The Minute Book of the Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends for the Upperside of Buckinghamshire, 1669-1690

Transcribed, with Introduction & Notes, by BEATRICE SAXON SNELL, M.A. (Lond.) 
PRINTED FOR THE RECORDS BRANCH OF THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Printed by Hague & Gill Ltd., High Wycombe for the Records Branch of the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society (being Volume I of the publications of the Branch  and issued for the year I937) 
Printed & made in Great Britain

CONTENTS
Introduction
The Minute Book - Part One
The Minute Book - Part Two
The Minute Book - Part Three *
The Minute Book - Part Four *
Appendix *

* Note: Not yet available as web pages, see PDF - slow download as 12Mb file

NOTES ON TRANSCRIPTION

(a) Symbols used
1. Words underlined, underdotted, or crossed through, for deletion from the original manuscript, which form no part of the final record, are enclosed in braces e.g. {unity}
2. Additions and interlineations, which form part of the final record, are in half-round parentheses, and marked by a ?? dagger, e.g. (were)  
3. Marginal notes by the scribe are similarly in (), but are marked by an asterisk in addition * (see 6: mo: 71)
4. Interpolations and additions by the transcriber, other than the usual expansions, are in crotchets [given]
5. Letters, words, and phrases, of which the reading is uncertain, are enclosed in square crotchets with a query . [ ? refuse]

(b) Superior letters
In the manuscript, superior letters are used in such words as ye, yt, wch, but, principally for reasons of economy, this usage has not been retained in the printed book.

(c) Marginal notes
In the margin, opposite the beginning of the entry for each Meeting, the scribe has entered the date. As this information is precisely repeated in the heading to each Meeting entry, the marginal date has been omitted. All other marginal notes have been incorporated in the text and indicated by the symbol described in No. 3 above.

(d) Marriage formulas
The formulary words relating to intentions of marriage and assents to marriage have not, after the initial entries, been printed verbatim. The essential information has been inserted in crotchets, the original spelling of personal names and place-names being retained.

PREFACE

In the history of Nonconformity in this country, the Quaker movement holds an honourable and important place, and no plea of justification need be entered for making some part of the records of that movement the subject of a volume issued in this County, so closely associated with the early history of the Society of Friends. To the student of religious history, the genealogist, the topographer, and even the general reader, the present volume should provide material of interest and importance. That the Records Branch of the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society has been able to produce this work so soon after its formation is due entirely to the enthusiasm and energy of our editor, Miss Beatrice Saxon Snell, and to her we are greatly indebted.
     To those who have helped us in various ways our thanks must be offered, notably to the Jordans Monthly Meeting and the Luton and Leighton Monthly Meeting for permission, readily given, to publish the Minute Book, and to Mr Bertram Crosfield, the Clerk of the Jordans Monthly Meeting, for the generous interest he has shown towards the project. A special word of gratitude is due to Miss Nina Saxon Snell for her compilation of the Index, and also to Mr John Nickalls, the Librarian at Friends' House, whose valuable advice and help have been always at our service.
J. G. Jenkins
Secretary
Twitchells End
Jordans
Bucks

INTRODUCTION

The Upperside Minute Book

T H E earliest known Minute Book of the Upperside Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends is a parchment-bound volume 11½ in. × 7½ in. × 1 in., tied with leather strings. It is in very good preservation, only one word in the whole volume being illegible owing to wear; the back cover is slightly worn at the bottom edge, leaving the paper lining exposed. Eight leaves are missing at the front; it is possible that they contained the earliest minutes of the Meeting, which was founded, according to George Fox's Journal, in 1668. At the back of the book are copied various letters, papers and minutes from other Meetings.
     So far as can be ascertained the Minute Book remained in the custody of the successive Clerks of Upperside Monthly Meeting until it was amalgamated with Leighton Monthly Meeting in 1857, the Clerk of which took over the Upperside records. In December 1899 the Minute Book was deposited, along with other records belonging to Leighton Monthly Meeting, in the Library at Devonshire House, which was removed to Friends House, Euston Road, in 1925.
     The handwriting is almost entirely that of Thomas Ellwood, the first Clerk of the Meeting. A few of the preliminary entries are in a hand which somewhat resembles the signature of Nicholas Noy. He came originally from Bradenham, where, in 1648 , he married a woman with the remarkable name of Philocrista or Filia-Christi Fish. He subsequently became a Quaker and settled at High Wycombe as a bodice-maker.
     Thomas Ellwood, who was thirty in 1669, when the Minute Book begins, had been educated at Thame Grammar School, and his handwriting does the school credit, being legible and full of character. The old-fashioned, precise and rather legalistic style of the minutes reflects the early life of their author, who was the son of a Puritan Justice of the Peace, and often transacted legal business for his father. He was considered one of the best Quaker writers by his contemporaries - even an avowed opponent like Henry Pickworth writes of him as "their most dexterous Scribe," - and his autobiography holds a high place among works of that kind in the English language.

