THE JOURNAL OF JOHN BOWNE (COMING SOON)
The Journal of John Bowne records some of the most significant events in his life. Here he gives a first-person account of his arrest for holding forbidden Quaker worship, and his subsequent imprisonment, exile, appeal, and homecoming. Bowne’s descendants donated the original manuscript to the New York Historical Society decades before the Bowne House was dedicated as a museum. The Bowne House Historical Society later obtained a photostat copy (a series of prints made from microfilm.) This copy is now undergoing digitization. We look forward to sharing it on this site in Fall 2024. Meanshile, there is also a published version of the Journal, transcribed and annotated by former Queens Borough Historian Herbert Ricard. An excerpt is available for download below.
Folios 49-63: Bowne’s Trial - Arrest through Homecoming
The following excerpt from Bowne’s journal contains a full account of his ordeal for the sake of religious freedom, recording the eighteen-month period encompassing his arrest for holding prohibited Quaker meetings in his home, and the ensuing trial, imprisonment, exile, appeal, and the odyssey of his eventual homecoming.
Note: This out-of-print work may still be under copyright. The following excerpts are presented here solely for educational, non-commercial purposes under the Fair Use provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.