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Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 CHAPTER VI.
Religious Journeys in 1828.
On the 20th of Third month, 1828, Elias Hicks laid before Jericho Monthly
Meeting a concern he had to make "a religious visit in the love of the
gospel, to Friends and others in some parts of our own yearly meeting,
and in the compass of the Yearly Meetings of Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Ohio, Indiana, and a few meetings in Virginia." A minute embodying this
concern was granted him, the same receiving the indorsement of
Westbury Quarterly Meeting, Fourth month 24th. Between this period and
the middle of Sixth month he made a visit to Dutchess County, where the
experience with Ann Jones and her husband took place, which will be
dealt with in a separate chapter. He also attended New York Yearly
Meeting, when he saw and was a part of the "separation" trouble which
culminated at that time. The Journal, however, makes no reference either
to the Dutchess County matter or to the division in the yearly meeting.
These silences in the Journal are hard to understand. Undoubtedly, the
troubles of the period were not pleasant matters of record, yet one
wishes that a fuller and more detailed statement regarding the whole
matter might be had from Elias Hicks than is contained in the meager
references in his personal correspondence, or his published Journal.
On the 14th of Sixth month he started on the western and southern
journey, with his friend, Jesse Merritt, as his traveling companion. Elias
was then a few months past eighty.
The two Friends halted at points in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, holding
meetings as the way opened. Service continued in Pennsylvania,
considerably in the western part, passing from Pittsburg into Ohio.
At Westland Monthly Meeting, in Pennsylvania, his first acknowledgment
of opposition is observed. He says: "A Friend from abroad attended this
meeting, and after I sat down he rose and made opposition, which
greatly disturbed the meeting."[24]
[24] Thomas Shillitoe.
When he arrived at Brownsville, his fame had preceded him. He makes
this reference to the experience there:

"Here we put up again with our kind friends Jesse and Edith
Townsend, where we had the company of many Friends, and many
of the inhabitants of the town not members of our Society, also came
in to see us; as the unfounded reports of those who style themselves
Orthodox, having been generally spread over the country, it created
such a great excitement in the minds of the people at large, that
multitudes flocked to the meetings where we were, to hear for
themselves; and many came to see us, and acknowledged their
satisfaction.
"At this place we again fell in with the Friend from abroad, who
attended the meeting with us; he rose in the early part of the
meeting, and continued his communication so long that a number
left the meeting, by which it became very much unsettled: however,
when he sat down I felt an opening to stand up; and the people
returned and crowded into the house, and those that could not get in
stood about the doors and windows, and a precious solemnity soon
spread over the meeting, which has been the case in every meeting,
where our opposers did not make disturbance by their disorderly
conduct. The meeting closed in a quiet and orderly manner, and I
was very thankful for the favour."[25]

[25] Journal, p. 404.

Following his experience at Brownsville, Elias returned to Westland,
attending the meeting of ministers and elders, and the meeting for
worship. The person before mentioned, who may be called the "disturbing
Friend," was again in evidence, this time reinforced by a "companion." At
the instigation of Friends, the elders and overseers had "an opportunity"
with the disturbers, but with small success. The same trouble was
repeated on First-day. On this occasion the opposition was vigorous and
virulent. In the midst of the second opportunity of the opposing Friend
the audience melted away, leaving him literally without hearers.
From Westland the journey was continued to Pittsburg, where an
appointed meeting was held. Salem, Ohio, was the next point visited,
where the quarterly meeting was attended. On First-day a large company,
estimated at two thousand, gathered. The occasion was in every way
satisfactory. Visits to different meetings continued. There was manifest
opposition at New Garden, Springfield, Goshen and Marlborough. At
Smithfield the venerable preacher was quite indisposed. The meeting-
house was closed against him, by "those called Orthodox," as Elias
defined them.
One of the objective points on this trip was Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, where the
yearly meeting of 1828 was held. He arrived in time to attend the mid-
week meeting at that place, a week preceding the yearly meeting. A large
attendance was reported, many being present who were not members of
the Society. The signs of trouble had preceded the distinguished visitor,
the "world's people" having a phenomenal curiosity regarding a possible
war among the peaceable Quakers. There was pronounced antagonism
manifested in this mid-week meeting, described as "a long, tedious
communication from a minister among those called Orthodox, who, after
I sat down, publicly opposed and endeavored to lay waste what I had
said."[26]
[26] Journal, p. 411.
During the following days meetings were attended at Short Creek,
Harrisville, West Grove, Concord, St. Clairsville, Plainfield, Wrightstown
and Stillwater. There was no recorded disturbance until he returned to Mt.
Pleasant the 6th of Ninth month, the date of the gathering of the Yearly
Meeting of Ministers and Elders. When the meeting-house was reached
the gate to the yard was guarded, "by a number of men of the opposing
party," who refused entrance to those who were in sympathy with Elias
Hicks. They proceeded to hold their meeting in the open air. Subsequent
meetings were held in a school-house and in a private house, the home
of Israel French.
First-day, Ninth month 7th, Mt. Pleasant Meeting was attended in the
forenoon, and Short Creek Meeting in the afternoon. The meeting at Mt.
Pleasant was what might be called stormy. Elisha Bates and Ann
Braithwaite spoke in opposition, after Elias Hicks had spoken. In a letter
dated Ninth month 10th, written to his son-in-law, Valentine Hicks, Elias
says that these Friends "detained the meeting two hours or more,
opposing and railing against what I had said, until the people were
wearied and much disgusted." No trouble was experienced at Short
Creek, although experiences similar to those of the morning occurred at
Mt. Pleasant in the afternoon. Amos Peaslee, of Woodbury, N. J., was the
center of opposition at that time. He was opposed while on his feet
addressing the multitude.
In connection with this yearly meeting a number of Friends were arrested
on charges of trespass and inducing a riot, and taken to court. All were
members of Ohio Yearly Meeting, except Halliday Jackson,[27] of Darby,
Pa. For some reason Elias escaped arrest, although in the letter referred
to he said: "I have been expecting for several days past to have a writ of
trespass served against me by the sheriff, for going on their meeting-
house grounds, by which I may be taken twenty miles or more to appear
before the judge, as a number of Friends already have been, although my
mind is quiet regarding the event."
[27] Halliday Jackson was father of John Jackson, the well-known
educator, principal of Sharon Hill School. Halliday was with the Seneca
Indians in New York State for two years, as a teacher under the care
of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
While at Mt. Pleasant the small monthly meeting of Orthodox Friends at
his home sent a letter "officially" commanding Elias to cease his religious
visits. In regard to this matter, and the general situation in Ohio, Elias
wrote to Valentine Hicks: "The Orthodox in this yearly meeting are, if
possible, tenfold more violent than in any other part of the Society.
Gideon Seaman, and his associates in the little upstart Monthly Meeting of
Westbury and Jericho,[28] have sent a very peremptory order for me to
return immediately home, and not proceed any further on my religious
visit, by which they trample the authority of our quarterly and monthly
meeting under foot."
[28] The Monthly Meeting of Westbury and Jericho was made up of a
small number of Orthodox Friends, representing only a small minority
of the meeting of which Elias Hicks was a member.

