Samuel Comfort family papers
Scope and Contents
The bulk of this collection is writings and correspondence of Samuel Comfort, many dealing with the Hicksite separation and questions of Quaker discipline; but there are also papers relating to other family members, including references to his grandparents John and Sarah Woolman.
Dates
- Creation: 1701 - 1887
Conditions Governing Use
Friends Historical Library believes all of the items in this collection to be in the Public Domain in the United States, and is not aware of any restrictions on their use. However, the user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status before reproducing. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Comfort (1776-1862) was a leader of the Hicksite Quaker movement and has been described as a Quietist. He was recorded as a minister in 1815, and advocated for temperance and adherance to Quaker discipline. He lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and was a member of Falls Monthly Meeting. He was teacher until until his father died (1803), at which point his primary work became farming.
Samuel Comfort born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, on 7mo 7th, 1776. His parents were John Comfort (1745-1803, son of Mercy Comfort) and Mary Woolman (1750-1797), the only child of Quaker minister John Woolman (1720-1772) and his wife Sarah (1721-1787). Samuel Comfort married Rebecca Moon, the daughter of Samuel and Martha Moon, in 10mo 1804, and an Elder in their meeting until her death in 1835. In 1839 he married Elizabeth Cox, a minister and member of Mount Holly Monthly Meeting. His children included: Samuel, Mary, George, Sarah, Rebecca, and Ann.
Extent
.2 linear ft. (7 folders)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Samuel Comfort (1776-1862) was a leader of the Hicksite Quaker movement and the grandson of John Woolman. The bulk of this collection is writings and correspondence of Samuel Comfort, many dealing with the Hicksite separation and questions of Quaker discipline; but there are also papers relating to other family members, including references to his grandparents John and Sarah Woolman.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase, Jordan Antiques, 2020 (acc. FHL-2020-025)
Separated Materials
Elias Hicks letters, Edward Hicks letter, and Sarah Woolman will are stored in SAFE. Two epistles (London YM 1796 and NYYM 1829) were removed and added to PG1.
Processing Information
This dealer from whom this collection was purchased generated transcripts for many, but not all, of the documents in the collection. Transcripts were retained and kept next to the original documents. The collection was not in any order when it arrived, and was sorted into family group, and for Samuel Comfort, document type. The Elias Hicks, Edward Hicks, and Sarah Woolman original documents are stored in SAFE and cross-referenced in their corresponding manuscripts collections.
Subject
- Hicks, Elias, 1748-1830 (Person)
- Woolman, John, 1720-1772 (Person)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Celia Caust-Ellenbogen
- Date
- 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
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