1771 Select Works of William Penn, Benjamin Ferris London Yearly Quaker Minutes

Description: Select Works of William Penn. To Which is Prefixed a Journal of His Life. London, Printed in the Year 1771. n.p.leather binding, lxi, title page lacking & replaced in manuscript form, 862 pp, 16 x 10", folio. ***Includes a manuscript leaf copy from the minutes of the London yearly Quaker meeting, which comments: "By the foregoing minute it appears that this Volume of the Works of William Penn was published under the sanction and by the direction of London Yearly Meeting in 1768." In poor condition. As is. Front board detached from binding; rear board attached by cording only, fragile. Full leather boards moderately to heavily scuffed at edges and especially at corners. Head and tail of leather spine lacking. Title label lacking. Raised bands on spine are rubbed with exposed cording. Water dampness staining exhibited at bottom of fore-edge. Pasted-in manuscript page entitled "Yearly Meeting 1768" found on front paste-down, with old-hand ink marginalia below. Old-hand ink marginalia also found on front end-page (verso), along with a signature: Benj. Ferris, Wilmington. Manuscript title page's ink slightly dulled at top edge, but remains clean and bright overall. General toning and foxing throughout text-block, with some instances of age-staining. Chipping to pages 364-365, loss of some text. Binding is intact, but very fragile. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. William Penn (1644-1718) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Providence of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era. Penn, an advocate for democracy and religious freedom, was known for his amicable relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans who had resided in present-day Pennsylvania prior to European settlements. Benjamin Ferris (1780-1867) was a watchmaker and historian from Wilmington, Delaware. Ferris was born sixth of seventh children to Ziba Ferris (1743-1794) and Edith Sharpless (1742-1815) in a house on the northeast corner of Third and Shipley Streets in Wilmington. He was a descendant of Samuel Ferris, who had come from Reading, England, in 1682 to settle at Groton, Massachusetts, and of John Ferris, who was among the first settlers in the city of Wilmington in 1748. As a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Ferris was a proponent of the views of Elias Hicks, claiming "obedience to the light within" as sufficient for salvation, and publishing a debate with an evangelical minister which contributed to a schism in 1827. In 1839, Ferris was appointed to a committee of the Yearly Meeting of Friends of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, to investigate wrongdoings against Seneca Indians. Although the treaty he recommended was ultimately rejected by the Senate, he was successful in brokering a deal which resulted in about half their land being restored to them. Ferris was a true "renaissance man," ambitious, self-educated, well-versed in the classics; a watchmaker, surveyor & finally historian. David Ferris (1707-1779), London Yearly Meeting extracts were found with his documents, was a third generation member of the Ferris family, son to Zachariah and Sarah Ferris. His parents were Presbyterian and it was noted his mother was "religiously deposed." In August 1733, he moved to Philadelphia where he joined the Society of Friends having previously attended their meeting on Long Island "to discover whether they were living people or not." He married Mary Massey in 1735. In 1737, his family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where he would remain for the balance of his life. David was a shopkeeper & his first efforts as a minister were recorded in 1735, but it was not until 1755 that he primarily devoted himself to the ministry with took him throughout America. Benjamin, most likely, came to own this work and the manuscript notes from his ancestor David. David and Benjamin were a generation apart, and David died the year before Benjamin was born. However, they are a part of the same family line that first settled in Wilmington, Delaware. RAREA1771ITVQ04/25 - HK1406

Price: 1500 USD

Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2025-01-04T22:19:54.000Z

Shipping Cost: 33.88 USD