Following the Ohio Yearly Meeting, Flushing,[29] in that State, was visited,
and the First-day meeting attended. Elias was met before he reached the
meeting-house by Orthodox Friends, who insisted that he should not
interrupt the meeting. He entered the house, but before the meeting was
fairly settled, Charles Osborn, an Orthodox Friend, appeared in prayer,
and continued for an hour; and then preached for another hour. Elias thus
refers to this occurrence:
 [29] Flushing is about 18 miles from Mt. Pleasant. A Wilburite meeting
is the only Friendly gathering now in the place.

"However, when he sat down, although the meeting was much

wearied with his long and tedious communications, I felt the
necessity of standing up and addressing the people, which brought a
precious solemnity over the meeting; but as soon as I sat down, he
rose again to contradict, and tried to lay waste my communication,
by asserting that I had not the unity of my friends at home; which
being untrue, I therefore informed the meeting that I had certificates
with me to prove the incorrectness of his assertions, which I then
produced, but he and his party would not stay to hear them, but in a
disorderly manner arose and left the meeting; but the people
generally stayed and heard them read, to their general satisfaction."
[30]

[30] Journal, p. 414.

Meetings were subsequently attended at different points in Ohio,
generally without disturbance, until Springfield was reached the 22d of
Ninth month. Here the Orthodox shut the meeting-house and guarded the
doors. Elias held his meeting under some trees nearby. He says: "It was a
precious season, wherein the Lord's power and love were exalted over all
opposition."[31]
[31] Journal, p. 416.
Preceding Indiana Yearly Meeting, he was twice at Wilmington, Ohio, and
attended monthly meeting at Center, the first held since the "separation."
The attendance was large, many more than the house would
accommodate. Elias says: "The Lord, our never-failing helper, manifested
his presence, solemnizing the assembly and opening the minds of the
people to receive the word preached; breaking down all opposition, and
humbling and contriting the assembly in a very general manner."[32]
[32] Journal, p. 415.
Ninth month 27th, Indiana Yearly Meeting convened at Waynesville, Ohio.
It should be noted that the "separation" in most of the meetings
comprising this yearly meeting had been accomplished in 1827, so that
the gathering in 1828 was in substantial unity with the Friends in
sympathy with Elias Hicks. A letter written to Valentine and Abigail Hicks,
dated Waynesville, Tenth month 3, 1828, contains some interesting
information concerning the experience of the venerable preacher. He
says:

"The Yearly Meeting here would have been very large, had there not
been a failure of the information of the conclusion for holding it here,
reaching divers of the Quarterly Meetings, by which they were
prevented from attending. The meeting was very orderly conducted,
and the business managed in much harmony and condescension.
The public meetings have been very large, favoured seasons, and all
the meetings we have attended in our passing along have been
generally very large. Seldom any houses were found large enough to
contain the people. Often hundreds were under the necessity of
standing out doors. Many of the people without came a great way to
be at our meeting. Some ten, some twenty, and some thirty miles,
and I have been informed since I have been here that the people in a
town 120 miles below Cincinnati have given it in charge to Friends of
that place to inform them when we came there, as a steam boat
plies between the two places. The excitement is so great among the
people by the false rumors circulated by the Orthodox, that they
spare no pains to get an opportunity to be with us, and those who
have attended from distant parts, informing the people the
satisfaction they have had in being with us, in which they have found
that the reports spread among them were generally false, it has
increased the excitement in others to see for themselves."

The yearly meeting over, Elias attended meetings en route to Richmond,

Ind., and was at the mid-week meeting in that place, Tenth month 8th.
Several other meetings were attended, the only disturbance reported
being at Orange, where the Orthodox "hurt the meeting very
considerably." On the 19th he was in Cincinnati, and attended the regular
meeting in the morning, and a large appointed meeting in the court-
house in the afternoon. Both were pronounced "highly favored seasons."
First-day, the 26th, he was at Fairfield, where the Orthodox revived the
story that he was traveling without a minute. While Elias was speaking,
the Orthodox left the meeting in a body. He remarks: "But Friends and
others kept their seats, and we had a very solemn close, and great
brokenness and contrition were manifest among the people; and to do
away with the false report spread by the Orthodox, I had my certificates
read, which gave full satisfaction to the assembly."[33]
[33] Journal, p. 419.

