TITLE: Letter of John Bowne in Oyster Bay to Hannah Bowne in London
DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-04
DATE: 18 May 1675 (Old Style) / 28 May 1675 (New Style)
DESCRIPTION & NOTES
This letter from John Bowne to his wife reports to her from the annual meeting of Long Island Quakers held in Oyster Bay. He writes of discovering second-hand Hannah’s departure from Maryland for England: “…the news of thy being gone, for which the Lord had fitted me, as thou hast known in like cases formerly.” This indicates both that Hannah’s religious vocation had led her to make unplanned journeys in the past, and that John had accepted these activities on the part of his spouse. He also reports on the drowning death of Quaker missionary Hannah Wright and a confrontation with a splinter sect called the Ranters.