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Samuel Palmer (1645 - 1716)
Will In the name of God, Amen. I, SAMUEL PALMER, of Mamaroneck, in Westchester County, being in perfect health. I leave to my wife Mary, all movable estate during her life, and then to my children an...
Edmund Bridges (1612 - 1684)
Edmund Bridges Birth: 1612 England Death: 13 Jan 1684, Topsfield, Massachusetts Parents: not known Married (first) Alice; (second) Elizabeth , who died December, 1664; (third), April 6, 1668,...
Preston Lea, Governor (1841 - 1916)
Preston Lea (November 12, 1841 – December 4, 1916) was an American businessman and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as Go...
Joseph Tatnall, Sr. (1740 - 1813)
Joseph Tatnall was an influential citizen in Wilmington and the Brandywine Village flour mills were a significant source of flour for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Although Tatnall...
John Hunn, Governor (1849 - 1926)
) John Hunn (June 23, 1849 – September 1, 1926) was an American businessman and politician from Camden, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party who served as Governor of Del...

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The Religious Society of Friends

The Quakers, or Friends, were formed in the mid-17th Century by an English shoemaker, George Fox (1624-1691). His core belief was that man did not need an intermediary to establish a relationship with God — no trained ministers, no formal church services. Fox believed instead that an “Inner Light” directed man toward divine truth.

The Friends quickly became the most despised sect in England because the stands they took offended so many segments of society. Anglican authorities were affronted by the Quakers’ refusal to pay tithes or to attend services, and civil officials were disturbed by the Friends’ refusal to bear arms, participate in warfare, take oaths, or doff their hats before their betters. The Quakers pointedly used the words thee, thy and thou when addressing people of all ranks — a highly insulting practice because those words were ordinarily used only when speaking to servants.

Early communities of Friends in America thrived in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, where they made many contributions to public welfare: educational reform, the improvement of conditions in prisons and asylums, and leadership in the anti-slavery movement where they were prominent in the operation of the Underground Railroad.