Elias then journeyed to Wheeling, his face being turned homeward. He

held an appointed meeting in that city. It is suggestive that,
notwithstanding the theological odium under which he was supposed to
rest, the meeting was held in the Methodist church, which had been
kindly offered for the purpose. This would seem to indicate that the
Methodists had not yet taken any sides in the quarrel which had divided
the Society of Friends.
After visiting Redstone Quarterly Meeting, in western Pennsylvania, he
visited the meetings in the Shenandoah and Loudon valleys, in Virginia.
He was at Alexandria and Washington, and on First-day, Eleventh month
16th, was at Sandy Spring, Md. The meetings about Baltimore and in
Harford and Cecil counties were visited. He reached West Grove in
Pennsylvania, Twelfth month 1st, and encountered some trouble, as he
found that the meeting-house had been closed against him. A large crowd
assembled, better councils prevailed, and the house was opened. The
audience was beyond the capacity of the house, and the meeting in every
way satisfactory.
Upon his arrival at West Grove, Twelfth month 1st, he sent a letter to his
son-in-law and daughter, Royal and Martha Aldrich. In this letter he gives
a brief account of his experiences in Maryland and Lancaster County. He
says: "The aforesaid meetings were very large and highly favored,
generally made up of every description of people, high and low, rich and
poor, Romanists, and generally some of every profession of Protestants
known in our country. Generally all went away fully satisfied as to those
evil reports that have been spread over the country concerning me, and
many announced the abhorrence they had of those false and slanderous
reports."
It appears from this letter that the traveling companion of Elias, Jesse
Merritt, was homesick, and hoped that some other Friend would come
from Long Island to take his place for the rest of the trip. In case such a
shift was made, Elias requested that whoever came "might bring with him
my best winter tight-bodied coat, and two thicker neck-cloths, as those I
have are rather thin. I got a new great-coat in Alexandria, and shall not
need any other."
From a letter written to his wife from West Chester, Twelfth month 7th,
we learn that John Hicks had arrived to take the place of Jesse Merritt,
and he seized that opportunity to send a letter home. As the two Friends
had been away from home nearly six months, it is not strange that the
companion on this journey desired to return. He could scarcely have been
under the deep and absorbing religious concern which was felt by his
elder brother in the truth. The nature of this obligation is revealed in the
letter last noted. In this epistle to his wife, Elias says:

"Abigail's letter informs of the infirm state of V. and Caroline, which

excites near-feeling and sympathy with them, and which would
induce me to return home immediately if I was set at liberty from my
religious obligations, but as that is not the case, I can only
recommend them to the preserving care and compassionate regard
of our Heavenly Father, whose mercy is over all his works and does
not suffer a sparrow to fall without his notice. And as we become
resigned to his heavenly disposals, he will cause all things to work
together for good, to his truly devoted children. Therefore, let all
trust in him, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength."

The meetings in Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey were

pretty generally attended, and with no reported disturbance. First-day,
the 21st of Twelfth month, Elias attended the meeting at Cherry Street in
the morning and Green Street in the afternoon, and on the 28th he
repeated that experience. On both occasions "hundreds more assembled
than the houses could contain."[34] In the suburban meetings in Delaware
and Bucks Counties, "the houses were generally too small to contain the
people; many had to stand out-of-doors for want of room; nevertheless,
the people behaved orderly and the Lord was felt to preside, solemnizing
those crowded assemblies, in all of which my mind was opened, and
ability afforded, to preach the gospel to the people in the demonstration
of the spirit and with power, and many hearts were broken and contrited
and went away rejoicing, under thankful sense of the unmerited favor."
[35]

[34] Journal, p. 423.

 [35] Journal, p. 423.
The great crowds which flocked to hear Elias Hicks after the "separation"
were probably called together partly because of curiosity on their part,
and to a considerable extent because of his continued popularity as a
minister, in spite of the trouble which had come to the Society. That he
was appreciative of what we would now call the advertising quality of
those who antagonized him, and became his theological and personal
enemies, is well attested. In summing up his conclusions regarding the
long religious visit now under review, he said: "My opposing brethren
had, by their public opposition and erroneous reports, created such
excitement in the minds of the people generally of every profession, that
it induced multitudes to assemble to hear for themselves, and they
generally went away satisfied and comforted."[36] Undoubtedly, the
multitudes who heard Elias Hicks preach in 1828 went away wondering
what all the trouble was about.
[36] Journal, p. 423.
Elias and his traveling companion reached home about the middle of First
month, 1829. This was one of the longest and most extended religious
journeys ever made by him, and was completed within two months of his
eighty-first year. On the journey he traveled nearly 2400 miles, and was
absent seven months and ten days.
Going carefully over the various journeys of this well-known minister, a
conservative estimate will show that he traveled in the aggregate not less
than forty thousand miles during his long life of public service. He was
probably the best-known minister in the Society of Friends in his time. His
circle of personal friends was large, and extended over all the yearly
meetings. It is necessary to keep these facts in mind, in order to
understand how the major portion of Friends at that time made his cause
their own when the rupture came.
The majority of Friends at that time were content as to preaching, with
words that seemed to be full of spirit and life, and this undoubtedly was
characteristic of the preaching of Elias Hicks. To attempt to destroy the
standing in the Society of a man of such character and equipment was
certain to break something other than the man attacked. This will become
more apparent as we consider more closely the relation of Elias Hicks to
the controversy with which his name and person were linked, and with
the trouble in the Society of Friends, for which, either justly or otherwise,
he was made the scapegoat.

THE HICKS' HOUSE, JERICHO.

