During the nineteenth century, it was impossible for Cincinnati Friends to avoid being drawn into the most contentious debate in the history of our nation: the clash over slavery. Quakers were universally opposed to slavery by the mid-nineteenth century, but it had been a position arrived at gradually. When visiting
Quaker History
Examining the Life of Levi Coffin
While being interviewed recently for a documentary on Agents of the Underground Railroad, I was asked about the relationship between the abolitionist Levi Coffin and the other members of Cincinnati Friends Meeting. And the answer was . . . it’s complicated. By the nineteenth century, all yearly meetings in North
CFM Roots: Property Added and Divided
After sharing the same Fifth Street lot with the Hicksites since the late 1820s, the Orthodox members of Cincinnati Friends Meeting eventually decided that they needed more land. Nicholas Longworth, who originally owned the property purchased by the meeting in 1813, also owned two lots to the west of it—about
CFM Roots: Separate Burial Grounds
Although a portion of the Fifth Street meetinghouse grounds had been set aside as a cemetery in 1819, by 1833 the property was now occupied by two meetinghouses and a schoolhouse, and the remaining space was not sufficient for the burial needs of the community. In 1834, a collection was
Review of “The Fearless Benjamin Lay” by Marcus Rediker
There are sections of the Gospels that I find challenging to comprehend. For example, Jesus tells his listeners that calling their brother a fool puts their soul in danger, yet Jesus himself calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers. This man who described himself as “gentle and lowly of heart”