Quaker Organization

     The organization of the Society of Friends was developed during the five years preceding the period covered by the Minute Book, and, with a few modifications, has remained unchanged up to the present day. The framework of the Society consists of -
1. Particular Meetings - groups which assemble regularly for worship in a settled place, generally at least once a week. Every Quaker Meeting, whether for business or worship, is held in the belief that the Holy Spirit, present in the hearts of its members, is at the head of the Meeting, presiding over and directing their deliberations. When meeting for business, in preparation for Monthly Meeting, the Particular Meeting is now known as a "Preparative Meeting," and has a secretary or "Clerk" who announces and records the business, and also gives out notices at the close of a Meeting for Worship. At the period of the Minute Book this would be done by some Friend of standing - "weighty" is the traditional term; e.g. when Monthly Meeting gave conditional consent to the marriage of Richard Hawks and Hannah Parret, (vide Minutes for 1.iii.72) "yt if, upon publication made at the next Meeting in Amersham, no Objection or cause of Obstruction arise, they may in convenient time proceed," it was ordered that "ye care of this business be committed to William Cooper." At the present time an announcement ordered by Monthly Meeting would be sent in writing to the Preparative Meeting Clerk.

2. Monthly Meetings for business, attended by members specially appointed by each Preparative Meeting, by those who have business to bring forward, and by any other Friends who are able to go. These are held in some convenient meeting-place in the district covered by the Particular Meetings belonging to them ; sometimes in different places by rotation. They have their own Clerk, and deal with any questions of finance which are beyond the powers of Preparative Meetings, (e.g. the continual assistance given by Upperside to Amersham Meeting "burdened with poor") ; organize collections for the work of the Society both in their own district and at large ; authorize intended marriages; take disciplinary action against offenders ; hear any business brought to them from Preparative Meetings; send forward matters they are unable to deal with to Quarterly Meeting, and deal with such matters as Quarterly Meeting and Yearly Meeting send down to them.

3. Quarterly Meetings for business, consisting of representatives and others from the Monthly Meetings belonging to them. A Quarterly Meeting generally covers at least one county. Here is heard any business from Monthly Meetings, and business sent down from Yearly Meeting is sifted and sent on if necessary.

4. Yearly Meeting, held annually, generally in London, and representative of the whole Society.

5. Meeting for Sufferings, (vide under Persecution infra,) now the national standing executive Committee of the Society in Great Britain.

Position of the Upperside Monthly Meeting

The exact meaning of the term "Upperside" is not altogether free from doubt, but it is reasonable to suppose that it signified the high part of Bucks in the Chiltern Hills, as contrasted with the "lowerside," which covered the Vale of Aylesbury.
     The "Particular Meetings" belonging to Upperside Monthly Meeting were as follows: Amersham, Aylesbury, Burnham, Chalfont,(= Jordans), Chesham, Chorleywood (Herts), Farnham Royal (= Tiler's), Meadle, Missenden, Owlswick, Rickmansworth (Herts), Watford-with-Flaunden (Herts), Weston Turville, Wingrave, Wooburn and Wycombe.
     The Meeting, after its establishment in 1668, fluctuated between the houses of Henry Ball, Thomas Lane and Ralph Trumper, and finally settled at the house of Thomas Ellwood "Hunger Hill" in the parish of Coleshill. The house is now destroyed, but its position is defined by Ellwood in a set of rhymed directions written to a friend.

"Two miles from Beconsfield, upon the Road
To Amersham, just where the Way grows broad,
A little Spot there is call'd Larkins-Green,
Where, one a bank, some Fruit-trees may be seen,
In midst of which, on the Sinister hand,
A little Cottage covertly doth stand.
So-ho the People out, and there inquire
For Hunger-Hill, it lies a little higher,
But if the People should from home be gon,
Ride up the Bank, some twenty paces on,
And at the Orchard's End thou mayst perceive
Two Gates together hang. The nearest leave,
The furthest take, and strait the Hill ascend,
That Path leads to the House where dwells thy Friend.*
[*MS. Collection of Ellwood's Poems. Friends House Library]

The "little Cottage," perhaps belonging to John Mannock, is still in existence.
     Hunger Hill was chosen because, while central for Upperside, it was actually in an outlying portion of Herts, and therefore could not be disturbed by the Buckinghamshire authorities. (Vide under Perse- cution, infra.)

Lowerside Monthly Meeting

This was generally held at Biddlesden, and known by its members as "Biddlesden and Hogshaw Monthly Meeting," though Upperside Minutes frequently refer to it as "Lowerside". It consisted of Biddlesden (transferred from Northants Quarterly Meeting in 1679), Chackmore, Crendon, Haddenham, Hogshaw, Hogsty End (Beds.), Papermill and Sherrington Meetings ; these were much smaller and less prosperous than those of Upperside.
     Eighteen Meetings were registered for the County under the Toleration Act of 1689. Quarter Sessions Records for 10th October, 1689, give them as follows: 

 [* Bucks Quarter Sessions Records, Vol. II, 309.]

     It therefore appears that Papermill, Hogshaw, Wingrave and Wooburn Meetings had lapsed. John Raunce's Separatist Meeting at Wycombe was registered at the Midsummer Sessions, 1689.