(See page 66.)
FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE, JERICHO.
(See page 68.)
 CHAPTER VII.
Ideas About the Ministry.
To construct from the published deliverances, and personal
correspondence of Elias Hicks, a statement of his theory and practice
touching the ministry is desirable if not easy. That he considered public
religious exercise an exalted function, if of the right sort, and emanating
from the Divine source, is abundantly evidenced in all he said and wrote.
The call to particular and general service, whether in his home meeting
for worship, or in connection with his extended religious journeys, he
believed came directly from the Divine Spirit.
One instance is related, which possibly as clearly as anything, illustrates
his feeling regarding the ministry, and the relationship of the Infinite to
the minister. In the fall of 1781, when his service in the ministry had been
acknowledged about three years, he was very ill with a fever, which lasted
for several months. In the most severe period of this indisposition he tells
us that "a prospect opened to my mind to pay a religious visit to some
parts of our island where no Friends lived, and among a people, who,
from acquaintance I had with them, were more likely to mock than
receive me." He opposed the call, and argued against it, only to see the
disease daily reducing his bodily and mental strength. He became
convinced that in yielding to this call lay his only hope of recovery, and
had he not done so his life would have gone out. Having fully recovered,
the intimated service was performed the following summer.
He seemed to treat his ministry as something in a measure apart from his
personality. He repeatedly referred to his own ministerial labors in a way
not unlike that indulged in by his most ardent admirers. Yet this was
always accompanied with acknowledgment of the Divine enlightening and
assistance. On the 22d of Tenth month, 1779, he held an appointed
meeting in Hartford, Conn., a thousand persons being present. Of this
meeting he said: "The Lord, in whom we trust, was graciously near, and
furnished us with ability to conduct the meeting to the satisfaction and
peace of our own minds; and to the edification of many present, and
general satisfaction to the assembly."[37]
[37] Journal, p. 85.

Speaking of a meeting at Market Street, Philadelphia, in Fourth month,

1801, he remarked: "My spirit was set at liberty, and ability afforded to
divide the word among them, according to their varied conditions, in a
large, searching and effectual testimony; whereby a holy solemnity was
witnessed to spread over the meeting, to the great rejoicing of the
honest-hearted."[38]
[38] Journal, p. 89.
At a meeting at Goose Creek, Virginia, the 22d of Third month, 1797, he
tells us: "After a considerable time of silent labor, in deep baptism with
the suffering seed, my mouth was opened in a clear, full testimony,
directed to the states of those present. And many were brought under the
influence of that power which 'cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon.'"[39]
[39] Journal, p. 69.
In the acknowledgment of the Divine influence and favor, Elias Hicks had
a collection of phrases which he repeatedly used. "It was the Lord's
doings, and marvelous in our eyes," was a common expression. He
repeatedly said: "Our sufficiency was not of ourselves, but of God; and
that the Lord was our strength from day to day, who is over all blessed
forever." One of his favorite expressions was: "To the Lord be all the
praise, nothing due to man."
Trite and pointed Scripture quotations were always at command, and they
were effectively employed, both in speaking and writing. It will be noted
by the reader that not a few of the expressions used by Elias Hicks sound
like the phrases coined by George Fox.
That Elias Hicks believed in the plenary inspiration of the preacher is well
attested. His testimony was constantly against the "letter," with little
recognition that the letter could ever contain the spirit. Here is a sample
exhortation to ministers:

"And it is a great thing when ministers keep in remembrance that

necessary caution of the divine Master, not to premediate what they
shall say; but carefully to wait in the nothingness and emptiness of
 self, that what they speak may be only what the Holy Spirit speaketh
in them; then will they not only speak the truth, but the truth,
accompanied with power, and thereby profit the hearers."[40]

[40] Journal, p. 296.

He admonished Friends in meeting, and especially ministers, to "get
inward, and wait in their proper gifts." The evident theory was that by
waiting, and possibly wrestling with the manifestation it was possible to
tell whether it was from below or above.
Still, there was not an entire absence of the human and even the rational
in Elias Hicks' theory of the ministry as it worked out in practice. He had
evidently discovered the psychological side of public speaking to the
extent of recognizing that even the preacher was influenced by his
audience.
When he was in Philadelphia in 1816, before the troubled times had
arrived, he tells us that "it proved a hard trying season: one of them
[ministers] was exercised in public testimony, and although she appeared
to labor fervently, yet but little life was felt to arise during the meeting.
This makes the work hard for the poor exercised ministers, who feel the
necessity publicly to advocate the cause of truth and righteousness, and
yet obtain but little relief, by reason of the deadness and indifference of
those to whom they are constrained to minister. I found it my place to sit
silent and suffer with the seed."[41]
[41] Journal, p. 271.
In a personal letter, while on one of his visits, Elias Hicks gave the
following impression of the meeting and the ministry:

"To-day was the quarterly meeting of discipline. It was large, and I

think in the main a favored instructive season, although considerably
hurt by a pretty long, tedious communication, not sufficiently clothed
with life to make it either comfortable or useful. So it is, the Society
is in such a mixed and unstable state, and many who presume to be
teachers in it, are so far from keeping on the original foundation, the
light and spirit of truth, and so built up in mere tradition, that I fear a
very great portion of the ministry among us, is doing more harm than
 good, and leading back to the weak and beggarly elements, to which
they seem desirous to be again in bondage."[42]

[42] Letter to his wife, dated Purchase, N. Y., Tenth month 29, 1823.
This is not the only case of his measuring the general effect of the
ministry. In Seventh month, 1815, he attended Westbury Quarterly
Meeting, and of its experiences he wrote as follows:

"Was the parting meeting held for public worship. It was a large
crowded meeting, but was somewhat hurt in the forepart, by the
appearance of one young in the ministry standing too long, and
manifesting too much animation: Yet, I believed, he was under the
preparing hand, fitting for service in the Church, if he only keeps low
and humble, and does not aspire above his gift, into the animation of
the creature. For there is great danger, if such are not deeply
watchful, of the transformer getting in and raising the mind into too
much creaturely zeal, and warmth of the animal spirit, whereby they
may be deceived, and attribute that to the divine power, which only
arises from a heated imagination, and the natural warmth of their
own spirits; and so mar the work of the divine spirit on their minds,
run before their gift and lose it, or have it taken away from them.
They thereby fall into the condition of some formerly, as mentioned
by the prophet, who, in their creaturely zeal, kindle a fire of their
own, and walk in the light thereof; but these, in the end, have to lie
down in sorrow."[43]

[43] Journal, p. 234.

