The Peaceable Kingdom

During my stay at Pendle Hill (near Philadelphia) earlier this month, I got to visit the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College. This painting of the Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks hangs in the librarian's office.

I didn't realize that Hicks (1780-1849) painted so many different versions of this scene — at least 60 of them — based on Isaiah 11:6-7.

In addition to the  various animals with a child, Hicks would add a small depiction of William Penn's treaty with the Indians — a near-contemporary version of a peaceable kingdom.

This painting, however, is different. Hicks sympathized with his cousin Elias Hicks as Friends became divided in 1827. See the large group of Quakers in the left side of the picture? These are leaders among Friends, going back to George Fox, William Penn and Robert Barclay in the back of the group. Elias Hicks stands in the front row.

Source: Philadelphia Quakers: 1681-1981
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Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College

As part of our Quakers Uniting in Publications conference last weekend, we got a tour of the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College.

I had originally planned to take the whole week off to visit friends in Maryland and research the Hoggatt side of my family while in Philadelphia. Instead, I got the chance to ride up with friends and save quite a bit on transportation and lodging, but with no extra days.

Chris Densmore, curator of Friends Historical Library

The genealogist in me longed for a chance to dig around, but settling for the tour worked out well. Some of the resources I saw at Swarthmore were identical to records we have at Guilford College, where I work. And because of the Hicksite separation, part of the Quaker records for Pennsylvania are at Haverford College across town, although the two libraries keep microfilms of each other's records.

I really need to research at home first, and plan well when I finally do get back to Philadelphia.

Susanna with a daguerreotype in a case

Family histories are available in the reading room, but the rare books and documents live downstairs — the FHL is three stories on one side of the college library.

Susanna, one of the archivists, took us down to the other levels and showed us around the collection.








The curator has his own "peaceable kingdom" in his office, with figures his children made.

More on the painting later.

Wordless Wednesday - Pendle Hill

Snippets from my stay at Pendle Hill, Pennsylvania, last weekend. I'll write more when I catch my breath.

The fire escape at Waysmeet, where I stayed.

A neighboring house in the sunlight













Amongst old books at Brinton House — one of the Quaker libraries at Pendle Hill.

Bookish Adventures — from Africa to Pennsylvania

Anthony Majok visited Tannery Books last weekend to sign his new book. (I can't believe I forgot to take his picture! This is his PR photo.) He was so nice, and his story is fascinating: when he was 7 years old, he escaped into the jungle when his village was attacked and his father killed. With a group of other children, he survived more than a decade on the run. Refugee workers called them the Lost Boys of Sudan (but there were Lost Girls, too, and Anthony eventually married one of them).

Now a U.S. citizen with a family of his own, Anthony has written his memoir, Journey of Faith. Proceeds benefit others who are building a new life in South Sudan.

English is not Anthony's first language. He can speak it, but dedicated friends from Writers Group of the Triad helped him edit and publish his story. I'm really looking forward to reading it!

In less than a day (as in, it will still be dark!) I'm leaving for Philadelphia for the Quakers Uniting in Publications annual meeting.  I'll get to see people I met last year at the QUIP meeting in England and hear about publishing, marketing and bookselling. Although I wish I had the whole week for genealogy research at nearby Swarthmore and Haverford libraries, the logistics didn't work out this time. We do get a library tour on Friday, so I plan to scout out resources for a future research trip.

My dear laptop just got out of minor surgery. Barring any technical difficulties, I'll keep you posted from Philadelphia. You can also follow QUIP on Facebook or Twitter.