This pertains to correspondence initiated by Edsel Burdge Jr., to which Thomas C. Hill, and Dan Treadway have contributed. It is suggested that I might have some knowledge of this matter, since I have been involved in writing histories of Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Conservative). I had not realized that there had been a group of Vermont Wilburite Friends who had moved to the Hesper Friends settlement in Winneshiek County in far northeastern Iowa. I have not read much concerning the Wilburite separation from the Gurneyites in eastern Iowa, ca. 1853 except what is included in the book by Lewis Jones, THE QUAKERS OF IOWA. This separation in Iowa centered around the person of Caleb Gregg. After the withdrawal of the members of Linn Preparative Meeting from Red Cedar Monthly Meeting, and after the Wilburite and the Gurneyites had parted company in Ohio, it is my understanding that Caleb Gregg endeavored to organize an Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite) which would have included the Wilburite Friends of Hopewell Meeting in the Linn/Jones Counjty area and Wilburite Friends who had been members of Red Cedar Monthly Meeting (Orthodox) in the Cedar County area.in the vicinity of present-day Springdale and West Branch. I do not believe that the Wilburite setllements at Whittier near Springville in Linn County and at Coal Creek in Keokuk County had been well established at this time. ---- I had also been under the impression that there were Friends of Wilburite persuasion from Salem Monthly Meeting (Orthodox) who were involved with Caleb Gregg in this endeavor, and I had supposed that they came from southeastern Iowa in Henry and Louisa Couty where Salem Monthly Meeting was centered. However, these Salem Monthly Meeing Wilburites may well have been the Wilburites from Vermont who settled in Winneshiek County. The leaders of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Wilburite) were evidently determined that the Iowa Wilburites should stay within the orbit of their Yearly Meeting. It is my understanding that the Meeting for Sufferings of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Orthodox) , the executive committee of the Yearly Meeting between Yearly Meeting sessions, issued a directive, perhaps in late 1855, that all Friends intending to settle in the West should leave their certificates in the care of Stillwater Meeting near Barnesville, Ohio. Years later, ca. 1867, when Ann Branson encountered Caleb Gregg at Coal Creek Meeting in Iowa, her scathing remarks seemed to reflect the sentiments of Ohio Yearly Meeting Wilburite leaders as far as Caleb Gregg was concerned. It has been my impression that the Friends of Hesper Monthly Meeting (FUM) have been generally appreciative of their Quaker heritage, and they seem to have made evident a more favorable attitude through the years to Wilburite and Conservative Friends than some of the more evangelical Friends.-----Winneshiek County Friends have tended to be geographically isolated from the larger Friends settlements centered in southeastrern Iowa. The Wilburite Friends from Vermont evidently realized that their little Meeting faced a bleak future by itself, so they cast their lot with the larger group of Gurneyite Friends in Winneshiek County. Following the Separation of the Conservative Friends of Bear Creek and Salem Quarters from Iowa Yearly Meeting (Gurneyite) in 1877, Caleb Gregg and his wife applied for membership in Bear Creek Monthly Meeting (Conservative) in 1878 and were readily accepted, it being noted that because of certain circumstances thay had been without Friends membership for some time. Within a year or two , Caleb Gregg was recorded as a minister of Bear Creek Monthly Meeting (Conservative). Caleb Gregg died ca. 1882, according to my recollection. The Greggs may have kept a hotel at Springville, Iowa for a time. I am inclined to feel that Caleb Gregg may have had a broader vision for Iowa Wilburites than some of the other leaders of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Wilburite) and his witness should not be discounted. I am not acquainted with the intricacies of the various schisms and splits among the Wilburite Friends in the era of the 1860's, the Kingites, the Otisites, the Maulites, as well as the Primitive Friends who parted with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Orthodox) during this time. I do not know how much the Iowa Wilburite Friends were influenced by these movements. In the years following the Separation of 1877, members of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) at various times invited friends of Hickory Grove Quarterly Meeting (Wilburite) to unite with the Conservative Friends, but the Wilburites considered the Conservatives to be deficient at a number of points, mostly pertaining to plain dress and plain language and maintaining a more circumspect Quaker discipline. Finally, ca. 1917-1918, the two groups found organic unity. ---- Herbert Standing.