Of the same quarterly meeting, held in Fourth month in the following
year, in New York, Elias wrote: "It was for the most part a favored season,
but would have been more so, had not some in the ministry quite
exceeded the mark by unnecessary communication. For very great care
ought to rest on the minds of ministers, lest they become burthensome,
and take away the life from the meeting, and bring over it a gloom of
death and darkness, that may be sensibly felt."[44]
[44] Journal, p. 268.
His feeling regarding his own particular labor in the ministry is almost
pathetically expressed as follows:
 "Meetings are generally large and well-attended, although in the
midst of harvest. I have continual cause for deep humility and
thankfulness of heart under a daily sense of the continued mercy of
the Shepherd of Israel, who when he puts his servants forth, goes
before them, and points out the way, when to them all seems shut
up in darkness. This has been abundantly my lot from day to day,
insomuch that the saying of the prophet has been verified in my
experience, that none are so blind as the Lord's servants, nor deaf as
his messengers. As generally when I first enter meetings I feel like
one, both dumb and deaf, and see nothing but my own impotence.
Nevertheless as my whole trust and confidence is in the never-failing
arm of divine sufficiency, although I am thus emptied, I am not cast
down, neither has a murmuring thought been permitted to enter, but
in faith and patience, have had to inherit the promise, as made to
Israel formerly by the prophet. 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee.' This my dear, I trust will be the happy lot of all those who
sincerely trust in the Lord, and do not cast away their confidence, nor
lean to their own understanding."[45]

[45] Letter to his wife, written from East Caln, Pa., Seventh month 22,
1813.
Occasionally in his ministry Elias Hicks did what in our time would be
called sensational things. In this matter he shall be his own witness.
Fourth-day, the 6th of Twelfth month, 1815, at Pearl Street meeting in
New York, there was a marriage during the meeting, on which account
the attendance was large. After remarking that his mind was "exercised in
an unusual manner," he says:

"For the subject which first presented, after my mind had become
silenced, was the remembrance of the manner in which the temporal
courts among men are called to order; and it became so impressive,
as to apprehend it right to make use of it as a simile, much in the
way the prophet was led to make use of some of the Rechabites, to
convict Israel of their disobedience and want of attention to their law
and law-giver. I accordingly was led to cry audibly three times, 'O
yes! O yes! O yes! silence all persons, under the pain and penalty of
the displeasure of the court.' This unusual address had a powerful
tendency to arrest the attention of all present, and from which I took
 occasion, as truth opened the way, to reason with the assembly, that
if such a confused mass of people as are generally collected together
on such occasions, and from very different motives, and many from
mere curiosity to hear and see the transactions of the court, should
all in an instant so honor and respect the court, as immediately to be
still and silent at the simple call of the crier: How much more
reasonable is it, for a collection of people, promiscuously gathered to
the place appointed in a religious way, to wait upon, and worship the
Judge of heaven and earth, to be still, and strive to silence every
selfish and creaturely thought and cogitation of the mind. For such
thoughts and cogitations would as certainly prevent our hearing the
inward divine voice of the King of heaven, and as effectually hinder
our worshipping him in spirit and in truth, as the talking of the
multitude at a court of moral law, would interrupt the business
thereof. As I proceeded with this simile, the subject enlarged and
spread, accompanied with gospel power and the evident
demonstration of the spirit, whereby truth was raised into victory,
and ran as oil over all. The meeting closed with solemn supplication
and thanksgiving to the Lord our gracious Helper, to whom all the
honor and glory belong, both now and forever."[46]

[46] Journal, p. 248.

Whatever may have been the opinion of Elias Hicks as to the inspiration
of the minister, he evidently did not consider that it was so impersonal
and accidental, or so entirely outside the preacher, as to demand no care
on his own part. The following advisory statement almost provides for
what might be called "preparation:"

"In those large meetings, where Friends are collected from various
parts, the weak and the strong together, and especially in those for
worship, it is essentially necessary that Friends get inward, and wait
in their proper gifts, keeping in view their standing and place in
society, especially those in the ministry. For otherwise there is danger
even from a desire to do good, of being caught with the enemies'
transformations, particularly with those that are young, and
inexperienced; for we seldom sit in meetings but some prospect
presents, which has a likeness, in its first impression, to the right
thing; and as these feel naturally fearful of speaking in large
 meetings, and in the presence of their elderly friends, and
apprehending they are likely to have something to offer, they are
suddenly struck with the fear of man, and thereby prevented from
centering down to their gifts, so as to discover whether it is a right
motion or not; and the accuser of the brethren, who is always ready
with his transformations to deceive, charges with unfaithfulness and
disobedience, by which they are driven to act without any clear
prospect, and find little to say, except making an apology for them
thus standing; by which they often disturb the meeting, and prevent
others, who are rightly called to the work, and thereby wound the
minds of the living baptized members."[47]

[47] Journal, p. 230.