The Women's Monthly Meeting

Although from the beginning of the Quaker movement men and women met together for worship, there were at first no business Meetings for women, Monthly Meeting being attended by men only. Upperside Minute Book records the formation of a Women's Meeting in 1675. The Women's Minute Book describes an abortive attempt to found a Women's Meeting in 1671, and they appear to have met for worship only from 1675 to 1677, when the Men's Meeting entrusted them with inquiry into rumours concerning the misconduct of Elizabeth Crouch, "inasmuch as the matters charged against her was judged more proper and comely for women to examine than for men." Next year the men decided to share with the women the business of authorizing intentions of marriage. This caused a good deal of trouble at first, as several of the young men considered it beneath them to be beholden to a Women's Meeting for permission to marry, and were supported by John Raunce and his Separatist party, (vide infra). This prejudice, however, seems to have disappeared by the time the Minute Book closes. The women met first at the house of John Mannock at Larkin's Green, and subsequently at Ralph Trumper's house at Hunger Hill. Eventually they also dealt with the relief of individual cases of hardship, sometimes giving help to non-Quakers. Like the London Women's Meeting, they took in hand the finding of places for Quaker maids, and the minutes of one Meeting read simply, "Little business but enquirey about Servants."

Personnel of the Monthly Meeting

The pioneers of Quakerism rejoiced, like St. Paul, in the fact that "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble" were called to adorn their Society; but Upperside Monthly Meeting was unusually representative, and included, besides three or four gentlemen of private means, eleven yeoman-farmers, some very wealthy, three doctors, a schoolmaster, and a private tutor. Trades mentioned in these minutes and in other Quaker records which refer to the members of this Meeting, are as follows:

     Thomas Ellwood and Isaac Penington were men of note within the Society itself, but William Penn, John Archdale and Samuel Jennings had a wider reputation, on account of their connexion with America.
     William Penn, the founder and first Governor of Pennsylvania, which was called after him, and which he received in settlement of the Crown's debts to his father, Admiral Sir William Penn, only resided for a short while within the limits of Upperside. His marriage with Gulielma Springett, the stepdaughter of Isaac Penington, is recorded in the Minutes as authorized on the 6th of March, 1671/2. Her curious name - she was called Gulielma Maria Posthuma - was a Latinisation of "William," the name of her father, Sir William Springett, a young Parliamentarian who died some weeks before she was born. She was a noted beauty with a good estate, and, as Ellwood says, "was openly and secretly sought and solicited by many, and some of them almost of every Rank and Condition," before giving her hand to William Penn, who took no small pride in being her choice. Her character and charm were extraordinary. Some fifteen years after she and her husband had left the district, she fell ill and sent for her friend Thomas Ellwood. Ellwood was in trouble with two local Justices of the Peace at the moment ; he had published a pamphlet entitled "A Caution to Constables," which blandly informed officers of the Law how to evade their duties under the Conventicle Act; but when he mentioned that Gulielma was expecting him, the justices dismissed him "with their good wishes for a good journey, desiring me to give their hearty respects and service to Madam Penn."* [* The History of Thomas Ellwood, Anno 1683, Wyeth's Edition, 1714]
     John Archdale was the first Quaker to be elected a Member of Parliament, though he was unable to take his seat, because it would have involved taking an oath, which is against Friends' principles. He became one of the proprietors of the Carolinas in 1680. In 1685 he acted for a short time as Vice-Governor, and went out again at the request of the retiring Governor in 1695 , to settle grievances and establish a constitution. During his two-years term as Governor he achieved this so successfully that the settlers wrote to him when he left, "By your wisdom, patience and labour you have laid a firm foundation for a most glorious superstructure."
     Samuel Jennings, the minute for whose removal to West-New-Jersey is dated 26th May 1680, went out as Deputy-Governor of the province, and settled at Burlington, becoming Governor in 1683. When the provinces were united under a Royal Governor in 1703 Jennings became Speaker of the Assembly, holding this office till the year before his death in 1709 . He left £20 to Thomas Ellwood "my long-acquainted, worthy and endeared friend," to buy "a gelding or otherwise as he shall think fit."
     Of the Upperside Friends well known in Quaker history, Isaac Penington, Thomas Ellwood and Thomas Zachary are the chief.
     Isaac Penington's father, who bore the same name, was a City knight and Alderman and one of Charles I's judges, though he did not sign the death-warrant. It was upon this account, as well as for his Quakerism, that the younger Isaac underwent such persistent persecution. He suffered five imprisonments at Aylesbury and one at Reading, one of which was without any legal warrant. He was a prolific author and his writings are still read and quoted by Friends of today. He married Gulielma's mother, Lady Springett, and had five children, two of whom, John and Mary, appear in the Minute Book ; a third, Isaac, was lost at sea before the Minutes begin. The youngest, Edward, settled in Pennsylvania and became Surveyor- General; he married Sarah, the daughter of Samuel Jennings, in 1695.
     Thomas Ellwood, born in 1639 , was east off almost penniless by his father for becoming a Quaker. He was taken in by the Pening tons, who sent him to London to complete an education cut short by his father, who had spent too much on his elder son, Walter, and found it necessary to retrench. Ellwood studied for a time with Milton, and became a personal friend of the poet, for whom, at a later date, he took the well-known cottage at Chalfont St. Giles. His criticism of "Paradise Lost" suggested to Milton the writing of "Paradise Regained." In 1662 the Peningtons asked young Ellwood to become tutor to their children at a "premium without compact." He occupied this position for seven years, acting, in addition, as estate-manager and watch-dog to Guli Springett, with whom, like so many others, he fell in love. He realized, however, that she was not for him, and in 1669 married Mary Ellis, a Friend sixteen years older than himself, who brought him a moderate income. They settled at Hunger Hill, and, for the next forty-four years, until his death in 1713, Ellwood occupied himself entirely with the affairs of the Society, acting as Clerk of both Monthly and Quarterly Meetings, and being much in request at Yearly Meeting, though he was not one of its officers. He wrote a vivid but incomplete autobiography; seventy-five poems, undistinguished for the most part in both matter and style; a number of controversial pamphlets, all of which are vigorous and some witty as well; a rhymed life of David, and a two-volume "Sacred History of the Old and New Testament digested into due method with respect to order of time and place," which was a very popular book in the Society and ran into several editions. The "testimonies" published by Friends after his death state that "He was a man of comely aspect, of a free and generous disposition, of a courteous and affable temper and pleasant conversation ; a gentleman born and bred, a scholar, a true Christian, an eminent author, a good neighbour and a kind friend . . . . He was greatly respected by his neighbours for his services among them; his heart and doors were open to the poor; both sick and lame, who wanted help had it freely; taking care to provide useful things for such occasions - blest also with good success ; often saying, 'he mattered not what cost he was at to do good.' " There is a pleasant touch in the testimony from the Women's Meeting, which records that "the Monthly Meeting was held at his house about forty years, and he always looked very kind and courteous on Friends when they came there."* [*Testimonies in Wyeth's edition of The History of the Life of Thomas Ellwood, 1714.]
     Thomas Zachary was a Quaker physician who was involved in the Aris-Lacy episode. (Vide Persecution, infra.)

