Complex sentence: Later, during the 1670s, William Rogers of Bristol and a group from Lancashire, their spokesmen being John Story and John Wilkinson, all respected leaders, led a schism that disagreed with the heightening influence of women and centralizing authority among Friends closer to London.
Split into simpler sentences: Later, during the 1670s, William Rogers of Bristol and a group from Lancashire, whose spokesmen John Story and John Wilkinson were both respected leaders, led a schism. They disagreed with the heightening influence of women and centralizing authority among Friends closer to London.