The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-01-20

sveral Branches Of Them with {
Combined Membsrshfp Of 125,OGO.

sveral Branches Of Them with &
Combined Membership OF 1875 900.
Chiefly because they seldom attrac
public notice, the impression
exists In many quarters that til
Friends, or Quakers, as they are more
generally known, r no longer a fac
tor to be reckoned with in the religious
world. As a matter Of fact, follow
ers Of Fox, founder Of the Friends, art
almost as strong at present as ever.
As no time In the history Of the de
nomination did 1t ever reach a mem.
bership Of 100000. To-day 1t has ap
proximately 125,00O members in all the
several branches, a considerable In,
crease over the showing of a dec
ade ago.
George Fox. four Ter of the denomin.
ation, was born IL Fenny, DreytOn,
Leicestershire, England, in 1924. He
began to preach in 1647, and in a short
time had won a considerable following
from those who, like himself, were dis.
satisfied with the teachings and prac.
tees Of the day and longed for a more
spiritual life. The necessity of es.
tablishing a separate church soon be-
came apparent, the doctrines expound.
Cd by Fox and subscribed to by his
followers being practically incompat.
ible with tho practices Of the demon.
nations then existing. The doctrines
held by the Friends, and their refusal
to take any oath or to obey laws held
by them to be Ubiquitous, resulted IN
frequent clashes with the authorities,
and during the % years Charles IL.
reigned in England 1852 were I'm.
prisoned, q great number transported
a. slaves, and hun eds died In prison
and as a result Of wounds received
during attacks upon their meetings.
Not until after the revolution Of 1885,
were they free from molestation.
The Quaker movement spread to Ire
land. Scotland, to the continent, and in
1855 to America. Harsh treatment
was the portion Of the early followers
Of the faith in this country ; Ann Aus
tin and Mary Fisher. who arrived In
Boston in 1856, being shamAfully
abused, imprisoned, and then sent back
to the Barbados, whence they had
come. Three men and one women were
executed on the Boston commons, but
this did not deter others from coming
and, In spite Of prosecutions, converts
were made and meetings established
In most Of the colonies. George Fox
himself Travelled in America in 1911,
but the most important incident In the
history Of the den uination was when
william Penn, in 1882, settled in
Pennsylvania, the control Of that COL
ony being in the hands Of Friends for
about 70 years.
The society has split up into several
bodies, the Orthodox being the strong
est. with a membership Of 97,S36, $50
churches and 1902 ministers. The
Hicksites number 1855; the WILDER
ties, 4,46S, while the Primitives have
only $50 communicates.
The Friends differ from other Chris
tian denominations in the spirit rath-
er than he letter Of the faith. In ~
cent years there has come over them
q great change. noticeable in externals
rather than doctrines. The quaint
bonnets once so common are now sci.
dom seen, and then only on older mem
bers Of the denomination. Any dis.
tinctive garb has been laid aside by
almost all the members, and the use
Of "thee" and ''thou," except familiar
IL among themselves, has been dropped.