Quaker Customs and Principles illustrated by the Minute Book

(a) Exact Truthfulness
The application of the principle of "exact truthfulness" led the Quakers to insist on the use of the singular "thou" to an individual, instead of the plural "you," on the ground that the latter was incorrect and fostered pride in the individuals who believed themselves entitled to it. As "thou" was only used at this time to enemies, servants, children, and intimates, the Quaker usage caused much offence and led to the persecution of Friends; Ellwood, Penn and Penington all got into trouble with their respective fathers on this account. We see the usage in the letter to Francis Holden, recorded in the minutes for i.vii.80, in which the plural would undoubtedly have been employed had it been written in the same circumstances by the Secretary of an ordinary Committee. The (to us) abrupt commencement of this letter - "Friend" is another example of the care for exact truthfulness; Holden was not known personally to the Meeting, so that he is not addressed as "Dear"; but when writing, on 2.xii.75 , to Reading Friends, many of whom were personally known to the members of Upperside, the address is "Dear Friends and brethren."
     Numerals were substituted for the days of the week and the months, because under a Christian dispensation it was no longer considered truthful or Christian to ascribe them to heathen gods. The year began in March at this period, so that a typical reference to "the third of fifth month, being a first-day," means "Sunday the third of July."
     Monthly Meeting at Upperside was normally held on the first Wednesday of each month.
     The records are full of characteristic Quaker understatement caused by the desire for exact truthfulness; e.g. such phrases as "we do not find but that A. B. is free and clear from any Engagement relating to marriage" - after careful personal inquiry by members of the Meeting; "understanding that he took that visit kindly" upon a full personal report by the visitor; "according to the best of their understanding the Accompt is fairly and justly stated" report of auditors appointed by the Meeting. The effect of such under-statement is occasionally humorous, as, for instance, when an abusive letter from the Separatists at Wycombe is described as "appearing to be of a contentious purport," (unless Ellwood is using the phrase loosely in the sense of "becoming evident ;" N.E.D. gives no example of this.)

