Whitpaine Letter, 1664

TITLE: Letter from Richard Whitpaine in London to John Bowne at Flushing

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.02-03

DATE: 11 April 1664 (Old Style) / 21 April 1664 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

Richard Whitpaine (1630-1689) writes to John Bowne from London to express his affection and offer religious exhortations, news of the Quaker community in England, and greetings to various Friends. Discussion of the death of Thomas Horner in Barbados; the imprisonment of George Fox, Margaret Fell, and William Dewsbury; fears of what Parliament will do to Quakers; and rumors of war with the Dutch.

Notes:
John Bowne received Whitpaine's letter at home in Flushing, to which he returned in April 1664 after his banishment from New Amsterdam in January 1663. Presumably he had met Whitpaine in London during his exile. Bowne had written to England from Barbados with news of the death of his fellow Quaker and traveling companion Thomas Horner during the transatlantic voyage, which seems to have occasioned Whitpaine's reply.

Hodson Letter, 1662

TITLE: Letter from John Hodson to John Bowne "at prison at Manathane" [Manhattan]

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.02-02

DATE: “1st Day of the Week” [Sunday] Autumn 1662

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

Quaker John Hodson sends John Bowne an undated message of encouragement and shared religious conviction during Bowne's three-month period of imprisonment in Manhattan for religious non-conformity during the autumn of 1662. Hodson, who traveled from Maryland with his young son to visit Bowne in jail in late November, makes clear that both Quakers and their opponents in the wider world were following the case and wondering what precedent it might set: "...the eyes of many are on thee, some for evil and some for good; therefore be staid in thy mind and freely given up in all things."

Notes:

John Hodson settled in Maryland in the 1660s and became a leading member of the Dorchester Quaker Community. It is currently unknown how he became friends with the Bownes.

Swinton Letter, 1660

TITLE: Letter of John Swinton from Newgate Prison

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.02-01

DATE: Circa 6th month [August] 1660

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

Sir John Swinton, former Cromwellian soldier and statesman, writes from Newgate Prison following his arrest for treason. He warns fellow Quakers of the perils they face after the May 1660 Restoration of the Stuart monarchy and the Church of England, and describes the Apocalyptic visions he is experiencing while incarcerated.

Notes:
Sir John, 23rd Laird of Swinton (c.1621 - 1679), was a Scottish military and political leader who allied himself with Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and became his right-hand man in Scotland during the Commonwealth period (1649-1660), while also serving in the English Parliament. He became a Quaker in 1657. In July 1660, following the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy, Swinton was arrested for treason. He likely wrote this letter while awaiting trial in London’s infamous Newgate Prison; he was later sent to the Edinburgh Tolbooth and finally sentenced to imprisonment in Edinburgh Castle. He spent his life after release as an itinerant preacher, frequently getting re-arrested for his non-conformist preaching. Bowne may have met him in England during his exile. It seems likely that this copy of the letter was made for distribution by Swinton’s fellow Quakers “on the outside”; possibly Bowne personally had it made to inspire him during his time in England.