The responsibility which Elias Hicks felt for the meeting of which he was a
member, and in which he felt called to minister, is well illustrated in the
following quotation:

"I was under considerable bodily indisposition most of this week. On

Fifth-day, so much so, as almost to give up the prospect of getting to
meeting; but I put on my usual resolution and went, and was glad in
so doing, as there I met with that peace of God that passeth all
understanding, which is only known by being felt. I had to declare to
my friends how good it is to trust in the Lord with all the heart, and
lean not to our own understandings, lest they fail us."[48]

[48] Journal, p. 230.

This records no uncommon occurrence. He was often indisposed, but the
illness had to be severe if it kept him away from meeting.
During his later life he was frequently indisposed, and sometimes under
such bodily pain when speaking that he was forced to stop in the midst of
a discourse. This happened in Green Street Meeting House, Philadelphia,
Eleventh month 12, 1826. On this occasion the stenographer says that
after "leaving his place for a few minutes, he resumed." During this
particular sermon Elias sat down twice, beside the time mentioned,
evidently to recover physical strength.
Elias Hicks was not one of those ministers who always spoke if he
attended meeting. Many times he was silent; this being especially true
when in his home meeting. When on a religious visit he generally spoke,
but not always. That his willingness to "famish the people from words,"
tended to his local popularity, is quite certain.
The printed sermons of Elias Hicks would indicate that at times he was
quite lengthy, and seldom preached what is known now as a short, ten-
minute sermon. Estimating a number of sermons, we find that they
averaged about 6500 words, so that his sermons must have generally
occupied from thirty to forty-five minutes in delivery. Occasionally a
sermon contained over 8000 words, while sometimes less than 4000
words.
 CHAPTER VIII.
The Home at Jericho.
The village of Jericho, Long Island, is about 25 miles east of New York
City, in the town of Oyster Bay. It has had no considerable growth since
the days of Elias Hicks, and now contains only about a score and a half of
houses. Hicksville, less than two miles away, the railroad station for the
older hamlet, contains a population of a couple of thousand. It was
named for Valentine Hicks, the son-in-law of Elias.
Running through Jericho is the main-traveled road from the eastern part
of Long Island to New York, called Jericho Pike. In our time it is a famous
thoroughfare for automobiles, is thoroughly modern, and as smooth and
hard as a barn floor. In former days it was a toll-road, and over it Elias
Hicks often traveled. A cross-country road runs through Jericho nearly
north and south, leading to Oyster Bay. On this road, a few rods to the
north from the turn in the Jericho Pike stands the house which was
originally the Seaman homestead, where Elias Hicks lived from soon after
his marriage till his death.
The house was large and commodious for its time, but has been
remodeled, so that only part of the building now standing is as it was
eighty years ago. The house ends to the road, with entrance from the
south side. It was of the popular Long Island and New England
construction, shingled from cellar wall to ridge-pole. Four rooms on the
east end of the house, two upstairs and two down, are practically as they
were in the days of Elias Hicks. In one of these he had his paralytic
stroke, and in another he passed away. The comparatively wide hall which
runs across the house, with the exception of the stairway, is as it was in
the time of its distinguished occupant. A new stairway of modern
construction now occupies the opposite side of the hall from the one of
the older time. This hall-way, it is said, Elias Hicks loved to promenade,
sometimes with his visitors, and here with characteristic warmth of feeling
he sped his parting guests, when the time for their departure came.
Like the most of his neighbors, Elias Hicks was a farmer. The home place
probably contained about seventy-five acres, but he possessed detached
pieces of land, part of it in timber. Several years before his death he sold
forty acres of the farm to his son-in-law, Valentine Hicks, thus
considerably reducing the care which advancing years and increased
religious labor made advisable.
Jericho still retains its agricultural character more than some of the other
sections of neighboring Long Island. The multi-millionaire and the real
estate exploiter have absorbed many of the old Friendly homes toward
the Westbury neighborhood, and are pushing their ambitious intent at
land-grabbing down the Jericho road.
If Elias were to return and make a visit from Jericho to the meeting at
Westbury, as he often did in his time, three or four miles away, he would
pass more whizzing automobiles en route than he would teams, and
would see the landscape beautifully adorned with lawns and walks, with
parks and drives on the hillsides, not to mention the costly Roman garden
of one of Pittsburg's captains of industry. Should he so elect, he could be
whirled in a gasoline car in a few minutes over a distance which it
probably took him the better part of an hour to make in his day. As he
went along he could muse over snatches of Goldsmiths' "Deserted
Village," like the following, which would be approximately, if not literally,
true:

"Hoards, e'en beyond the miser's wish abound,

And rich men flock from all the world around.
Yet count our gains: this wealth is but a name
That leaves our useful products just the same.
And so the loss: the man of wealth and pride
Takes up the place that many poor supplied;
Space for his lake, his parks extending bounds,
Space for his horses, equipage and hounds,
The robe that wraps his limbs in silken sloth,
Has robbed the neighboring fields of half their growth."