(b) Quaker Marriages
At the period covered by the Minute Book marriages between Friends had to conform to a definite and formal procedure. A couple who wished to be married came in person to the Monthly Meeting and said so; this was called "proposing an intention of marriage." The Meeting, unless it had immediate grounds for disapproval, then appointed two or more Friends to inquire into the character of the applicants, (their "orderly walking" or "conversation in Truth;") and to ascertain their "clearness" - i.e., whether they had contracted any previous engagement which had not been broken off to the satisfaction of the other party. (Even outside the Society a betrothal at this period was a much more binding affair than it is to-day.) If the Friends appointed reported satisfactorily at the next Monthly Meeting, that Meeting declared that the couple were "left to their liberty" or "given consent and approbation" to take each other in marriage at a public Meeting for Worship. When the report was not to the satisfaction of the Meeting, the proceedings were delayed until the good conduct of the applicants could be vouched for, or until they could produce evidence, preferably in writing, that all previous engagements were at an end. Sometimes the character and behaviour of the applicants were not altogether good, but not sufficiently bad to warrant delaying the marriage. In this case "Friends condescended to the weakness" of the couple, which appears sometimes to have implied that the couple were given permission to take each other in marriage in the presence of their family, but not at a Meeting for Worship representative of the whole local community of Friends. We learn from Ellwood's "Account from Wickham Examin'd," that this was the case in the marriage of David Bovingdon and Elizabeth Crutch, authorised 6.xii.77 ; but see also the minutes for i.i.85/6 relating to William Eburne and Mary Dean.
     At the present time Friends report their intentions in writing to the Monthly Meeting Clerk, and Friends are not appointed to inquire ; instead, the "intention" is read at the close of a Meeting for Worship by the Clerk of the Particular Meeting or Meetings to which the couple belong, as well as in Monthly Meeting. (There is one case of publication of intention in a Particular Meeting recorded in the Minutes ; that of Richard Hawks and Hannah Parret, authorised i.iii.72.) The marriage formula is, to all intents and purposes, unchanged. After a period of worship the couple rise, and the man, taking the woman by the hand, says, "Friends, I take this my friend, A. B. to be my wife, promising, through Divine assistance, to be unto her a loving and faithful husband, until it shall please the Lord by death to separate us." The woman then repeats a reciprocal promise, after which the marriage certificate is signed.
     Marriage outside the Society was strictly forbidden at this date, and, if accompanied with defiance of the Meeting's authority, generally ended in disownment, i.e. denial of membership. Nor was the marriage of first cousins generally permitted, though a case occurs at Reading in 1679.
     Since a Quaker marriage was conducted neither before a priest nor a magistrate, there was division among lawyers as to whether it was, in fact, a legal marriage, though it was upheld as such at Nottingham in 1661 .* [* W. C. Braithwaite, The Beginnings of Quakerism, p. 145.]  Ellwood's father refused him a marriage settlement for marrying in the manner of Friends, and in 1686, a member of Lowerside Monthly Meeting, Joseph Cook of Edgborough, was "Long imprisoned for marrying otherwise than according to the liturgy of the Church of England,"* [* Joseph Besse, Sufferings of the People called Quakers 1753. I. 83.]  this on a writ of de excommunicato capiendo, the charge being the withholding of marriage fees, not of illegal marriage.

(c) Discipline
An individual who transgressed the Quaker code of conduct was visited by two or more Friends appointed by Monthly Meeting and reproved. If repeated visits did not produce any reform, a "testimony" was drawn up by the Meeting stating that the culprit was acting "contrary to Truth" and did not receive any countenance from the community in his misconduct ; sometimes the testimony was one of "disownment" - i.e. the community denied him to be a member of the Society. The testimony was sent to the culprit and to any other persons concerned in or witnesses of his offence. 
     Offences against which testimonies were given recorded in these minutes include drunkenness, adultery, theft, marriage "to one of the world's people by a priest," and apostasy. 
     If, on the other hand, the culprit showed signs of repentance, he or she might be required to produce a written confession of the offence and to clear the Society from any hand in it to those who had witnessed it, either in writing or by word of mouth. At the present time Friends are not appointed to look into matters of discipline at Monthly Meeting, but a standing body of"overseers" is charged with all preliminary business of this nature.
     A Meeting in danger of lapsing through negligence was written to by Monthly Meeting or visited and exhorted by a group of Friends. Groups wishing to found a new Meeting or to alter its date and place applied to Monthly Meeting for authorisation and advice.
     The Monthly Meeting also issued certificates of good conduct to Friends going abroad.
     This scrupulous care for the good name of the Society was particularly necessary at a time when Quakers were bearing the full brunt of religious persecution and were subject to every kind of misrepresentation, slander and abuse.

(d) Finance
Collections are recorded for the general work of the Society, for the ransom of prisoners taken by Moorish pirates, for the assistance of poor Meetings and for individual cases of hardship, Thomas Ellwood generally acting as Treasurer. In 1682 there is a collection, repeated at intervals, for the supply of hay to the Meeting's horses, and the payment of John Mannock, who looked after them ; presumably up to this time Ellwood bad been out of pocket. The large sums collected bear witness to the ungrudging support given by Friends to the Society at large and to their poorer brethren, and, taken in conjunction with the sums paid as fines, (vide Persecution, infra,) show the community as a whole to have been possessed of substantial means.
     The principle of Friends has always been "help to self-help," and we read of several eases of money advanced to enable a poor Friend to start a business of his own, with the stipulation that it should be repaid if the business prospered. In the case of Richard Hawks, who appears to have been improvident, a stock of birch, probably for broom-making, was supplied, instead of a monetary advance. Help was not given without sufficient inquiry into the means of the person to be assisted and his "clearness from other ways of relief;" and while the aged and infirm received regular allowances, work was found for anyone capable of it. Extravagance was discouraged, and Friends who ran into debt were advised to satisfy their creditors to the limits of their resources. In one case, (Samuel Jenings, 4.x.72,) a man intending to marry was directed "to endeavour to give all reasonable satisfaction" to his future wife's next-of-kin, "concerning a provision of future maintenance in case she should survive the said Samuel ."

