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From: "Chris Dickinson" <>
Subject: Re: [Q-R] Quakers in Wales
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:34:20 +0100
References: <00163630ffd93ded600471cfb66c@google.com>


Anne wrote:



> So does anyone have any information on the Quakers in Wales? What little
> I've found so far is that many of the Pennsylvania Quakers left from
> Wales.
> What happened with those that were left behind? Was there one massive
> exodus or was it over the course of 50 to 100 years?


I don't know anything about the Society of Friends in Wales, but I suspect
that their history would be similar to that of Quakers in Cumberland, so:
(1) most convincements in the 1650/60s; (2) some direct settlement in the
Americas, but a lot via Ireland; (2) commercial contacts with booming Dublin
from the 1650s, with a lot of to-ing and fro-ing; (3) actual settlement in
Ireland beyond Dublin, starting immediately but past its peak by 1700; (4)
the next Irish generation going on to the Americas in the 1700s; (5)
settlement in Ireland and America largely by younger sons of richer yeomanry
(the eldest sons remaining on the ancestral land) or by lesser yeomanry or
non-landed hit by fines or tempted by good offers (in the area I study, for
instance, there was a lot of buying up land which had coal seams [coal
demand boosted by Dublin]); and (6) later generations who remained becoming
disillusioned with, or expelled from, the Friends joining Independents, C of
E or Methodists.

And, as with all very brief summaries, this no doubt has a lot of holes!

Chris


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