Orthodox Quakers and Slavery: Baltimore, 1828-1900: Difference between revisions
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In 1828 a small group of Friends (Quakers) left the Lombard Street Quaker meeting in Baltimore, and went across the street to form their own meeting. Among them were six future trustees of twelve entrusted with the dispersal of a remarkable gift (announced in 1867) of one of its attendees, Johns Hopkins, that he intended for the care of destitute African American children, medical care for all without regard to color, and an institution of higher education that the Black community thought at its implementation would not exclude them. | In 1828 a small group of Friends (Quakers) left the Lombard Street Quaker meeting in Baltimore, and went across the street to form their own meeting. Among them were six future trustees of twelve entrusted with the dispersal of a remarkable gift (announced in 1867) of one of its attendees, Johns Hopkins, that he intended for the care of destitute African American children, medical care for all without regard to color, and an institution of higher education that the Black community thought at its implementation would not exclude them. | ||
The research objective here is to determine whether Johns Hopkins adopted the Orthodox Friends views on slavery, and whether or not he put into practice those views during the years in which he accumulated his considerable fortune. | The research objective here is to determine whether Johns Hopkins adopted the Orthodox Friends views on slavery, and whether or not he put into practice those views during the years in which he accumulated his considerable fortune. | ||
A history of the Orthodox Friends in Baltimore City, ''Minute by Minute A History of the Baltimore Monthly Meetings of Friends Homewood and Stony Run'' (1992), reviews some of the surviving records of the Baltimore Orthodox Friends and provides an excellent introduction to their history. Their chapters on the Homewood Meeting, the descendant of the Orthodox withdrawal from the Lombard Street Meeting in 1828, are particularly illuminating. | |||
The surviving records of the Orthodox meeting prior to 1900 were well-catalogued by Phebe R. Jacobsen in Quaker Records in Maryland (1966) and microfilmed by the Maryland State Archives. Subsequently the original records related to the Orthodox meetings were sent to Haverford College and a selection can be found on Ancestry.com. As Phebe Jacobsen points out (p. 95) "Unfortunately, Mens Minutes of the Baltimore Preparative Meeting for the Eastern and Western districts (Orthodox)between 1828 and 1856, were destroyed in a warehouse fire." This loss restricts the degree to which Johns Hopkins and his trustees involvement in the affairs of the Baltimore Orthodox Meeting can be measured, but several reels of microfilm images remain to be explored that include relevant minutes and documents that apparently were not encompassed in Minute by Minute, at least to the degree that they may document Johns Hopkins's commitment to the Friends Discipline published in Baltimore and followed by the Orthodox Meeting. As future Trustee and Chairman of the Board of Johns Hopkins Hospital recorded as Clerk of the Orthodox Meeting in 1856 when he reported on the views of his meeting towards slavery and the education of the Black community in its care: | |||
[[File:1856 francis t king.jpg|border|center|frameless|748x748px|Francis T. King, clerk of the Baltimore Orthodox Quaker Meeting, 1853 from Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2189/images/42483_1821100519_3958-00019?ssrc=&backlabel=Return]] | [[File:1856 francis t king.jpg|border|center|frameless|748x748px|Francis T. King, clerk of the Baltimore Orthodox Quaker Meeting, 1853 from Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2189/images/42483_1821100519_3958-00019?ssrc=&backlabel=Return]] | ||
Revision as of 14:59, 20 April 2021
In 1828 a small group of Friends (Quakers) left the Lombard Street Quaker meeting in Baltimore, and went across the street to form their own meeting. Among them were six future trustees of twelve entrusted with the dispersal of a remarkable gift (announced in 1867) of one of its attendees, Johns Hopkins, that he intended for the care of destitute African American children, medical care for all without regard to color, and an institution of higher education that the Black community thought at its implementation would not exclude them.
The research objective here is to determine whether Johns Hopkins adopted the Orthodox Friends views on slavery, and whether or not he put into practice those views during the years in which he accumulated his considerable fortune.
A history of the Orthodox Friends in Baltimore City, Minute by Minute A History of the Baltimore Monthly Meetings of Friends Homewood and Stony Run (1992), reviews some of the surviving records of the Baltimore Orthodox Friends and provides an excellent introduction to their history. Their chapters on the Homewood Meeting, the descendant of the Orthodox withdrawal from the Lombard Street Meeting in 1828, are particularly illuminating.
The surviving records of the Orthodox meeting prior to 1900 were well-catalogued by Phebe R. Jacobsen in Quaker Records in Maryland (1966) and microfilmed by the Maryland State Archives. Subsequently the original records related to the Orthodox meetings were sent to Haverford College and a selection can be found on Ancestry.com. As Phebe Jacobsen points out (p. 95) "Unfortunately, Mens Minutes of the Baltimore Preparative Meeting for the Eastern and Western districts (Orthodox)between 1828 and 1856, were destroyed in a warehouse fire." This loss restricts the degree to which Johns Hopkins and his trustees involvement in the affairs of the Baltimore Orthodox Meeting can be measured, but several reels of microfilm images remain to be explored that include relevant minutes and documents that apparently were not encompassed in Minute by Minute, at least to the degree that they may document Johns Hopkins's commitment to the Friends Discipline published in Baltimore and followed by the Orthodox Meeting. As future Trustee and Chairman of the Board of Johns Hopkins Hospital recorded as Clerk of the Orthodox Meeting in 1856 when he reported on the views of his meeting towards slavery and the education of the Black community in its care:
