Believe it or not, in the "Diksionary Englisy sy Malagasy", 1875, by Joseph Stickney Sewell, is an entry "ahead, adv. aloha". The book was published by the 'NY Friends Foreign Mission Association', and is a freebie from Harvard College Library, in the "Count of Santa Eulalic Collection, Gift of John B. Stetson, Jr., June 13, 1925". Born in Great Yarmouth, 1819, Joseph was a Quaker missionary active in Madagascar from 1867, and died in 1900. A picture of him and two Madagascar boys sitting around a table comes up easily on search. A thin, white-bearded man with 2 boys dressed in suits. Of course, this sent me searching further. He also edited a few of the "The Annual Monitor, ... or the Obituary of the Members of the Society of Friends in Great Britain and Ireland". Aloha....
The movement that eventually became the Society of Friends, aka the Quakers, began in England in the 1650's. In one story, founder George Fox once told a magistrate to tremble (quake) at the name of God and the moniker stuck. "During the English Civil Wars, George Fox, following 1647, gathered the discontent..."
There was fertile ground in northern England for this endeavor in 1651-2. The 1st meeting was held in Durham in 1653, and by 1656, "Quaker Minister James Naylor was very popular." They held for equality for women, did not celebrate Easter or Christmas, and met in secret. George Fox's was first arrested and imprisoned in 1650, was followed by many more. The reasons varied. Sometimes it was for "disturbance", at other times "Blasphemy". Parliament enacted "The Quaker Act of 1662" for which the crime was not swearing an oath to the King, which the Quakers held was wrong. Their oath to God came first. The came the "Conventicle Act of 1664", to go after those having 'secret meetings'. Aloha... I had to find out more.
King James II was more lenient, and issued a "Declaration of Indulgence" in 1687-8. Sounds very Catholic doesn't it? It was widely rumored that Wm Penn had authored this decree. William Penn had been a favorite of King Charles II, and had received the land grant area became Pennsylvania in 1682.
Amidst all this, the name of Quaker author and poet John Greenleaf Whittier came up. He was mentioned memorably in the book "An Astronomer's Wife: a Biography of Angeline Hall" from 2 posts ago. Aloha...
The "English Civil War" went on, officially, from 1642-1651. A "Committee of Safety" was instituted 5 July 1642 for the day-to-day control of military supplies. "In July of 1647, a new Committee of Safety was appointed. Presbyterians fled from the new model in July 1647." In 1659, political turmoil caused Oliver Cromwell to be overthrown, and on 7 May 1659 a 7 member Committee of Safety was appointed. In October 1659 Parliament was "forcibly absolved by Major-General Lambert, a 23 member Committee of Safety was appointed and remained in effect for nearly two months".
Having noted that some early Stickney men listed in MAS's book served on "Committee(s) of Safety" and wondering what this was, and if they were is Revolutionary or Loyalists, this was welcome history.
In the American colonies, "Committees of Safety existed prior to 1692 and were called by various names. The Committee ... that year, in NY, is significant in that it was created by the militia. The colonists were dissatisfied with the Crown headed by Governor Sir Edmund Andros' representation. Two delegates were selected, by citizenry, for each community. They gathered, exercised their authority, eventually imprisoning Andros for one year."
"A Brief History of Committees of Safety in America" was found on 'committee.org'. "The practice became more common after the French and Indian Wars of 1756-1758. The Crown had imposed new taxes. It felt since the Fr/Ind wars were in defense of the colonies, the burden of expense should be borne by the colonies. Finally, the Coercive Acts of 1774 prompted action. The Coercive Acts closed down Boston Harbor, placed Massachusetts under close British rule and extended Canada's boundaries south into lands which the American colonists believed to be their western expansion."
The colonies essentially did what they had always done, as law-abiding British subjects. They called up delegates, formed committees to the colony or province level in order to respond to the call from the Boston Committee for a Continental Congress. "In Sept 1774, nine colonies responded, met in Philadelphia to join in actions to counter the increasing imposition ... of Britain."
"Although during the course of colonial history many Committees of Safety were formed and operated under British government, frequently their actions were outside of the authority granted. They frequently co-existed alongside the authorized government of the Crown, creating a parallel government which was the direct representation of the people as opposed to the legitimate government of the Crown."
"These 'parallel' governments formed the nexus that would come together again in June 1776, comprised of representatives of all 13 colonies, to form the 2nd Continental Congress. The outcome... was the Declaration of Independence."
There is a small box at the bottom of that page, resembling a concert ticket, that states:
"Cambridge April 29, 1775. This .... is to certify the bearer, Mr. Paul Revere, is Messenger to the Committee of Safety and that all dispatch...." At the bottom: "Jos. Warren, Chair." This entry is not yellowed by 2-300 years of history, it's simply placed there. I don't know who Joseph Warren was, but they did have British watching their every move, so a curfew needing a pass might not be out of line, but I still wonder about it's validity. I can attest to Stickney men serving on Committees of Safety, though. And there is mention of men and their widows receiving military wages and/or pensions for their service in the Revolutionary War, and I believe there are mentions for the War of 1812 and the Civil War also. Aloha...
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