermath of the Orthodox-Hicksite schism.
Our thanks and appreciation go out to Carman Foster once again for his transcription from images of the original text, and to Randy Saylor for researching and writing the detailed introductory notes.
A photo of the Friends Meeting House, Pennsdale (Muncy), courtesy of the James V. Brown Library.
In this month’s Founders and Builders Series, we introduce you to Norman Jolly, a longtime member and treasurer of the CFHA. His life is remembered here by Sandra McCann Fuller.
Norman Thomas Jolly (1923–2012) By Sandra McCann Fuller
Norman Jolly was born 20 December 1923, in Mossbank, south of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the son of Thomas and May Jolly. Norman’s father, Thomas Gordon Jolly, was born in 1884 in Saskatchewan about the time of the North-West Rebellion. In 1906 he applied for a Homestead Grant. The 1926 Canadian Census records the Jolly family, including Norman (two years) and his older brothers Harold (five years) and Donald (six years), living near Willow Bunch in southern Saskatchewan. Norman remembered that the Jolly family lived in a sod house in the 1920s and 1930s. Life on the prairies was challenging, especially from the harsh winters and the summer droughts. The 1930s brought many dust storms. During theEconomic Depression of the 1930s, frequently called “the Dirty Thirties,” the Jolly family decided that they could no longer endure the hardships of life on the prairies. They loaded their household belongings, as well as some horses and farm animals, onto a number of railway freight cars and moved to a farm near Exeter in southwestern Ontario.
In April 1943, during World War II, Norman, then a young man in his early twenties, joined the Royal Canadian Naval Voluntary Reserve (RCNVR). His first posting was on HMCS Kenogami, which escorted ships from overseas, serving on the triangle run from St John’s, Newfoundland, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and New York City USA. His next assignment was serving on the North Atlantic run.
Photo from Norman Jolly’s page at dignitymemorial.com
After the war, Norman took advantage of education for veterans and became a student at University of Western Ontario (currently called Western University) in London, Ontario. He decided to become a secondary school teacher. He married Dorothy Fuller from Stratford, Ontario, who was also a teacher. Norman taught at schools in Lively (west of Sudbury), Port Hope, Aurora (Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School), and Newmarket (Newmarket High School). He retired in the late 1980s.
Norman’s interest in genealogy led him to work at compiling information for several books. With Alvin Mylo Srigley, Norman compiled Robert Srigley 1777–1836 and Jane Heacock Srigley 1787–1867 and Their Descendants to Seven Generations, printed in June 1977. Norman’s keen interest in history was demonstrated by his work with the York Region Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society. Later, after retirement, as a World War II veteran, Norman worked at compiling York County Men & Women who gave their lives in World War I. Volume I: York County, Ontario, excluding the City of Toronto (1995) and Volume II: Toronto City (2002). The books were both published by York Region Genealogy Group of the Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch.
Norman was a life member of the Newmarket Historical Society and served as its president in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Norman was also a member of the Aurora Historical Society. Norman’s ancestry and knowledge of Quaker history led him to become a member of the Canadian Friends Historical Association (CFHA); he served CFHA as treasurer for a number of years in the early 2000s.
Norman Jolly passed away in his eighty-ninth year, on Saturday, 18 August 2012 at Southlake Regional Health Centre, Newmarket, Ontario. His wife Dorothy predeceased him in 2007. Norman is survived by a daughter, Donna (Martin Blackwell) of England, and a son, Norman William (Bill) of Newmarket. Norman and Dorothy Jolly (1928–2007) are buried at Aurora Cemetery.
For a photo of Norman during his years in the Navy and to listen to his story, visit thememoryproject.com.
An exciting new anthology, Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690–1830, is coming out this May. Edited by Robynne Rogers Healey, the anthology features articles on Quaker testimonies and practices, Quakerism in community and in the world, and expressions of Quakerism around the Atlantic world. More information on the book can be found on Penn State University Press’ website.
Below is the description from Penn State University Press:
This third installment in the New History of Quakerism series is a comprehensive assessment of transatlantic Quakerism across the long eighteenth century, a period during which Quakers became increasingly sectarian while simultaneously expanding their engagement with politics, trade, industry, and science. The contributors to this volume interrogate and deconstruct this paradox, complicating traditional interpretations of what has been termed “Quietist Quakerism.”
Examining the period following the Toleration Act in England of 1689 through the Hicksite-Orthodox Separation in North America, this work situates Quakers in the eighteenth-century British Atlantic world. Three thematic sections—unique Quaker testimonies and practices; tensions between Quakerism in community and Quakerism in the world; and expressions of Quakerism around the Atlantic world—broaden geographic understandings of the Quaker Atlantic world to determine how local events shaped expressions of Quakerism. The authors challenge oversimplified interpretations of Quaker practices and reveal a complex Quaker world, one in which prescription and practice were more often negotiated than dictated, even after the mid-eighteenth-century “reformation” and tightening of the Discipline on both sides of the Atlantic.
Accessible and well-researched, Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690-1830, provides fresh insights and raises new questions about an understudied period of Quaker history.
In addition to the editor, the contributors to this volume include Richard C. Allen, Erin Bell, Erica Canela, Elizabeth Cazden, Andrew Fincham, Sydney Harker, Rosalind Johnson, Emma Jones Lapsansky, Jon Mitchell, and Geoffrey Plank.
Since October, the blog has featured two articles about Coldstream from both Donna Moore and Dave Zavitz. We continue this week with an article by Dave Zavitz on Coldstream’s early economic development and the impact of early Quaker families.
