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Robert H. Saylor, Richard Esterbrook, and the Connection to Pickering College

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 Read more

By Randy Saylor, ago

Marriage and Faith Adherence: An Early Canadian Quaker Love Story

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, Read more

By Sydney Harker, ago

Founders and Builders Series: Jane Zavitz-Bond

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 Read more

By Robynne Rogers Healey, ago

Canadian Friends and Black History Month: William Allen

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 Read more

By CFHA, ago

Coldstream Series: Benjamin Cutler

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, Read more

By David Zavitz, ago

New Transcription: Muncy Monthly Meeting, 1819 – 1834

We’ve updated our transcriptions page with a new upload: Muncy Monthly Meeting, 1819–1834, as well as Certificates of Removal, 1797–1808. You can also see the PDF here: https://cfha.info/staging/MuncyMM1819-34.pdf  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 Read more

By CFHA, ago

Founders and Builders Series: Norman Jolly

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. Read more

By CFHA, ago

New Anthology Coming Soon on Eighteenth-Century Quakers

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 Read more

By CFHA, ago

Coldstream Series: Coldstream’s Early Development

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, Read more

By David Zavitz, ago

Early Quakers and Christmas

While Friends globally hold differing views on the holiday season, early Quakers did not mark Christmas as a day different from any other. In his book, Christmastime in Pennsylvania, Don Yoder argues that while Quakers were against Christmas celebrations, some Quakers in mid-nineteenth century Pennsylvania “succumbed to a modified attention to Christmas at least as a family festival.”[1] For a humorous look at what early Quakers did on Christmas, below is a post by Rob Pierson, originally posted in Quaker Life in December 2011, copied Read more

By CFHA, ago