(e) Persecution
The whole Society was undergoing active persecution during the period covered by the Minute Book. Our first intimation of this occurs in the minutes for 7.x. 167o. "There was gathered at this Meeting for ye prosecution of Aris and Lacy who being Informers are indicted for Perjury £10.0.0."
     The full story is given by Ellwood in his autobiography and a loose sheet in the book of "Quarterly Meeting Sufferings." The year 1669 saw the passing of the Second Conventicle Act, "the quintessence of arbitrary malice," as Andrew Marvell called it. It was a renewal and reinforcement of the first Conventicle Act of 1664, which provided for the punishment of any person sixteen years of age or over who was present at a meeting under colour of religion in other manner than allowed by the Liturgy, at which there were five or more persons beyond the household. Fines were directed to go in thirds to the King, the poor and the person who informed a Justice of the Peace of such a meeting. The result of the Act was to make informing a profitable trade. Three rascally informers descended upon the Buckinghamshire Meetings: Poulter, "the Trepan," whose reputation was so unsavoury that he was forced by public opinion to leave the County after his first attempt ; Ralph Lacy of Risborough, "the Cow-stealer," and Richard Aris, "abroken Ironmonger of Wiccomb ," who had been accused at Quarter Sessions of incitement to highway robbery. Aris and Lacy went to Jordans Meeting, where Aris and Poulter had made a disturbance the previous month, and, taking it for granted that the same Friends would be present, afterwards laid an information against Thomas Zachary and his wife, who happened to be in London at the time. A fine of £30 was imposed on Zachary, who had an appeal to Quarter Sessions prepared and took it to the convicting justice, Sir Thomas Clayton. "But the Justice," says Ellwood, "being a Man neither well principled nor well-natured... fell sharply upon Thomas Zachary, charging him that he suffer'd justly, and that his Suffering was not on a Religious Account. This Rough and unjust Dealing engaged the good Man to enter into further Discourse with the Justice in defence of his own Innocency. From which Discourse the insidious J u s t i c e . . . charged him with saying, 'The Righteous are Oppressed and the Wicked go unpunished.' Which the Justice interpreting to be a Reflection on the Government, and calling it an high Misdemeanour, required Sureties of the good Man to answer it at the next Quarter Sessions, and in the mean time to be bound to his good Behaviour. But he well knowing himself to be Innocent of having broken any Law, or done in the matter any Evil, could not answer the Justice's Unjust Demand, and therefore was sent forthwith a Prisoner to the County Goal."* [* The History of Thomas Ellwood, Anno 1670, Wyeth's Edition 1714.]
     Friends, however, committed the management of Zachary's appeal to Thomas Ellwood, who threw himself into it with enthusiasm, and, in his own words, "At the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held at High Wiccomb, in October following, I took care that Four Substantial Witnesses, Citizens of unquestionable Credit should come down from London in a Coach and Four Horses, hired on Purpose."
     The Jury, overawed, perhaps by the "Substantial Witnesses" found Zachary Not Guilty; but he was remanded on Clayton's charge. Ellwood now brought an indictment for wilful perjury against the two informers and got his verdict at the next sessions. Aris fled the country; Lacy, after going into hiding for a time, was driven out of it by hunger, and, going to Zachary in prison, begged him to intercede with Ellwood. Zachary thereupon wrote to Ellwood, asking him "to mitigate, at least, if not wholly to remit, the Prosecution. To which I so far only consented as to let him (Lacy) know I would suspend the Execution of the Warrant upon him, according as he behaved himself, or until he gave fresh Provocation. At which Message the Fellow was so overjoyed that, relying with Confidence thereon, he returned openly to his Family and Labour, and applyed himself to Business (as his Neighbours observed and reported) with greater Diligence and Industry than he had ever clone before."
     The prosecution was paid for by the Monthly Meeting, and the various collections for the purpose are recorded in the minutes.
     But besides prosecutions under the Conventicle Act, Quakers were constantly being fined and imprisoned for non-attendance at church, for non-payment of tithes, for refusing to pay Church rates, and for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance and other oaths. Between 1669 and 1690 the amount of property lost by members of Upperside Monthly Meeting by distraint for tithe alone was valued at over £780. One particularly hard case was that of George Belch of Rickmansworth, who in 1685 suffered a distraint of goods to the value of £23.0.0., against which he appealed to Quarter Sessions. His appeal was rejected for not being made in Latin and treble costs given against him, for which he was distrained cattle to the value of £40.* [* M.S. book of Quarterly Meeting Sufferings, Friends House, and Joseph Besse,
Sufferings of the People called Quakers, 1753, under heading Buckinghamshire.]
     In less prosperous districts these fines and distraints became an intolerable burden and led to the creation, in 1675 , of Meeting for Sufferings. This London Committee received accounts of hardship from its country correspondents and contributions which enabled it to assist where Monthly and Quarterly Meetings had not sufficient resources. It endeavoured to keep a full record of"sufferings" and to lay them before those in authority whenever opportunity offered. 
     The existence of a small outlying portion of Hefts covering the district round Larkin's Green operated to the advantage of Upperside Monthly Meeting, for they could meet there undisturbed because it was not within the jurisdiction of the Buckinghamshire authorities. Moreover, its distance from the "mainland" of Hertfordshire made it unlikely that the authorities of that County would trouble themselves unduly about the unobtrusive activities of the Friends at Hunger Hill. Ellwood, who suffered several imprisonments before his marriage and settlement at Hunger Hill, was not again molested till 1709.

