The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-02-15
isl. Peters Church,
Freehold and It's RectorS
By MAxcY APPLEGATE. sR.
REV. GEORGE KEITH, FOUNDER OF
FREEHOLD
ToPANEMUS.
PERSECUTION OF QUAKERs BEFORE

TOPANEMUS.
| PERSECUTION OF oUAKERs BEFORE
THEY CAME TO MONMOUTH COUNTY.
Altho we are not writing the history
of the Quakers, In our research to learn
about George Keith we find in Hume's
History of England an account of how
the sect was prosecuted in England be
fore they came to America. 1t says
Some Quakers attempted to fast
forty days in imitation of Christ; and
one of them bravely persisted in the
experiment. A female Quaker came
naked into the Church where the Pro-
tector sat; being moved by the spirit,
as she said, to to appear as
sign to the people a number
Of them fancied. that the renova
ton of all things had commenced. and
that clothes were to be rejected, to-
gether with other superfiuities. The
suff erings which followed the prac-
tice of this doctrine, were a species of
persecution not well calculated in
promoting it," The episode of the
woman appearing in Church is de-
MED by Sewel in his history of the
| Quakers, who says they had no record
of such an occurrence, and if there
had been it was probably some de-
mented woman. William Penn also
denies this as being any part Of the
| Quaker doctrine and In regard to the
folio ing persecution of Naylor says,
he was a demented man, as Hume
infers. but as Penn adds Poor
demented man. it must conceded, his
J punishment was severeH.-
James Naylor was Quaker noted
/ for blasphemy,s or rather madness. in
the time Of the Protectorship. He
| fancied that he himself was transform
ed into Christ, and was become the
savior Of the world. and in consequence
of this frenzy he endeavored to imi-
tate many actions of the Messiah re-
lated in the Evangelists. Al he bore a
resemblance to the common pictures
of Christ, he allowed his beard to
grow in like form: he raised per
son from the dead (Note, one Dorcas
! Easburry made oath before a mag
istrate that she had been dead two
days, and that Naylor had brought her
to life) he was administered unto by
women. He entered Bristol England
mounted on a horse, his disciples
spread their garments before him. and
cried 'Hosanna to the highest; holy.
holy is the Lord God of Sabaoth; ?
when carried before the magistrate
hewould give no other reason to all
questions than, Thou hast said it:
what is remarkable, the parl iament
thought that the matter deserved
their attention. Near ten days they
spent in inquiries and debates about
| him. They condemned him to be
pilloried, whipped burned in the face,
and to have his tongue bored through
e. sod n MT JrIr A hoe al
ties he bore with the usual patience
] So far his delusion supported him.
But the sequel spoiled all He was
sent to Bridewell, confined to hard la
Dor, fed on bread and water and de-
| barred from all his disciples. male and
female. His Illusions dissipated; and
after some time he was eontented to
| come out an ordinary man, and re-
J turn to his usual occupations.
We print the above in full as it is
the only detailed connected account
+, of the case of James Naylor we have
, been able to find in any old book.
! Here it is recorded under date about
! 1850. Hume's History stops 1850,
when this author died.
Sewel in his History merely men
tions the incident of persecutio
without giving the exact method of
punishment.
GEORGE KEITH's SURVEY.
Raum's History of New Jersey saws
in regard to the running of the line be-
tween East and West Jersey and as this
account gives the exact termination Of
Keith's line, we reprint it. in part:
In the year 1857. George Keith, Sur
yeyor General of East Jersey. by order
of the Proprietor's there, attempted to
run the division lire between East and
West Jersey. He began with the line
from Little Egg Harbor, north by
west, and three degrees five minutes
more westerly, as the compass then
pointed; for part; the u le run by
him was sixty miles in length, till he
fell upon the corner of John Dobie's
plantation. on the south branch of the
Raritan. This by order of the Coun-
Gil of Propri etors of West Jersey, in
or about the year 1921, was traversed
by John Chapman, who was esteemed
a careful surveyor Upon the com
putation,. it appeared that the line. at
the time he traversed it, was north six
teen degrees and forty-three minutes
west; which left a variation Of two
degrees and twenty-three minutes in
thirty four years. he remaining part
OF kelth's line was from Dobie's plan
tation along the rear of that and other
tracts and plantations, as they were
before patented and surveyed in right
of the Proprietors OF the Eastern divis-
ion OF New jersey, until it intersected
that part OF the north branch of the
Raritan river which deseends from a
fall of wafer, at that time known bv
the Indian name of AlIamitung. then
Running FROM that point of intersection
mp the branch or stream to the fall of
Allamitnng.
Upon the original running of this
line. the Western Proprietors thought
too much OF their best lands were sur
yeyed to the eastward, and were dis