Talk:George Hussey Earle Sr.

Hussey/Howard

Some may note the discrepancy between the middle names of father and son (George Howard Earle, Jr. & George Hussey Earle, Sr.). I do not have documented evidence, but it is supposed by some that the change was made by Earle, Jr. for personal & possibly political reasons. Londonjackbooks (talk) 22:46, 8 July 2017 (UTC)

Further confirmation requested

In a letter (from the scrapbook of Earle's daughter, Frances Earle Johnson) from John A. McCarthy (Real Estate Trust Company of Philadelphia's Executive Vice President about 1934) to Richard Montgomery dated 8 October 1934, McCarthy writes that "Earle was a member of the band of which William Lloyd Garrison was the head and chief. For many years the elder Earle was his chief lieutenant." Any further documentation of this would be appreciated. Londonjackbooks (talk) 15:33, 9 July 2017 (UTC)

Jane Johnson

Londonjackbooks. I like the article.
Earle seems to have been involved in the Jane Johnson trial, one of the most famous abolitionist victories. After the trial, Johnson was hidden in the town where I grew up, to prevent slavery supporters from kidnapping her and selling her back into slavery. (I also used to date Governor Earle's granddaughter.) Let me look into this some more. Best, == BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 19:08, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

@BoringHistoryGuy:Any additional information would be appreciated! Thank you!

As an interesting aside, Earle, Sr. saw to it that his daughter Florence Earle Coates was educated in New England by abolitionist Theodore Dwight Weld. From 1854-1861, Mr. Weld was Principal of Eagleswood School in New Jersey which admitted boys and girls, black and white. Subsequently, he taught at a school for young girls in Lexington, Mass. (estab. 1864), which also admitted both black and white students. I believe it was at this school in Mass. that Mrs. Coates received her education by Weld. The school burned down on 7 September 1867. Coates would have been 17 years old at the time, but it is likely that she was by then furthering her education abroad—unless the incident prompted her change of venue... Londonjackbooks (talk) 19:59, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

Londonjackbooks. I'm a little confused about the use of the term "free Quaker." I know it as meaning a Quaker who supported or fought in the Revolutionary War, i.e. Free Quaker Meetinghouse. Does it have another meaning related to abolitionism? == BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 21:18, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

I believe it is used in this sense. The term was used in the letter from McCarthy to Montgomery. Both Earle, Sr. and his wife were of Quaker descent. Londonjackbooks (talk) 22:01, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

Londonjackbooks. My guess is that Earle was a Hicksite Quaker. Quakerism had a major schism in the 1820s between the Orthodox (traditionalist, scripture based, evangelical) and Hicksite (non-authoritarian, Inner Light based, progressive) sects. The rift wasn't healed until the 1950s. You could also call him a "birthright Quaker," meaning someone who was not a later convert.

I was writing something today about Samuel Wetherill, one of the founders of Philadelphia's Free Quaker Meetinghouse. == BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 00:18, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

BoringHistoryGuy. I hesitate to venture a guess... He sent his daughter Florence to a Catholic school in Paris (Sacred Heart convent) ca. late 1860s. I can only guess he believed in the Trinity/divinity of Jesus—perhaps unlike Hicks? But I have no proof. Florence hinted about her beliefs in a poem: "I read / The words of Socrates, and then I read / Of Jesus; and I said:— / 'Divinity 's not dead!'" She was buried at an Episcopal church in Bryn Mawr. Earle's sister, Caroline Earle White, became a Catholic... Perhaps of primary importance to the family was liberty and freedom—as a person, but in thought and belief as well. It might be just as well that we do not know ;) Londonjackbooks (talk) 01:10, 12 July 2017 (UTC)

If I may add... a quote about Earle's son, lawyer & businessman, George, Jr.—"Mr. Earle derives from his Quaker ancestry the breadth of view that recognizes no monopoly of integrity or weakness in any denomination, and that business ability and character are more valuable, because less easily pretended, than piety." Their family's works speak volumes. But I digress... back to fact-finding :) Londonjackbooks (talk) 01:34, 12 July 2017 (UTC)