This does not pertaun to my families, but thank you. ----- Original Message ----- From: Standcedargrove@aol.com To: QUAKER-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 6:11 PM Subject: [Q-R] Vermont Wilburites in Hesper, Iowa This pertains to correspondence initiated by Edsel Burdge Jr., to which Thomas C. Hill, and Dan Treadway have contributed. It is suggested that I might have some knowledge of this matter, since I have been involved in writing histories of Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Conservative). I had not realized that there had been a group of Vermont Wilburite Friends who had moved to the Hesper Friends settlement in Winneshiek County in far northeastern Iowa. I have not read much concerning the Wilburite separation from the Gurneyites in eastern Iowa, ca. 1853 except what is included in the book by Lewis Jones, THE QUAKERS OF IOWA. This separation in Iowa centered around the person of Caleb Gregg. After the withdrawal of the members of Linn Preparative Meeting from Red Cedar Monthly Meeting, and after the Wilburite and the Gurneyites had parted company in Ohio, it is my understanding that Caleb Gregg endeavored to organize an Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite) which would have included the Wilburite Friends of Hopewell Meeting in the Linn/Jones Counjty area and Wilburite Friends who had been members of Red Cedar Monthly Meeting (Orthodox) in the Cedar County area.in the vicinity of present-day Springdale and West Branch. I do not believe that the Wilburite setllements at Whittier near Springville in Linn County and at Coal Creek in Keokuk County had been well established at this time. ---- I had also been under the impression that there were Friends of Wilburite persuasion from Salem Monthly Meeting (Orthodox) who were involved with Caleb Gregg in this endeavor, and I had supposed that they came from southeastern Iowa in Henry and Louisa Couty where Salem Monthly Meeting was centered. However, these Salem Monthly Meeing Wilburites may well have been the Wilburites from Vermont who settled in Winneshiek County. The leaders of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Wilburite) were evidently determined that the Iowa Wilburites should stay within the orbit of their Yearly Meeting. It is my understanding that the Meeting for Sufferings of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Orthodox) , the executive committee of the Yearly Meeting between Yearly Meeting sessions, issued a directive, perhaps in late 1855, that all Friends intending to settle in the West should leave their certificates in the care of Stillwater Meeting near Barnesville, Ohio. Years later, ca. 1867, when Ann Branson encountered Caleb Gregg at Coal Creek Meeting in Iowa, her scathing remarks seemed to reflect the sentiments of Ohio Yearly Meeting Wilburite leaders as far as Caleb Gregg was concerned. It has been my impression that the Friends of Hesper Monthly Meeting (FUM) have been generally appreciative of their Quaker heritage, and they seem to have made evident a more favorable attitude through the years to Wilburite and Conservative Friends than some of the more evangelical Friends.-----Winneshiek County Friends have tended to be geographically isolated from the larger Friends settlements centered in southeastrern Iowa. The Wilburite Friends from Vermont evidently realized that their little Meeting faced a bleak future by itself, so they cast their lot with the larger group of Gurneyite Friends in Winneshiek County. Following the Separation of the Conservative Friends of Bear Creek and Salem Quarters from Iowa Yearly Meeting (Gurneyite) in 1877, Caleb Gregg and his wife applied for membership in Bear Creek Monthly Meeting (Conservative) in 1878 and were readily accepted, it being noted that because of certain circumstances thay had been without Friends membership for some time. Within a year or two , Caleb Gregg was recorded as a minister of Bear Creek Monthly Meeting (Conservative). Caleb Gregg died ca. 1882, according to my recollection. The Greggs may have kept a hotel at Springville, Iowa for a time. I am inclined to feel that Caleb Gregg may have had a broader vision for Iowa Wilburites than some of the other leaders of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Wilburite) and his witness should not be discounted. I am not acquainted with the intricacies of the various schisms and splits among the Wilburite Friends in the era of the 1860's, the Kingites, the Otisites, the Maulites, as well as the Primitive Friends who parted with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Orthodox) during this time. I do not know how much the Iowa Wilburite Friends were influenced by these movements. In the years following the Separation of 1877, members of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) at various times invited friends of Hickory Grove Quarterly Meeting (Wilburite) to unite with the Conservative Friends, but the Wilburites considered the Conservatives to be deficient at a number of points, mostly pertaining to plain dress and plain language and maintaining a more circumspect Quaker discipline. Finally, ca. 1917-1918, the two groups found organic unity. ---- Herbert Standing. ==== QUAKER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== Quaker-Roots Archives - Search List Messages From 1996 On http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl