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Elma Starr in 1974

This photo of Elma Starr, taken 29 June 1974 by Keith Beaty for the Toronto Star, shows Elma in front of the Yonge Street meeting house. The photo was taken in anticipation of the 1810 meeting house getting central heating, electric lights, and running water. In the photo, Elma is holding Dylan Horvath in her arms, and Jennifer Horvath is on the left. Elma McGrew Starr (1890-1985) was a well-known member of the Canadian Yearly Meeting. You can read more about Elma’s life in an Read more

By CFHA, ago

Canadian Quaker Highlight: Hannah Doan Lundy

Hannah Doan (alternatively spelled Doane) was born 13 April 1812 near York, Ontario, and died 6 February 1901. Her parents, Ebenezer Doan and Elizabeth Paxson, emigrated from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to Upper Canada in 1808 where they joined the Yonge Street Monthly Meeting.[1] Hannah married Jacob Lundy, a farmer, in 1833. Both Hannah and Jacob were raised in the Children of Peace sect, a group that broke away from the Yonge Street Monthly Meeting over doctrinal disagreements in 1812. Born in East Gwillimbury, Jacob (1809-1878) Read more

By Sydney Harker, ago

AGM 2021 Highlights

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Annual General Meeting this year! This was our second virtual gathering, allowing for a number of attendees from a distance to participate. Our thanks and appreciation also go to the keynote presentation panelists who shared about their research from Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690-1830, including Robynne Rogers Healey, Richard C. Allen, Erica Canela, Elizabeth Cazden, Andrew Fincham, Sydney Harker, Rosalind Johnson, Emma Lapsansky-Werner, and Geoffrey Plank. Their insight contributed to rich discussions about Quaker history and Read more

By CFHA, ago

Upcoming Keynote Presentation & AGM

A reminder that CFHA’s Annual General Meeting is fast approaching! Our meeting will take place online this Saturday, September 18th (beginning at 0800 Pacific, 1100 Eastern, 1600 UK). We’re thrilled to have a Keynote Presentation beforehand by the authors of Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690-1830. The authors of the recently released Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690-1830 will share their findings and reflect on the role of Canadian Quaker history in the larger history of Quakerism. Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690-1830 is the third volume in Penn State University Read more

By CFHA, ago

1954 Half-Yearly Meeting Photos at Yarmouth

This week on the blog, we’re featuring two photos from the Elgin County Archives. The photos, taken in 1954, depict Friends after the 1954 Half-Yearly Meeting at Yarmouth meetinghouse in Sparta, Ontario. The photos were originally taken for an article in the St. Thomas Times. The current meetinghouse was built on Quaker Road in 1865 to replace the former log structure.

By CFHA, ago

Annual General Meeting & Panel Discussion 2021

The 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Friends Historical Association (CFHA) will be held virtually on Seventh Day, the 18th of Ninth Month (Saturday, September, 18th) 2021. Depending on your personal location and time zone, the Annual General Meeting will commence at a different time as follows: Newfoundland and Labrador Time: 12:30 PM Atlantic Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time (Toronto): 11:00 AM Central Time: 10:00 AM Mountain Time: 9:00 AM Pacific Time: 8:00 AM All members are encouraged to attend. Let us Read more

By CFHA, ago

Norwich Series: A Pamphlet on Doctrine

A few weeks ago at the Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists, I connected with Kyle Jolliffe, a scholar who has written extensively for the CFHA. Part of the paper I gave at the conference discussed the Norwich Monthly Meeting and its progenitor, Peter Lossing (1761-1833). Kyle reached out to me to share his family history: he’s a direct descendant of Lossing through Lossing’s daughter Paulina Lossing Howard Southwick. His line continues through Paulina’s daughter Augusta Malvina Southwick Marshall, her daughter Janet Marshall Estabrook, to Read more

By Sydney Harker, ago

Collective Founders and Builders Series

Have you had the chance to read through our Founders and Builders series? It’s hard to believe that last July we began our series where we introduced, month by month, eleven individuals who have played an important role in creating or maintaining the CFHA over the years. Our series finished this June, and we’ve gathered together each entry from the series below. We hope you’ve enjoyed the stories and memories of these dedicated members who have all worked towards preserving and communicating the on-going history Read more

By CFHA, ago

Calling all Students for the Lucretia Mott Student Essay Award

Know an undergraduate or graduate student interested in Quaker history? The second annual Lucretia Mott Student Essay Award is being hosted by Azusa Pacific University’s Quaker Studies program. Students are invited to submit papers for the “Lucretia Mott Student Essay Award.” Outstanding student paper submissions that demonstrate creative analysis and/or introduce a new field of research and make an original contribution to the field of Quaker studies will be considered for the award: $200 award for winning graduate/undergraduate paper Winning paper may be recommended for Read more

By CFHA, ago

Kathleen Hertzberg at Germany Yearly Meeting

Last month, the blog featured articles by German Friend Lutz Caspers detailing early Quakerism in Germany, nineteenth century Quakerism, and Quakers in twentieth-century Germany. CFHA’s co-founder Kathleen Hertzberg (then Kathleen Brookhouse), spent time in pre-World War Two Germany with British Friends, and her daughter, Evelyn Schmitz-Hertzberg, has provided the blog with two photos of Kathleen’s time there. Reports of travels with an introduction by Robynne Rogers Healey can be read in the Friends Journal, and in Kathleen’s autobiography, From My Demi-Paradise: Memoirs. Evelyn wrote the Read more

By CFHA, ago