The [Mis]Adventures of Thomas Beals

Thomas Beals was born in 1719 in Chester County, Pennsylvania to John and Sarah (Bowater) Beals, two prominent Quakers whose ancestors, according to family legend, arrived in America with the William Penn. He married Sarah Antrim on September 12, 1741 in Monacacy, Maryland, and the couple had five sons and eight daughters: Mary (b. 1742); [...]

Meet at the Meeting House: The Battle of New Garden

The Battle of New Garden is often overshadowed by the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, but it was a crucial conflict in its own right, featuring a brief skirmish, a swirling cavalry clash and two general engagements. According to historian Lindley S. Butler, New Garden "inflicted a number of casualties on the British, led to a [...]

Friends of New Garden

As it turns out, I descend from a number of Quaker families: there's the bearded Bond brothers from Wayne County, Indiana; the Roberts family, whose log cabin still stands in Richmond; and the Hawkins family, who traveled to America with William Penn aboard the Welcome in 1682. These findings pale in comparison, though, to my newfound [...]

Welcome to America

William Penn In 1681, King Charles II issued a portion of his land holdings in America to William Penn--the William Penn--to pay the debts he owed to Penn's father, including present-day Pennsylvania and Delaware. William Penn immediately set sail aboard the Welcome with a group English Quakers, arriving at the mouth of the Delaware River on [...]

Hawkins Imprisoned for Refusal to Bear Arms

Last year, I went on a road trip to discover more about my Quaker roots; what I found was much more than I could have imagined. An initial search for my 4th great-grandmother, Sally Bond, led me to the Hawkins clan of Wayne County, Indiana, a prominent Quaker family with connections to the Welcome and [...]