Quakers in New York

Nine Partners Meeting House

Who were the Quakers? The Quakers is officially the Religious Society of Friends, but were nicknamed Quakers because they said to “Quake insight of the Lord”. It is a Protestant denomination. There is, like all churches, a long list of beliefs if you really dig into it. Some of the basics are their belief in peace— they were the original Conscientious Objectors— and simplicity. In the early days, the women often wore more somber colors in their dress such as grey and deep plums and such. You would not see a Quaker woman with a lot of lace about her clothing or much jewelry either. In modern times they have gotten away from different styles of dress, but will often opt for simpler options and less jewelry about them. Another difference in the early days was their way of speaking. Grammar was different then and “you” was considered formal and spoken to your superiors. “Thee” and “Thou” were used with your equals. As they considered everybody equal, they used thee and thou in speech. Over time our speech changed, and this was dropped from their vocabulary as it was from everybody’s until now it is a quaint idea that nobody follows.

Where are there any today?
Your backyard! Even if you don’t live in this state, there are likely some around you, and you don’t realize it. They really aren’t any different from any other religion. Yes, Quakers believe in peace and simplicity, but so do a lot of other people. They aren’t a religion that tries to set themselves apart from others and keep themselves separate.

Here are the places that I’ve discovered relatives in New York State:

Long Island. This was probably the first settlement of Quakers in New York. They were there starting about the late 1600s or into the early 1700s. Their main meeting house and most of their population centered around the present-day city of Hempstead. From there, some of them went to New York City for work and moved into the city.

From Long Island, many Quakers migrated over to the Hudson River and north. Other large settlements were in Dutchess County and what is now Putnam County. Do you happen to remember the property dispute between Connecticut and New York late in the 17th century? Probably not, as I know in my classes, it was quickly glossed over if it was even mentioned. It produced a piece of land not quite 2 miles wide running the length of the Connecticut border, about 60 miles, called the Oblong. The Oblong Meeting House has a bit of history. The land was donated for its building, much like other denominations’ churches. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this was one of the most thriving Quaker communities in the country. During the Revolutionary War, the pacifist Quakers were called on for help. Their meeting house was used for sick and wounded soldiers of General Washington’s Army.

There were other meetings around the area, Nine Partners and Crum Elbow amongst them.

Some ancestors came from New England and settled north of Albany in the White Creek area of Washington County. Seth Chase, whom I wrote about not long ago, was a Quaker owning a tavern in that community. That family later migrated farther north to Peru in Clinton County. where another Quaker Community was.

From Dutchess County, some went to central New York and established meetings at Scipio and Union Springs in southern Cayuga County. That is as far west as I know my Quaker families to have gone. Some moved farther west, but they are not of my direct line. For many of them, subsequent generations left the religion and joined other Protestant denominations. My great-grandmother, Maria Titus was born a Quaker, but as far as I know she didn’t follow the religion as an adult and neither did her offspring.

One thing that stands out for me is that Maria Titus did not follow the Quaker faith, at least not too strictly. In her adulthood was an event that occurred upon her death. First, she and her husband, John Ward are buried near his family at Evergreen in Scipioville. Not a Quaker burial ground. Second, when the heirs split up some of her belongings, they put all kinds of teacups on a table and allowed each grandchild to choose one. The first choice went to the youngest grandchild who was 8 at the time. He told me that he was attracted to the gaudiest cup on the table and chose that one— a white cup with bright gold trim all over it in an abstract design!

Lodema Tobias Titus, my last direct Quaker