Quakerism on the Eastern Shore (review)

130QUAKER HISTORY After a long period in which Quaker historians have largely ignored thè nineteenth century, several books have appeared which shed much light on that period. Undoubtedly there was a reluctance to discuss the separations and other controversial elements in Quaker history—a resistance to "washing our dirty linen in public." Today Friends are more willing to face differences and discuss them openly than in previous generations and perhaps enough time has elapsed to make it seem reasonable to attempt dispassionate examinations of the nineteenth century. Errol Elliott's Quakers on the American Frontier is largely focused on that period and other volumes have appeared or are about to appear. This book is a welcome addition to such studies. It is unfortunate that the editors did not provide a bibliography in addition to the thorough notes found in the back of this volume. Such a bibliography would have been useful to future students. The reviewer saw no evidence that Thomas E. Drake's definitive volume Quakers and Slavery in America had been consulted, but, generally speaking, the author did a thorough research job in preparing his manuscript. The author leaves the impression that Joseph John Gurney was a "Beaconite" (p. 35) when in fact he opposed the separatist tendencies of those Friends. The indexer has listed Etienne de Grellet as separate from Stephen Grellet. One wonders how this French version of die early nineteenth-century Evangelical got into the text, especially since the note on p. 164 uses the Anglicized version. In view of the extensive information found in die notes it would have been helpful if the indexer had indexed the notes as well as die text. Haverford CollegeEdwin B. Bronner Quakerum on the Eastern Shore. By Kenneth Carroll. Baltimore: The Maryland Historical Society. 1970. 328 pages. $12.50. It is difficult for this reviewer not to have a certain sense of sadness and disappointment in this account of Quakerism on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The element of sadness arises from the realization that the potential for a vital and lasting Quaker influence in that area seems to have waned widi each succeeding century. The disappointment stems from the decision to include so many minute details from monthly meetings which do not add significantly to the story. No one who knows the author will question his utter devotion to historical accuracy. He is at his best when he gives die available evidence for the possible earliest planting of Quakerism in America on the Eastern Shore by Elizabeth Harris in 1655 or 1656, challenging the traditional claim of New England. But it is really too much for the average or even aboveaverage reader of Quaker history to confront an appendix and index of 129 pages with approximately 5,000 names and places. At the same time, one must admit that there are readers who enjoy such bits of rare information as the receipt of $15 by William Kemp for two trees on die Tuckahoe meetinghouse lot (p. 164). Dr. Carroll tells briefly die important known facts about the visits of early Friends to Eastern Maryland, particularly John Burnyeat, William Edmundson, and George Fox, with special emphasis on the possibility of BOOK REVIEWS131 Elizabeth Harris' visit not later than 1657. He develops the story of modest Quaker expansion in the Colonial period and the eighteenth century. Three aspects of his account give one the conviction that there was a strong nucleus for a vital Quaker community in the counties of that narrow peninsula: the sufferings experienced by some of the Friends for their theological, social, and political views; the strong stand taken by some against die holding of slaves, as early as 1 708; and the depth of commitment against war expressed by some (unfortunately not a strong and continuous testimony). It is surprising that Dr. Carroll, unlike Thomas Drake in his study of Quakers and slavery, is apparently convinced that the early Quaker demonstrator, Benjamin Lay, actually used blood instead of some kind of juice, in the famous incident to which he refers on page 133. It seems evident that diere were at times strong meetings in die Spirit and Light of Christ. There were many valiant efforts...