(f) The Separatists
During the period covered by the Minute Book the Society had internal as well as external trouble to contend with. After 1676 we find two Wycombe Friends, John Raunce and his son-in-law, Charles Harris, in opposition to the rest of the Monthly Meeting. They were partisans of a section of the Society headed by John Wilkinson and John Story, which rebelled against the system created by the organizing genius of George Fox, particularly on its disciplinary side. They were too individualistic to accept the necessary authority of the group. The points of difference which are illustrated by these Minutes are as follows:
     1. The Separatists saw no service in Women's Meetings, except for poor relief in large towns, and especially objected to marriages being submitted to them.
     2. They objected to the recording of papers of condemnation except on the request of the person condemned.
     3. They objected to the attendance of any but specially appointed delegates at business Meetings.
     John Raunce, a Wycombe doctor, had early joined Friends, and had both lent young Ellwood moral support in his conflict with his father, and cured him of lung-trouble contracted in London. Ellwood by reason of his education, his personal character, and his position as Clerk, held most of the Meeting steady against the Separatist opposition, and Raunce finally turned on him with a scurrilous pamphlet accusing him of ingratitude and neglect of his father. The true facts were well known in the district, and Ellwood had not much difficulty in refuting the charges, acquitting himself, as Wyeth says, "as an Ingenuous Man, a Christian, and a fair Opponent."
     This, however, was after the climax of the controversy, which came to a head in 16 8 2 with the case of Timothy Child. Raunce and Harris had been secretly inciting young couples to flout the authority of the Women's Meeting for some time, and Child flatly refused to lay his intention of marriage before the women. Monthly Meeting thereupon delayed the proceedings, not on the ground of his refusal, but because of the spirit and temper in which it was made. Child now appealed to the Quarterly Meeting, (perhaps in the hope that it would be overruled by the Separatists), but Ellwood recorded it as the sense of the Meeting that Monthly Meeting was in the right. There was, however, a dissentient minority led by Harris, and when Friends had dispersed, he seized the Minute Book and annotated it in a hasty scrawl as follows : 'Those of the Lower Side of the County mention: (i.e. as endorsing the verdict of Upper side) was in number but Richard Baker: and foure men more those 4 have not to our knowledg Been thear before but we underwritten Deny there sense and judgment having large demonstration for so dooing.
     "We whose names are underwritten being present at the hereing of the Matter abovsaid doo not finde that anything principally did appeare against the said Timothy Child but that hee refised to goo to the womens Meeting to propose his Marrage and doo beleeve that that was the only cause of their putting a stopp to him and doo not beleeve it is there place to sitt Judge of Conscience in any such respect

     At the next Quarterly Meeting, the signatories, apparently a little ashamed of their own behaviour and now supported by John Raunce, proposed that all mention of the proceedings should be erased, but the rest of the Meeting would not permit this, especially as Child had married without authorisation in the interim. The former manoeuvre was repeated, this time in Raunce's bold and vigorous writing; it contrasts oddly with his plea that all his party wanted was peace! The next Quarterly Meeting set it down as their judgment "that for any One to write in ye Meeting-Book out of Meeting time and without ye appointment or consent of ye Meeting is a disorderly thing, and not according te Truth. And to prevent ye like Abuse being put upon ye Meeting for ye future (John Brown desiring yt Friends would commit ye Care and Custody of ye Meeting Book to some other Friend) it was therupon committed and delivered unto Tho: Olliffe of Alisbury to keep."* [* Quarterly Meeting Minute Book, Friends House.]
     Raunce now set up his own Meeting at Wycombe, but made another disturbance at Quarterly Meeting in 1688, and Harris and he were for some time after this a considerable nuisance to the Society at large ; as they put it, "Charles Harris has been an Exercise," trouble of all kinds being regarded as training for the spiritual athlete.
     The Minute Book (one of a large number of equally interesting MS. records) gives an admirable picture of an early Quaker community, practical and hardworking, yet always with an eye to spiritual values ; thrifty yet charitable, well-organized yet already tinged with a formalism that did much damage to the Society during the next century.
     In the preparation of this Introduction and the Notes I have been much helped by John Nickalls, the Librarian of Friends House, to whom I am deeply grateful.

Beatrice Saxon Snell

THE MINUTE BOOK

[1r]
Att a meeting at Henry Balls on ye 3d of 9th mo: 69.
     James Dorset & Susan Edmunds both of Flandell in the County of Hertford proposed to the meeting their intention of taking each other in marriage; wch was not referred to any to inquire into, because friends ?? (were) {had} not {unity} satisfyed wth the thing itself, not finding either of the Persons setled in truth.
     Agreed then that the next meeting be held att Ralph Trumper's.

Att a meeting at Ralph Trumper's on ye first of 10th mo: 69.
     James Dorset & Susan Edmunds again proposed to the meeting their intention of taking each other in marriage, wherin friends not feeling any Unity wth them, advised them not to be hasty, but faithfully & diligently to wait on ye Lord, that that life may be brought forth in them, wch the people of the Lord have Unity with.
     Agreed then that the next Meeting be held att Thomas Lane's.

[1 v]
Att a meeting at Tho: Lane's on ye 2d of ye 12th mo: 69.