But there are some compensations in the modern scene, and however
emotionally sad the change, the helpfully suggestive side is not in
lamentation over the inevitable, but in considering the growing demands
which the situation makes upon the practical spiritual religion which Elias
Hicks preached, and in which his successors still profess to believe.
A hundred years ago, wheat was a regular and staple farm product on
Long Island, especially in and around Jericho, and on the Hicks farm. But
no wheat is raised in this section now. The farmer finds it more profitable
to raise the more perishable vegetables to feed the hungry hordes of the
great city, which has crowded itself nearer and nearer to the farmers'
domain.
Less than a quarter of a mile up the road from the Hicks home is the
Friends' Meeting House, which Elias Hicks helped to build, if he did not
design it. The timbers and rafters, which were large, and are still sound to
the core, were hewed by hand of course. Like most of the neighboring
buildings, its sides were shingled, and probably the original shingles have
not been replaced since the house was built, a hundred and twenty-two
years ago. The "public gallery" contained benches sloping steeply one
above the other, making the view of the preacher's gallery easy from
these elevated positions. Over the preacher's gallery, and facing the one
just described, is room for a row of seats behind a railing. Whether this
was a sort of a "watch-tower" from which the elders might observe the
deportment of the young people in the seats opposite, or whether it was
simply used for overflow purposes, tradition does not tell us.
The fact probably is that what is known as the Hicks property at Jericho
came to Elias by his wife Jemima. There is every reason to believe that at
the time of his marriage he was a poor man, and as the young folks took
up their residence at the Seaman home soon after their marriage, there
was no time for an accumulation of property on the part of the head of
the new family. The economic situation involved in the matter under
consideration had a most important bearing on the religious service of
Elias Hicks. Taking the Seaman farm brought him economic certainty, if
not independence. It is hardly conceivable that he could have given the
large attention to the "free gospel ministry" which he did, had there been
a struggle with debt and difficulty which was so incidental in laying the
foundations of even a moderate success a century and a quarter ago. It is
by no means to be inferred, however, that Elias Hicks was ever a wealthy
man, or possessed the means of luxury, for which of course he had no
desire, and against which he bore a life-long testimony. The real point to
be gratefully remembered is that he was not overburdened with the care
and worry which a less desirable economic condition would have
enforced.
In the main, Elias Hicks saw his married children settle around him. Royal
Aldrich, who married his oldest daughter, had a tannery, and lived on the
opposite side of the road not far away. Valentine Hicks, who married
another daughter, had a somewhat pretentious house for the time, at the
foot of the little hill approaching the meeting house, and just beyond the
house of Elias, Robert Seaman, who married the youngest daughter, lived
only a few steps away. Joshua Willets, who married the third daughter,
resided on the south side of the island, some miles distant. The time of
scattering families, lured by business outlook and economic advantage,
had not yet arrived.
 CHAPTER IX.
The Hicks Family.
In the home at Jericho the children of Elias Hicks were born. Touching his
family we have this bit of interesting information from Elias Hicks himself:

"My wife, although not of a very strong constitution, lived to be the

mother of eleven children, four sons and seven daughters. Our
second daughter, a very lovely promising child, died when young with
the small pox, and the youngest was not living at its birth. The rest
all arrived to years of discretion, and afforded us considerable
comfort, as they proved to be in a good degree dutiful children. All
our sons, however, were of weak constitutions, and were not able to
take care of themselves, being so enfeebled as not to be able to walk
after the ninth year of their age. The two eldest died in the fifteenth
year of their age, the third in his seventeenth year, and the youngest
was nearly nineteen when he died. But, although thus helpless, the
innocency of their lives, and the resigned cheerfulness of their
dispositions to their allotments, made the labour and toil of taking
care of them agreeable and pleasant; and I trust we were preserved
from murmuring or repining, believing the dispensation to be in
wisdom, and according to the will and gracious disposing of an all-
wise providence, for purposes best known to himself. And when I
have observed the great anxiety and affliction, which many parents
have with undutiful children who are favoured with health, especially
their sons, I could perceive very few whose troubles and exercises,
on that account, did not far exceed ours. The weakness and bodily
infirmity of our sons tended to keep them much out of the way of the
troubles and temptations of the world; and we believed that in their
death they were happy, and admitted into the realms of peace and
joy; a reflection, the most comfortable and joyous that parents can
have in regard to their tender offspring."[49]

[49] Journal, p. 14.

