Bess Gillet, I conclude not that Newfoundland Quakers "died out", but more likely that there were never any Quakers there except possibly fishermen serving on a British fishing boat. Quakers of that period did not just go along with the nearest available "hireling minister." Quakers would not have accepted Anglican or other Protestant "christenings" because they early on rejected the outward sacraments of baptism and communion. Around the time you mention the Anglicans in Virginia were still actively persecuting and prosecuting the Quakers for their refusal to allow the Anglican clergy to conduct marriages or baptisms. A major reason for the diligent Quaker record-keeping (instituted widely beginning in 1672) was the Anglican position that Quaker marriages were nullities and Quaker children were bastards because of marriage outside the Church of England. Tom Thomas C. Hill 425 Walnut Street, Suite 1800 Cincinnati, OH 45202 U.S.A. Phone: 513-357-9334 Fax: 513-381-0205 e-mail: tomhill@nuvox.com www.quakermeetings.com -----Original Message----- From: Bess Gillett Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 9:18 PM To: QUAKER-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [Q-R] Newfoundland Quakers Hi Tom, sorry to take so long getting back, but as to the Nfld. Quakers, I still can't get a handle on them, they seem to have died out. There was a Rev. Balfour who, if you go to the Trinity Nfld. records, his marriages and births are listed under the Anglican Church. After doing some reading, I found out that the Rev. Balfour (Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) was working with the Anglican Church in Trinity as they, the SPG, did not have a church of their own. So far, I'm assuming that the Quaker religion died out in Nfld., and going with the surnames that I've been interested in, most seem to have joined the SPG or Methodist church. But, as you probably already know, there seems to be a new interest in the Quaker religion in Nfld. When I first started trying to trace my Nfld. roots, one thing I was told was that I should not focus on a specific religion, as in many of the outports, the people would have their children christened by whoever happened to come along, and had the authority to have the children christened. Which, as you can imagine, has made the search even more difficult, and the name changes from Gillit, Gillet, Gillot, etc. I don't know if this is of any help, I'm hoping to get my Gillett family figured out one of these days, but if you should happen to know of a Richard Gillitt (Gillett), or a Richard Waterman who may have originated in the USA and moved to Nfld. sometime around 1730 I really would appreciate hearing from you, sincerely, Bess >From: "Tom Hill" <tomhill@nuvox.net> >Reply-To: QUAKER-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com >To: QUAKER-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: RE: [Q-R] Newfoundland Quakers >Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:04:35 -0400 > >Bess Gillett, > > I note that the Friends memberships you list were in England, and my >_Monthly Meetings in North America: A Quaker Index_ reflect no formal Friends meetings anywhere in what became Canada until the 1780s. I note the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia meeting preparative after 1784 under Nantucket [Mass] MM <http://www.quakermeetings.com/viewRecord_display?anID=TST1240L> (again the fishing connection) and I am aware of another group from New York City who moved to maritime Canada shortly after the American Revolution. The settlements in "Upper Canada" (Ontario) also followed the Revolution. > > If you have any details of a Friends meeting in Newfoundland I would appreciate your writing me directly off-list. > > Tom > >-----Original Message----- >From: Bess Gillett >Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 8:36 PM >To: QUAKER-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: [Q-R] Newfoundland Quakers > >Hello, I'm new to the list and I'm hoping someone may be able to help me. I've been researching my Newfoundland Gillett family and I happened on a site that mentions a Thomas Gillett who was on the 'Welcome'. In 1730 Trinity, Nfld., there is a Richard Waterman who is the Justice of the Peace for Trinity and also a Gillet who is the constable. Mr. Waterman owns a large Plantation (fishingroom) with 2 English, and 11 Irish servants (some may be fishermen) plus he has two boatkeepers. Trinity Gilletts married into families with Quaker connections, such as Bayley, Vallis, Randall, Martin and Skeffington. In the 1600s there are Quaker surnames from Hampshire that also show up Nfld. such as Pike, Curtis, Vallis, Bayley, Tuffin, Parsons, Ayles and Brown. Also, in 1827, the Waterman Plantation is now owned by Ayles, Brown and Gillet. Apparently some of the Watermans bought land in Holdenhurst, Hampshire (Dorset) and it is said that they made their money from the Nfld. Cod Industry. Richard Gillett (Gilit) is living in Trinity North in 1753 and also living there is Richard Waterman, Sr., and other families with possible Quaker connection. I'm assuming that Mr. Gillett was either an employee of Mr. Watermans or perhaps a partner in the Plantation. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who may know of any Quaker Watermans or Gilletts who came from the U.S.A. and eventually arrived in Nfld. circa 1690-1730s. > >Thank you for your time, >Bess, British Columbia, Canada