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
This letter also appears in the series “John Bowne (1627-1695): Correspondence Received”
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: "...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." Hodson’s words underscore the importance that Quakers, and possibly other religious minorities, placed upon Bowne’s case and the precedent that they hoped it might set. They also hint that opponents of religious pluralism were watching with equal interest.
Notes:
John Hodson settled in Maryland in the 1660s and became a leading member of the Dorchester Quaker Community. He and his young son traveled to visit John Bowne in prison in New Amsterdam in November 1662.