The Religious Society of Free Quakers, originally called "The Religious Society of Friends, by some styled the Free Quakers," was established on February 20, 1781 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. More commonly known as Free Quakers, the Society was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends, or

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

, who had been expelled for failure to adhere to the

Peace Testimony Peace testimony, or testimony against war, is a shorthand description of the action generally taken by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) for peace and against participation in war. Like other Quaker testimonies, it is not a "be ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Many of its early members were prominent Quakers involved in the American Revolution before the society was established. Notable Free Quakers at the early meetings included

Samuel Wetherill Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

, who served as clerk and preacher;

Timothy Matlack Timothy Matlack (March 28, 1736 – April 14, 1829) was an American politician, military officer and businessman. A brewer and beer bottler who emerged as a popular and powerful leader in the American Revolutionary War, Matlack served as Secretar ...

and his brother

White Matlack White Matlack (October 7, 1745; Haddonfield, New Jersey – January 7, 1824) to Elizabeth Martha Burr Haines and Timothy Matlack: a couple that had both lost their first spouses. His grandparents were William Matlack and Mary Hancock; and Henry ...

; William Crispin; Colonel Clement Biddle and his brother Owen Biddle;

Benjamin Say Benjamin Say (August 28, 1755 – April 23, 1813) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Benjamin Say was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Thomas (1709–1796) and Rebekah Atkinson Budd Say (1716–1795), He m ...

; Christopher Marshall; Joseph Warner; and Peter Thompson.Charles Wetherill, ''History of the Religious Society of Friends Called by Some the Free Quakers, in the City of Philadelphia'', 1894,
The History of the Free Quakers
October 26, 2010 Other notable Free Quakers include

Lydia Darragh Lydia Darragh (1729 – December 28, 1789) was an Irish woman said to have crossed British lines during the British occupation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War, delivering information to George Washington and the ...

and

Betsy Ross Elizabeth Griscom Ross (née Griscom;Addie Guthrie Weaver, ''"The Story of Our Flag..."'', 2nd Edition, A. G. Weaver, publ., 1898, p. 73 January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn an ...

. Following the end of the American Revolutionary War, the number of Free Quakers began to dwindle as some members died and others were either accepted back into the Society of Friends or by other religious institutions. The final meeting of the Free Quakers was held in 1836. There is a small group of Free Quakers in Indiana who continue the tradition of the Five Principles (Inner Light, peace, simplicity, justice, stewardship) and the Five Freedoms (from creeds, from clergy, from public worship, from organized membership, from evangelization). Today, the descendants of the original Free Quakers hold an annual meeting of the Religious Society of Free Quakers at the

Free Quaker Meetinghouse The Free Quaker Meetinghouse is a historic Free Quaker meeting house at the southeast corner of 5th and Arch Streets in the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1783, and is a plain 2 -stor ...

, Pennsylvania.

References

* John H. Morgan, “The Free Quakers: Reaffirming the Legacy of Conscience and Liberty (The Spiritual Journey of a Solitary People), ''Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies,'' Vol. XI, #32, pp. 288–305, Summer, 2012

External links

The Religious Society of Free Quakers
Quaker organizations based in the United States Christian denominations founded in the United States History of Philadelphia Organizations established in 1785 {{quaker-stub

See also

References

External links