Coldstream’s Early Development Dave Zavitz
The early Coldstream area was heavily forested with the Bear Creek (Sydenham River) running through it. The area was traditional hunting grounds for the Anishinaabe. In later years, arrowheads and other artifacts were found by settlers. John Edward Bycraft collected, labelled, and displayed these items, detailing when and where they were found. His display was later donated to Museum London and now resides at the Museum of Ontario Archeology on Wonderland Road.
The area was surveyed in 1819–20 from the Thames River in the south, north to Fernhill Road, Vanneck Road to the east, and Amiens Road to the west. It was laid out in long one hundred-acre parcels south to north and numbered from the south. Lots were numbered from Amiens Road to Vanneck Road.
Family history says that Jonas and Jesse Zavitz were already here with cabins on the eleventh concession (Charlton Drive) but may have come right after the survey. They appear in the earlier census holding the land between Poplar Hill Road and Coldstream Road. Around 1832–33, their Uncle, Benjamin Cutler, came to visit as he had heard of inexpensive land for sale and was looking for better land for his large family. He had amassed considerable holdings by purchasing from others unable to afford their property in Bertie and Humberstone Townships.
Benjamin Cutler’s Mill
Benjamin Cutler was an enterprising person and a staunch Quaker. Land in Lobo was selling for $1–3 per acre. He saw Bear Creek (Sydenham River) as a good location for a mill, and there was lots of materials to work with nearby. Returning to Bertie Township, he sold up all his property and in 1837, at age sixty, moved his family to Lobo Township after purchasing two hundred acres on the Coldstream Road. He decided to build a mill at Bear Creek on the Coldstream Road. Being a staunch Quaker, it was a dry barn raising. People complained but came to help as they needed a local supply of lumber. In 1839, Cutler extended the mill over the river adding a grist and flour mill. It turned out that the mill was on the road allowance but by that time it was abandoned and in collapsed in 1905.
Cutler was also socially minded and took a keen interest in local politics. He was elected Reeve of the township for several terms. In the early years, he advertised to his family and connections about the good land to be had in Lobo. In 1838, his brother-in-law, John Moor Marsh purchased 450 acres west of the Coldstream Road and moved his family to Lobo Township. John also built a dam and sawmill down river from Benjamin. He built a furniture factory on a creek on the north side of the river near his log home. He was followed by Daniel Zavitz in 1843, who purchased a one hundred-acre lot west of John’s. Benjamin and John built identical houses on a plan they saw in London, Ontario.
Daniel and Susan Zavitz
These were all Quaker families, and they met for worship in either the furniture factory or Benjamin’s or Daniel’s homes. As the community began to grow there was less space for worship, so in 1849, they applied for meeting approval and a log structure was built on land donated by Benjamin Cutler and John Marsh. Later, Daniel’s daughter Caroline donated one half acre to this property. They soon outgrew this building and in 1859, a brick building was constructed with bricks from the Rutherford Brick Yard in Poplar Hill. It has remained much the same and is still in use today.
In 1848, John Wood purchased fifteen acres from Benjamin Cutler at the corner of Coldstream Road and Ilderton Road. He built a home there, containing a store. After his death, his wife and daughter Louisa continued to run the store. When Louisa married Jacob Marsh (son of John), Jacob took over running the store. When Louisa’s mother died in 1869, Jacob decided to move the house to the site of the Marsh Mills so he would be closer to work as he had taken over running the business from his father. The two-storey house was moved down the concession to its present location and a two-storey store was added to the west side. This soon became the centre of activity and the village grew around it instead of its original location at the corner of Coldstream Road and Ilderton Road. Over time, the other buildings at the corner were torn down or moved as they also were on the road allowance.
Coldstream Blacksmith Shop
Coldstream became a busy village. Jacob Marsh’s store housed the first telegraph, first telephone system in Lobo, the Mechanics Institute (library), Post Office, Lobo Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and office store and mills. T. McNeill opened a blacksmith shop beside the Mill Pond on the Ilderton Road. He later sold it to Samuel Clare in 1877 who ran it until his death upon which it was taken over by his son John R. Clare. It was later torn down so a grandson could build a store/gas station. This site is now the woodworking shop of Jack Webb.
Samuel and Annie (Cutler) Brown
Gravel played a large part in the development of the community. Lots of gravel was found under the shallow topsoil. Part of obtaining land was to build a road in front of each property and to assist with township road building. Each year, farmers drew gravel to build roads or to maintain them. The Cutler pit was used to draw gravel for the building of Highway #22 (Egremont Road) and the early Brown Tile Company. The tile company was before its time and was discontinued. The house, named Bell Fern, was built in 1864 by David Cutler (Benjamin’s son) and his wife Caroline Zavitz. Upon David’s early death, the house was sold to John McPherson. Samuel Brown and Annie Cutler purchased it in 1908 upon the death of John McPherson. In 1919, their son Pearson Brown purchased a blacksmith shop in Poplar Hill and moved it to the Brown farm and started a concert tile business. It also did not flourish and so he turned it over to his brothers, Howard and Chester, who ran it briefly before closing. In 1945, after WWII, Chester and his wife Florence came back to his parent’s home and started Chester Brown Concrete Products. This business was later taken over by their sons Ronald and Robert. It has undergone updates, modernization and several expansions. Today it is a flourishing business directed by Robert and managed by his daughter Amy.
Today most of the early businesses have vanished but still remains a growing community. The Cutler, Marsh, and Zavitz families have left their mark on this area and have descendants still residing in the township.