The children thus referred to by their father were the following: Martha,
born in 1771. She married Royal Aldrich, and died in 1862, at the
advanced age of ninety-one. She was a widow for about twenty years.
David was born in 1773, and died in 1787. Elias, the second son, was
born in 1774, and died the same year as his brother David. Elizabeth was
born in 1777, and died in 1779. This is the daughter who had the small
pox. There are no records telling whether the other members of the
family had the disease, or how this child of two years became a victim of
the contagion.
Phebe, the third daughter, was born in 1779. She married Joshua Willets,
as noted in the last chapter.
Abigail, who married Valentine Hicks, a nephew of Elias, was born in
1782. She died Second month 26, 1850, while her husband passed away
the 5th of Third month of the same year, just one week after the death of
his wife.
Jonathan, the third son, was born in 1784, and passed away in 1802. His
brother, John, was born in 1789, and died in 1805.
Elizabeth, evidently named for her little sister, was born in 1791, and lived
to a good old age. She passed away in 1871. She was never married, and
occasionally accompanied her father on his religious visits. She was
known in the neighborhood, in her later years at least, as "Aunt
Elizabeth," and is the best-remembered of any of the children of Elias
Hicks. As the Friends remember her she was a spare woman, never
weighing over ninety pounds.
The youngest child of the family, Sarah, was born in 1793. She married
Robert Seaman, her kinsman, and died in 1835. Robert, her husband,
died in 1860.
It will be seen that the home at Jericho was a house acquainted with
grief. Of the ten children, Martha, David, Elias and little Elizabeth made up
the juvenile members of the household, up to the time of the death of the
latter. Phebe came the same year, while Abigail was born three years
later, so that there were at least four or five children always gathered
around the family board. Before the passing away of Elias and David, the
family had been increased by the birth of Jonathan, making the children
living at one time six. After the death of the three older boys, and the
birth of Elizabeth and Sarah, until the death of John in 1805, living
children were still six in number. The five daughters, Martha, Phebe,
Abigail, Elizabeth and Sarah all outlived their parents.
Elias Hicks was undoubtedly a most affectionate father, as the letters to
his wife and children show. How much this was diluted by the apparent
sternness of his religious concerns is a matter for the imagination to
determine. What were the amusements of this large family is an
interesting question in this "age of the child," with its surfeit of toys and
games. What were the tasks of the girls it is not so hard to answer. Of
course they worked "samplers," pieced quilts, learned to spin and knit,
and possibly to weave, and to prepare the wool or flax for the loom. If we
read between the lines in the description of their father, we can easily
infer that the physically afflicted sons were nevertheless not without the
joys of boyhood.
At all events, if it was an afflicted family, it was also a united one. It was
a home where the parents were reverenced by the children, and where
there was a feeling of love, and a sense of loyalty. This feeling is still
characteristic of the descendants of Elias Hicks. It is a sample of the
persistence of the qualities of a strong man, in the generations that come
after him.
Of the four daughters of Elias Hicks who were married, but two had
children, so that the lineal descendants of the celebrated Jericho preacher
are either descendants of Martha Hicks, wife of Valentine, or of Sarah
Hicks Seaman. These two branches of the family are quite numerous.[50]
[50] The descendants referred to will be given in their proper place in
the Appendix.
Of Jemima, the wife of Elias Hicks, little is known apart from the
correspondence of her husband, and that is considerable. That he
considered her his real help-meet, and had for her a lover's affection to
the end is abundantly attested by all of the facts. Dame Rumor, in the
region of Jericho, claims that she was her husband's intellectual inferior,
but that is an indefinite comparison worth very little. That she was at
some points his superior is undoubtedly true, and it must be remembered
that Elias himself, with all of his great natural ability, lacked intellectual
culture and literary training. Jemima was evidently a good housekeeper,
and manager of affairs. Before she had sons-in-law with whom to advise,
and even after that, the business side of the family was a considerable
part of the time in her hands. It is no small matter to throw upon a
woman, never robust, the responsibility of both the mother and father of
a family during the prolonged absence of the husband.
The first long religious visit of Elias Hicks lasted ten weeks. At that time
there were four little people in the Hicks home, from eight-year-old
Martha to two-year-old Elizabeth, who died that year, while Phebe was
born after the return of her father from his Philadelphia trip. Several of
the other extended journeys were made while the children of the family
were of an age requiring care. Of course this laid labor and responsibility
on the wife and mother. These she bore without complaining and, we
may be sure, with executive ability of no mean order.
It was a time when women were not expected to be either the intellectual
peers or companions of their husbands, and we cannot justly apply the
measurements and standards of to-day, to the women of a century ago.
Men of the Elias Hicks type, meeting their fellows in public assemblies and
ministering to them, traveling widely and forming many friendships,
whether in the Society of Friends or out of it, are likely to be praised, if
not petted, while their wives, less known, labor on unappreciated. Such a
woman was Jemima Hicks. To her, and all like her, the lasting gratitude of
the sons of men is due.
 CHAPTER X.
Letters to his Wife.
In the long absences from home, which the religious visits of Elias
Hicks involved, as a matter of course many of the domestic burdens
fell heavily upon his wife. In so far as he could atone for his absence
by sending epistles home he did so. In fact, for the times, he was a
voluminous letter writer.
It was not a time of rapid transit. Distances now spanned in a few
hours demanded days and weeks when Elias Hicks was active in the
ministry. At the best, but a few letters could reach home from the
traveler absent for several months.
In the main the letters which Elias sent to his beloved Jemima were
of the ardent lover-like sort. It seemed impossible, however, for him
to avoid the preacherly function in even his most tender and
domestic missives. Exhortations to practical righteousness, and to
the maintenance of what he considered the Friendly fundamentals,
were plentifully mixed with his most private and personal concerns.
In going over this correspondence one wishes for more description,
relating to the human side of the traveler's experiences. A man who
several times traversed what was really the width of habitable
America, and mostly either in a wagon or on horseback, must have
seen much that was interesting, and many times humorous and
even pathetic. But few of these things moved Elias Hicks, or diverted
him from what he considered the purely gospel character of his
mission.
Still there is much worth while in this domestic correspondence.
From it we compile and annotate such extracts as seem to help
reveal the character of the man who wrote them.
On the 13th of Eighth month, 1788, Elias was at Creek, now Clinton
Corners, in Dutchess county, New York. From a letter written to his
wife that day, we quote:

"My heart glows at this time with much love and affection for
thee and our dear children, with breathing desires for your
preservation, and that thou, my dear, may be kept in a state of
due watchfulness over thyself, and those dear lambs under thy
care, that nothing may interrupt the current of pure love among
you in my absence."

A letter dated "Lynn, Massachusetts, ye 24th of Eighth month,

1793," and written to his wife, is of peculiar interest. We quote the
first sentences:

"I received last evening, at my return to this place from the

East, thy very acceptable letter of the 16th instant.... The
contents, except the account of the pain in thy side, were truly
comfortable. That part wherein thou expresseth a resignation to
the Divine Will, was particularly satisfactory, for in this, my dear,
consists our chiefest happiness and consolation."

He sometimes expressed a sense of loneliness in his travels, but was

certain of the nearness of the Divine Spirit. In the letter mentioned
above he said:

"Thou hast cause to believe with me, my dear, that it was He

that first united our hearts together in the bonds of an endeared
love and affection. So it is He that has kept and preserved us all
our life long, and hath caused us to witness an increase of that
unfading love, which as thou expresseth is ever new."

Evidently his beloved Jemima, like Martha of old, was unduly

troubled about many things, for we find Elias in his letter indulging
in the following warning: "And let me again hint to thee a care over
thyself, for I fear thou wilt expose thyself by too much bodily
exercise in the care of thy business."
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