Life and letters of Mary S. Lippincott, late of Camden, New Jersey, a minister in the Society of Friends

Preface

The reader will bear in mind that this work has been prepared for the press at the request, and by direction of some of the relatives of M. S. L.

These felt desirous to preserve her writings in a form more convenient and more permanent than that of manuscript, also to give to the many who had known and loved her, an opportunity to learn something of her inyier, as well as of her outer life.

In the hope that it may prove acceptable to her friends without, as well as to those within the circle of kindred, and to some even beyond the limits of personal acquaintance, it is submitted to such as may feel inclined to peruse it.

Contents

Introduction— Memorial.

Chapter I

Birth, Parentage and Family — Shoemakertown — Benjamin Shoemaker's Death — Removal to Horsham — First School — Removal to Abington — Goes to Westtown — Death of her brother James — Goes to Fair Hill School — Returns to Cheltenham — GoesJ,©-Westtawfr-a§__Teacher — Religious Exercises — Friends who \'isited at Westtown — Goes to Rennselaerville— Marriage — Removal to Chesterville— Gift in the Ministry Acknowledged—Her Children — Removal to Moorestown — Boarding School — Death of Comly Shoemaker — Clerk of Women's Yearly Meeting — Death of her Mother— Death of Husband— Death of Brother and Sisters — Removal to Camden — Religious Visits — Death of Daughter — Last Years — Death.

Chapter II

Self Examination — The-^Westtown Meetings for Worship — William Flanner —J. Cook — William Foster — John Mott — Jesse Haines — Great Discouragement—[Long Interval]— Review of Writings— Concern for Slave --Holders- Prospect of Opening School— New Year Reflections— Death of Mary Jessup — Death of Naomi Passmore— Birthday Reflections — The Widow's Loneliness— The War— Discontinuance of School— Last Entry in Diary.

Chapter III

Letters to One Young in the Ministry— To her Nephew— To her Grandson —To George Hatton— To R. and S. H.— To her Daughter— To George Hatton— To her Granddaughter— Detached Paragraphs from Letters.

Vi Conterits.

Chapter IV

A Word of Exhortation— For the Journal — A Fragment — Passing Time- Honor and Duty — Secret for Happiness:i£rhe Members and the Body — The Friends — Out of my Place — C^Iy Daily pnutje^ — A Contrast — George Parker— Anna B. Wells— Isaac Lippincott— Jane S. Lippincott.

Chapter V

An Aspiration — The Struggle — Overcoming Temptation — Reflections — Nature— Truth— Hymn— Hymn— To A. J. S.— A Prayer— Lines to R. S. Parting Lines— A Thought— An Aspiration— Bless Us, O Father, Bless —To My Husband— The Star— To George Hatton— Stanzas— Life— On the Death of my Husband— My Departed Husband.

INTRODUCTION,

In preparing for publication the writings of Mary S. Lippincott, it seemed desirable to give the prominent incidents of her life in the order of their occurrence, and to make the account as nearl)' complete as the preserved memoranda, with' some additional information, would warrant.

To do this, in\'olved the necessity of collecting items from different sources, and of arranging them in the order of time, or of subject, as nearly as the void intervals would permit, and as the narration of the incidents seemed to require.

Chapter I. has been prepared on this general plan ; and since much of the information was unwritten, the phraseology could not be given, but the attempt has been made to render the thought, and to supply such details as the data would furnish.

From her tenth to her eighteenth year there is little to be found in the records of the family, and from the time of her marriage until after her removal to Moorestown, a period of thirteen years, the Diary is a blank. From the year 1842 until the close of her life, we are fairly well informed of the most important incidents connected with her personal history, and also of her impressions and religious exercises. The first entry in her Diary [that has been preserved] was made when she was in her twenty-third year ; and the last one was recorded on the seventy- fourth anniversary of her birth-day. Family memoranda, oral information, and some reminiscences have furnished the information given Wore the former date ; and her own letters, the accounts of her friends who visited her, also the testimony of members of her family, and of the physician who attended her, have been drawn upon for the remaining thirteen years of her life.

Chapter II. needed but little alteration, and no additions ; and as it is her own account of her trials and exercises, it will be of interest to those who can enter into sympathy with the pathetic narration of her experience. As it gives a view of her inner life, it enables us the more to appreciate her ministry, after we have seen the depths from which it was evolved.

viii Introduction.

Chapter III. is a series of extracts from a voluminous correspondence ; and it introduces the reader into her society as she was known in her middle and later life. Though few of the letters ha\e been given in full, yet it was not deemed necessary to mark the omissions by asterisks, but simply to make this sfatcvicnt in lieu thereof As a letter-writer she was natural and versatile ; and could her effusions, sent to her absent friends, have been published e^ttirc, they would ha\-e been marked by the same easy flow of expression that gave such a charm to her conversation in the social circle.

But there were many matters of interest to her correspondents, and especially so at the time of her writing them, that did not seem adapted to a wider circle of readers. As has been well said, it is a delicate matter to publish private letters without the consent of the writer.