Att a meeting at Tho: Lanes on ye 2d of ye 12th mo: 69.
     James Dorset & Susan Edmunds came again, to propose to friends their intention of Marriage, desiring their assent therto; wherupon ye Meeting (having seriously again weighd the matter, and waited upon the Lord for counsel therin) returned them this advise, That they should yet patiently wait upon the Lord til he made their way clearer: telling them nakedly & plainly, that they felt a great bar & straitness in their spirits towards them, in relation to this business; & promising them that (without their further attending) friends, when they found any satisfaction & clearnes in their spirits concerning it, would take care to let them know it.
     Agreed yt ye next Meeting be held at Tho: Ellwood's.

[2 r]
Att a meeting at Tho: Ellwood's on ye 2d of 1st mo: 69/70 .

Agreed yt the next Meeting be held at Henry Balls.

Att a meeting at Henry Bals on ye sixt day of 2d mo: 70
     A paper was delivered to the Meeting by Philip Tomson senr from James Dorset & Susan Edmunds, wch discovered much of discontent, prejudice & bitternes of spirit in them ; whereupon Nicholas Noy, Wm Sexton, & Wm Cooper were appointed to visit, reprove & admonish them in love. The paper Susan confest to be of her forming in James his absense, wherin she acknowledged she had done evil, & seemd to be troubled & sorry for it; wherupon those friends (seing a Necessity for their coming together, & having the sense of the Meeting in that case) did give them to understand, That although they could not own them in their procedings, yet (by way of permission) they were left to their liberty, to take each other when they should think fit. [in the presence of friends and relatives, but not in a public Meeting for Worship, as would be done by a couple whose proceedings were "owned."]

[2 v]
At a Meeting at Hen: Bals on 4th of 3d mo: 70.

At a Meeting at Henry Balls on ye 1st of 4th mo: 70.
     Edmund Belson of Hadnam & Sarah Hoar of great Missenden both in the County of Bucks proposed their intention of taking each other in Marriage. It was referd to Edward Hoar & Henry Costard to inquire into the clearness of their procedings & give an account to the next meeting.
     Daniel Smith & Sarah Brown both of Tring in ye County of Hertford proposed their intention of taking each other in marriage. It was referd to Robt. Jones & John Brown to enquire into the clearnes of their procedings, & give an account to ye next Meeting.
     A Letter was sent in ye Name of this Meeting to Richard Martin of Hertford, concerning 10li left as a Legacy by Win. Stonnel, to be disposed by Jo. Crook & Richard Martin for ye use of friends.

[3r]
Att a meeting at Hen: Bals on 6t of 5th mo: 70.

Att a meeting at Hen: Bals on ye 3d of 6t. mo. 70.
     Daniel Smith & Sarah Brown who on the first of ye 4th mo: past proposed their intention of marriage, came now to receive the advice of friends, & had their advice & approbation therin.

[3 v]
Att a meeting at Henry Balls on ye 7th: of 7th mo. 1670.
     [Intention of marriage between Daniel Pearce of Farnham Royal & Mary Brown of the same in the County of Bucks. Robert White & William Sexton appointed to inquire.]

Att a meeting at Henry Balls on ye 5th of ye 8th mo: 1670.
     Ordered that 10s be delivered to Edw: Hoar for Jane Turner late of Chesham, now of Great Missenden. Of this Henry Bal to lay down 4s: 2d. wch remained in his hand, & William Cooper to lay down 5s: 10d. to make up ye said 10s.
That some friends of Wickam & Chalfont Meetings do give a visit to friends at Wooburn on the next 3 d day week, & in love & tenderness exhort them to a greater diligence in keeping close to their own meeting, & in waiting on ye Lord therin.
      Assent & approbation given to Edmund Belson & Sarah Hoare. (Vide under date 1.iv.70)]

Att a Meeting at Tho: Ellwood's on ye 2d of ye 9th mo: 70.
     Agreed yt T: Ellwood & Wm. Sexton give notice to Philip Tompson senr & James Dorset of Flanclell that friends desire them to come to the next meeting.

[4r]
     Upon the 14th day of the eighth month I67o Thomas Sallet of Tring did pay unto Robt. Jones of Cholsberry in ye County of Bucks the sum of ten pounds, wch John Ellis of Tring did leave in the hands of the said Tho: Sallet as a legacy to be paid for the use of poor friends called Quakers. This 10li is part of the 20li wch by friends consent was lent to Sarah Lamburn of Alisbury, as appears by ye County book. Upon ye Receipt of this mony, the following Acquittance was given

     The 14th of the 8th month 1670

     Robt. Jones & Edw: Hoar to visit Mary Belson of Chesham & reprove her for some disorders comitted by her 

[4v]
Att a meeting at Tho: Ellwoods on ye 7th: 10th mo: 70.
     Agreed that Robt. Jones & Nich: Noy do visit friends of Missenden, & admonish them to more diligence in keeping to their meetings.
     Robt. Jones & Edward Hoar, who were to visit Mary Belson, acquainted ye meeting that they found her very tender, sensible of her miscarriage, & sorry for it. Daniel Pearce & Mary Brown, who on ye 7th of ye 7th month past, proposed their intention of taking each other in marriage, came now to receive the advice of this meeting, & had their assent therin.

     This mony was deposited in ye hands of T. Ellwood.

Att a meeting at Tho: Ellwoods on ye 4th of 11th mo: 70.