In the Shadow of William Penn: Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends (review)

64Quaker History young idealist whom the mature Bacon calls "naive" but who, not yet grounded in a firm religious faith, strives to behave morally in a flawed world and works to build a lasting marriage under stressful circumstances. Observing her own fear and the conduct ofthe hospital staff, Bacon learns it is possible for fear to cast out love, but in the end proves the greater truth that "perfect love casteth out fear." In a telling vignette, Bacon is given, on her first day on the job, the task ofbathing a "hellcat," a violent, demented woman with tuberculosis of the bowels whom the other attendants fear. Though gentleness and respect, Bacon is able to quiet her and bring some peace to her tormented life. Ultimately, this memoir attains the coherence of the novel that was never published, holding in tension complex issues ofidealism and reality, hope and despair, youth and maturity, love and fear. Despite some lapses in proofreading, it is satisfying both as narrative and as social history. Caroline CherryEastern University In the Shadow ofWilliam Penn: Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends. By Margaret Hope Bacon. Philadelphia: Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, 2001. xii + 74 pp. Bibliography, illustrations, map, index. $12. This useful volume summarizes not only the story of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting but also Quaker history as seen in Philadelphia in the nineteenth and twentieth century. As Bacon says, to understand the history of the two meetings, Race Street and Twelfth Street, that became Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, "is to know the story of Philadelphia Quakers for almost two centuries: their concerns, their tragic separation , and their eventual healing." The three chapters contain informative details about the founding of various Quaker schools and colleges (including Friends Central, Friends Select, the George School, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges), varying attitudes toward involvement in social concerns, differing responses toward the wars that occurred during this period, the relation of men's and women's meetings and the influence of women on Philadelphia Quakerism , and other matters of interest. Modern Friends unacquainted with this period ofQuaker history will be surprised to learn, for instance, that in the 1830s and 1840s Hicksite elders sometimes disciplined those who spoke against slavery, although by the time of the Civil War they were unified in their abolitionist stand. On the more positive side, concern about slavery and aid for former slaves was so Book Reviews65 strong that Orthodox and Hicksite Friends cooperated in such efforts as the Association for the Aid and Elevation ofthe Freedmen and the Institute for Colored Youth. In fact, by the end of the nineteenth century, both of the main branches of Quakers were deeply involved in social action and outreach, including the Women's Foreign Missionary Association ofFriends ofPhiladelphia, which sponsored, among other endeavors, a girls' school in Ramallah, Palestine, and a mission in Tokyo. Race Street Yearly Meeting was moved in 1914 to pass a minute supporting women's suffrage, "perhaps the first such statement by a religious body," Bacon says. Philadelphia Quakers were powerful enough to have an impact; in the latter part of the nineteenth century, Race Street Meeting numbered nearly 1 ,900 members. The last chapter deals with the final healing ofthe breach of 1827 when, after years ofinching toward reunion through the efforts ofYoung Friends and through cooperation on various projects, Race Street and Twelfth Street finally met together in January 1 956 as Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting; by this time, the joint membership was fewer than 700 Friends. Theological differences remained, as well as tangled property and managerial issues, but members worked through Quaker process to resolve them. Policies regarding same-sex marriage and "Responding to Calls to Ministry" are two results ofthis process which have been found useful by other Meetings. This book will be read with interest by Philadelphia Quakers, by students of the history of Quakerism and of Philadelphia, and by those interested in observing how this "peculiar people" worked through the challenges of two centuries. Caroline CherryEastern University Full ofAdventure: The Memoirs of Grace Scattergood Lowry. Edited by Margaret Hope Bacon. Aston, PA: GCom2 Solutions, 525 Turner Industrial Way, Aston, PA 19014, 2001. 201 pp. Illustrations, chronology, genealogy. $15. The memoirs...