Both my mother and father's families are from Chester County, PA Quaker lines My mother's family, the STERN line from Downingtown in Chester County, PA shares most of the surnames Judy lists from her husband's HEALD line, as well as CURRIER and related lines from Cecil Co. Maryland. My father's Chester County lines are SPEAKMAN, MERCER, PYLE, and related lines. I have the book on the Irish Quakers who came to PA which documents our STARR and related lines, but I wonder if anyone can fill in the historical context of the English Quakers who moved to Ireland and then to PA within a few generations. I've heard stories that they were in Cromwell's army and given land taken from the Irish, then became convinced Quakers in Ireland. I've also heard they moved from England to Ireland due to persecution. If anyone can recommend a a book or offer their insight, I would appreciate it. Thanks, -Kim Seattle, WA On Apr 4, 2009, at 1:54 PM, [email protected] wrote:

Kim, Another book that helps is our own Tom Hamm's "The Quaker's in America" . Most of the converts to Quakerism in Ireland came from English and Scots Protestants (Presbyterians, Baptists and Independents), and a few from the Church of England. Cromwellian soldiers were sometimes given the land they had conquered - thus taking it away from Irish landholders. It is likely that a few of Cromwell's army became Quakers, but in large part it was those displaced by Cromwell's soldiers who became Quakers. That and other (MANY) acts of persecution, helped set the stage for Quakerism to thrive in Ireland. Irish Friends who came to Pennsylvania often indicated that they had been born in England and had lived a few years in Ireland, primarily around Ulster and Dublin. I'm certain others can describe this better than I, but this may help some! Judy ... I have the book on the Irish Quakers who came to PA which documents our STARR and related lines, but I wonder if anyone can fill in the historical context of the English Quakers who moved to Ireland and then to PA within a few generations. I've heard stories that they were in Cromwell's army and given land taken from the Irish, then became convinced Quakers in Ireland. I've also heard they moved from England to Ireland due to persecution. If anyone can recommend a a book or offer their insight, I would appreciate it. Thanks, -Kim Seattle, WA On Apr 4, 2009, at 1:54 PM, [email protected] wrote: ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

If you run across the names of BENINGTON or PEIRCE in Chester County, you are looking at my late wife's forebears. John BENINGTON married Phebe PEIRCE in the Concord MM of Delaware County, but their children were all born in Chester County. One of John's children married an ELFRETH. So my wife had cousins in that line, also. Think about Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia. My late wife's great grandmother was a BENINGTON. On her mother's father's side she was related to the RECKITTs. One of her RECKITT forebears was William RECKITT, a Quaker missionary who established quite a few MMs along the east coast of the US around the time of the Revolutionary War. He made a couple of voyages from England, once even being captured by the French and imprisoned for a while. I get a real kick out of reading about some of the many people whose names I have run across in my research on the BENINGTON and RECKITT lines. Keep it up, people! You never know when something will click and you add in another three or four generations. Eugene M. Wiese 838 Linlawn Drive Wabash, IN 46992-3903 [email protected] (260) 846-0516 ----- Original Message ----- From: "K" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 04 April, 2009 5:54 PM Subject: [Q-R] My PA Quaker Lines & Question on Irish Quakers' History > Both my mother and father's families are from Chester County, PA > Quaker lines > My mother's family, the STERN line from Downingtown in Chester County, > PA shares most of the surnames Judy lists from her husband's HEALD > line, as well as CURRIER and related lines from Cecil Co. Maryland. > My father's Chester County lines are SPEAKMAN, MERCER, PYLE, and > related lines.