Thomas Woolley and the Quakers

Thomas Woolley and the Quakers



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Quakers

A year after the wedding, Thomas requested permission to become a Quaker. Since he was not a "Birthright Friend," he did not have a certificate from a meeting in New Jersey or England, which would have given some information as to where in England he may have come from.  But the conclusion from this information is that Thomas was a Protestant Episcopalian, and Sarah was a Quaker.

Thomas' wedding

Christ Church, in Philadelphia, was the place where members of the Continental Congress, members of the Constitutional Convention, George Washington, and Betsy Ross worshipped, and had a Protestant Episcopalian congregation.  Because this was where the wedding of Thomas Woolley occurred, it could point to the fact that Thomas was from England.  The original records are still in the Refectory Office, but only the names of the bridal couple are mentioned.

Thomas Woolley

The book, The Utah Woolley Family, by Preston W. Parkinson, states that John's father, Thomas Woolley, was first mentioned in the Chester Monthly Meeting in 1729.  He married Sarah Coppock, a Quaker and she acknowledged her "wrongdoing" in being married at Christ Church by a Priest.  The Friends would "read out of meeting" those who didn't live by the laws of the church, and even more for "marrying out of meeting."

Map

The map of the United States looked very different from the way it looks today.  In the book, Historical Atlas of the United States, by Derek Hayes, it is amazing to see how the state boundaries have changed from Revolutionary times, and shows each state's claims to lands in the west. William Penn arrived in 1682, and divided his land into 3 counties, Chester being one of them. This county was subsequently divided into Lancaster, Delaware, and Chester counties.  Chester is located in the southeast corner of the state.