LETTERS OF JOHN BOWNE (1627-1695): CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED
John Bowne's personal correspondence received consists predominantly of letters from other members of the early Quaker community. Twenty-three letters have survived from what was likely a voluminous correspondence on matters of both faith and business. They feature accounts of journeys and prison sentences, and personal professions of religious belief from prominent Friends overseas. With correspondents from England, the West Indies, and other American colonies, Bowne’s letters display the international and itinerant nature of ordinary 17th-century Quakers. The file also includes letters relating to trade and business that attest to his reputation as an honest broker and trusted mediator of community disputes. Individual items of interest include letters from Joan Brocksopp, one of the earliest female Quaker missionaries, and an epistle from the 23rd Laird of Swinton, composed in London’s infamous Newgate Prison following his arrest under the 1664 Conventicles Act.
Letters written to the Friends Meeting and saved by John Bowne in his capacity as a host and leader of the Meeting will also be online soon. For letters written by John Bowne, see the Papers of Hannah Feake Bowne. More information on John Bowne and the Bowne Family Papers of Flushing, Long Island can be found in the collection finding aid [insert PDF link.]
Click on items in the inventory below to view images and descriptions of individual documents and to download PDFs and annotated transcriptions. The Bowne House Archives is indebted to our volunteer Kate Lynch for assistance with transcription and research.
CORRESPONDENCE RECEIVED: 1660-1695
BFP 2018.1.02-01: Letter from John Swinton in Newgate Prison, 6th month [August] 1660 - Old Style
BFP 2018.1.02-02:. Letter from John Hodgson to John Bowne “at prison in Manathane,” 1st day of the week,[1] circa September - December 1662
BFP 2018.1.02-03: Letter from Richard Whitpaine in London, 11th of 2nd month [April] 1664 - Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-04: Letter(s) from Joan and Thomas Brocksopp in Little Normanton, Derbyshire, to John Bowne and others, 8th of 5th month [July] 1664 (Old Style)
a. Joan Brocksopp to John Bowne
b. Joan Brocksopp to Elizabeth Hooten
c. Joan Brocksopp to Nathaniel Sylvester
d. Thomas Brocksopp to John Bowne
BFP 2018.1.02-05: Letter from John Todd in Barbados, 29th of 5th month [July] 1664 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-06: Letter from Bartholomew Horner[2] to John Bowne “from my prison house in Wakefield, 6 miles of Leeds,” 1st of 9th month [November] 1664 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-07: Letter from Lewis Morris in Barbados to John Bowne, 15th of 8th month [October] 1665 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-09: Letter from Joan Brocksopp in Little Normanton, Derbyshire, 16th of 12th month [February] 1666/7 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-10: Letter from Lewis Morris in Greenwich, Connecticut, 6th of 10th month [December] 1673 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-11: Letter from Joan Brocksopp in Little Normanton, Derbyshire, 1st of 4th month [June] 1674 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-12: Letter from John Crook in London to John Bowne, Samuel Spicer, and John Tilton, 7th of 6th month [August] 1675 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-13: Letter from Joan Brocksopp in Little Normanton, Derbyshire, 23rd of 9th month [November] 1675 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-14: Letter from John Crook in London to John Bowne, William Richardson, “and the rest concerned in my Letter of Attorney,” 24th of 9th month [November] 1675 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-15: Letter from Elizabeth Edwards in London, 24th of 2nd month [April] 1678 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-16: Letter from John Elson in London, 23rd of 12th month [February] 1679/80 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.2-17: Letter from John Good in Darby, Pennsylvania, 15th of 2nd month [April] 1684 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-18: Letter from Francis Richardson in New York to John Bowne, 27th of 4th month [June] 1688 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-19: Letter from Daniel Toals [Tolles] to John Bowne, c/o Samuel Carpenter in Philadelphia, 4th of 10th month [December] 1690 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-20: Letter from Daniel Toals [Tolles] to John Bowne, c/o Samuel Carpenter in Philadelphia, 28th of 1st month [March] 1691 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-21: Letter from George Emlen in Philadelphia, 18th of 7th month [September] 1695 (Old Style)
BFP 2018.1.02-22: Address label to John Bowne, Christopher Holder, and William Richardson in Rhode Island. No date; likely circa 1675.
BFP 2018.1.02-23: Address label to John Bowne “at his house in Flushing,” in Joan Brocksopp’s hand. No date; before November 1680.
[1] first day of the week: Sunday. Quakers referred to the days of the week by number, avoiding their pagan names.
[2] As per Charles Yarnell in John Bowne of Flushing (1627-1695), published in Bulletin of Friends’ Society of Philadelphia, Vol. 2 No. 2, June 1908. (The sender’s name does not appear on the letter, although it can be figured out from the content.)