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Archiver > QUAKER-ROOTS > 1998-02 > 0886648045


From: "Carl J. Denbow" <>
Subject: Re: Sunbury and Somerset Meetings
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998 22:07:25 -0500


>>> I have some different information on these meetings. Not knowing which
was the best info, I decided to take a risk and send it.

Thanks!! I'm glad you did!

>>> His journal is the only Ohio Hicksite one I know of which was printed.
The Hicksite Somerset continued until 1901. <<<

Is a copy of this available? It would be most interesting to read.

>>> Also, in the minutes of Stillwater MM Hicksite there is a reference to
a group of anti-slavery activists who established a separate meeting
associated with Ohio YM Progressive and the Green Plains "Friends of Human
Progress" group. These people were released from membership on 10-21-1854.
They came from the Lewis, Brown, Haines, and Blackledge families. <<<

None of these names "rings a bell." However, most of my Monroe County
ancestors settled near Lewisville, probably of no significance.

>>> Interestingly enough, the Orthodox/Wilburite Sunbury was laid down very
near to the time that the Hicksite one was laid down. The Orthodox MH was
sold in 1867 for $185. Somerset MM continues under the name of Chestnut
Ridge MM. <<<

Is it still in existence today? What sorts of records might they have?
Again, this is probably no more than coincidence, but my Denbow ancestors,
who were mainly Baptists and Methodists, owned land in Chesnut Ridge,
Maryland, before moving to Ohio in the 1830s. My theory, based on
circumstantial evidence, is that my g3grandmother (Martha Sharp) was a
Quaker who "married out of meeting" in Maryland before coming with her
husband (John Denbow) to Ohio. At that time, what would have been the
attitude among the Quakers to a woman who had married a non-Quaker? I also
believe, again based on circumstantial evidence (related in my earlier
message), that some of Martha's Quaker relatives might have migrated with
her to Ohio. These folks may have been members of some of the Monroe
County meetings -- some Sharps went to Harrison (now Carroll) County as
well as Athens (now Vinton) County.

>>> Anyway, as far as the records of the MM, they seem to be in two places.
The Orthodox/Wilburite minutes are in the safe at our Boarding School in
Barnesville. They have been microfilmed and can be found at several
places -- like Swarthmore College, Guilford College, etc.

Is this the Sunbury Meeting you are talking about here? If I were to come
to Barnesville would it be possible to look at them? Could I get a copy of
the microfilm via interlibrary loan to Ohio University, where I work?

>>> The Hicksite MM book is here at my house. It is the property of Ohio YM
but was not sent to be microfilmed for some reason when the rest of the
Ohio records were microfilmed a few years ago. I have been reading it,
hence the above info. This book was abstracted for Hinshaw's Vol. 4 but was
then lost until about 1985 when it was turned over to Ohio YM. <<<

The Ohio University Archives would love to microfilm this book. I'm a good
friend of the head of that department and they have a charge from the state
to make copies of these kinds of documents from anywhere in Southeastern
Ohio. Monroe and Belmont are part of OU's "assigned territory," so to
speak.

Thank you very much for your response. I really appreciate you sharing the
depth of your knowledge on these matters with me. As I said to Candy, I'm
rather new to Quaker research, so I need guidance by experts like yourself.

BTW, I suspect you are correct in the spelling of the Sunbury Meeting.
That certainly is the spelling of the township. I used "Sunsbury" in my
original message because that's the spelling Adams' used in her book.

As I said in the message to Candy, I'm thrilled to get these responses. I
had been up against such a brick wall. Let's continue the dialogue and see
where it ends up.

Carl

----------
>
> Candy,
>
> I wonder if you could help me. I posted a message several weeks ago
> seeking information about the Sunsbury Meeting in Monroe County, Ohio. I
> can find almost no information about this meeting, except for a reference
> in Alice Dana Adams' book, "The Neglected Period of Anti-Slavery in
America
> 1808-1831." She lists this meeting and cites the anti-slavery society
> connected with it as being very radical. Any information, or leads, you
> might be able to give me would be very much appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Carl
> =======================================================================
>
> Here's the message I posted earlier:
>
> Date: 17-Jan-98 13:53:05 MsgID: OUTBOX
> MgTo: >INTERNET:
> Subj: SHARP Family>Maryland, Ohio
>
> My g3grandmother was Martha Sharp Denbow (1798-1855). There is some
> speculation that she might have been a Quaker who "married out of
meeting."
> She married my g3grandfather (John Denbow, 1797-1862) in Maryland and
then
> moved with him to Ohio in 1830s. They first moved to Harrison County and
> then to Monroe County. In Monroe County she may have been active in the
> abolitionist society connected with Sunsbury Meeting. I have been unable
to
> find anything about this meeting, except for a reference to its existence
> and a quote from the abolitionist society's charter, which was termed
"very
> radical." Does any know about records of this meeting, or where I might
> inquire?
>
> There is a family story that John, perhaps because of the influence of
his
> wife, had become an abolitionist by the time of the Civil War. The fact
is
> that for some reason, at age 63, he lied about his age, said he was 44,
and
> enlisted in the U.S. Army. He and six of sons served in the Union army,
> all but one in the same company of the same regiment -- the 78th Ohio,
> which was also known for its abolitionist sentiments. The old man and
one
> his sons lost their lives in the conflict.
>
> Last summer, at our family reunion, we had a field trip to some of the
> early Denbow lands in Harrison and Carroll counties. Right across the
road
> from one such location was land owned by some SHARPs. On that land was a
> building that looked very much like an old Quaker meeting house. We then
> talked with a man a few miles down the road who said that all his life he
> had been told that that house was a "stop on the Underground Railroad."
> Certainly not inconsistent with a Quaker meeting house. At any rate the
> circumstantial evidence and the family stories seem to match, but I have
> not one shred of real evidence to prove that Martha Sharp was a quaker,
or
> even that her husband became an abolitionist. In my heart, I believe it
is
> true, but I'd like to find some actual evidence. Any and all help
greatly
> appreciated!
>
> Carl
>
> ====================== End of Original Message =====================
>
> ______________________________

====================== End of Original Message =====================

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