Chapter IV. is a collection of papers on different subjects, each of which had made such an impression upon her mind, that she thought it worthy of record. The last four of these papers are descriptions of death-bed scenes, to three of which she was a witness and for all four of the deceased she was, in the Christian acceptation of the word, a mourner. With the exceptions of these obituaries, there was no personality requiring omission or abridgement in this chapter.

Chapter V. consists of metrical effusions, written at different periods of her life, but all of them between her twenty-first and her sixtieth year. Her fancy was lively, her expression free, and her love of nature as genuine, as it seemed ardent. Of the standard poets it would appear that Cowper was her favorite. In her appreciation of poetry, as in other matters, she was too sincere to affect admiration for anything merely because it was conventional.

In the Appendix will be found a mmiber of miscellaneous items, that are directly or indirectly connected with the life of the subject ; and on account of this connection it seemed fitting to give them a place. Some of these have come to hand while the work was going through the press.

In conclusion, the editor would acknowledge his indebtedness to friends who have rendered valuable assistance in the preparation, the publication and the distribution of the work.

Hugh Foulke.

Philadelpmi.a, Pe.nna., Second Month 28th, 1893.

MEMORIAL

OF

A Memorial of Chester Monthly Meeting^ New Jersey^ concerning our deceased friend^ Mary S. LippincoTT.

Under a sense of the loss that we have sustained by the death of this dear and valued Friend, we feel it right to make a brief record of her life, and of her religious experience, for the benefit of survivors, desiring that it nia\' serve as an incentive, especially to those who are in the morning of life, to walk in the path of obedience to manifested duty, and to profit by the example of one, who by an early dedication of all her faculties, experienced preservation from evil, strength in weakness, and comfort in seasons of outward trial.

Mary S. Lippincott, daughter of Anthony and Jane S. Hallowell, was born on the twenty-third day of the Sixth Month, in the year iSoi, in Cheltenham Township, Montgomer}- County, Pennsylvania, and was a birthright member of the religious Society of Friends. She was endowed with a vigorous intellect, and retentive memor}^, 2

10 Mennorial of

and before she had concluded her tenth year, had read aloud to her grandfather, Benjamin Shoemaker, the Bible, as well as the Journal of George Fox, and portions of other Friends' works.

The influence of this earh^ course of reading was plainl}^ manifest throughout her life, as she was both ready and accurate in her quotations from the Scriptures, and familiar with the writings of early Friends.

Her school education was received at day schools at Hatboro and Abington, and at boarding-schools at Westtown in Penns3^1vania, and at Fair Hill in Maryland. When about twent3^-one years of age, she engaged in teaching, a work for which she seemed to be fitted, both by nature and training, and which was not finall}^ abandoned until she was in her eightieth year. She taught at Cheltenham, Abington and Westtown, in Pennsylvania ; at Fair Hill, in Maryland ; at Alexandria, in Virginia ; and at Rensselaerville, in New York.

In 1829, she was married to Isaac Lippincott, a member of Chester Monthly Meeting, New Jersey, and removed to reside with him, becoming a member of the same meeting, and so continuing until her death. In 1S42, she and her husband, established the Moorestown Boarding School for Girls, which was continued under her supervision for a period of thirty-eight years. The influence for good which went out from this institution has been widely felt. Her pupils not only received thorough instruction in the ordinary branches of a school education, but their moral and spiritual being was carefully nurtured, and the training there received was of priceless value in after life. In the matter of school and famil}^ discipline it nia^^ truly be said that she "ruled with meekness, — the}- obeyed with joy " — and her authority "was but the graver countenance of love." In the education of 3^oung women whose means were limited she was almost over-generous, and in this and in other acts of beneficence she did much that was onlv known to herself and to those whom she benefited. She was ever desirous that an increased liberality might prevail in the Society for the advancement of its schools, and encouraged Friends to improve those they had, and to use their best endeavors in the establishment of others.

It would appear from the memoranda, that she was early brought under the preparing Hand for service in her Master's vineyard. She records that while a school girl, engaged in some household duties, being in a serious state of mind, her spiritual ear was saluted with the language : " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? " "Feed my sheep." This salutation seemed to foretell the labor that would be required of her, and she alludes to its fulfilment many years aftenvards.

When about twenty-two years of age, and for some time subsequenth", she passed through man}' deep baptisms ; of these she has left abundant notes. In the early part of the 3^ear 1824, she records a fervent pra3'er, a part of which is as follows : " Be pleased, O righteous Father! to look down with pit}' on a poor frail mortal of the dust, whose heart is ready to sink, and who is almost over-

12 Merriorial of

whelmed. Suffer me not to perish, but keep me, I beseech Thee, and suffer me to abide under the shadow of Thy wing. Cleanse me, purify me, try me, prove me, and spare not the rod, till all within me that is offensive in Thy sight, be purged away. Refine me, and baptize me again and again, if consistent with Thy holy will. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Teach me humility, yea keep me down in the valley, that I may not think much of myself Lead me wheresoever Thou desirest me to go, and make me willing to bow in full submission to Thy holy presence."

She was then in the twentj^-third year of her age, and feeling deeph' exercised, she writes that she was not at liberty to unburden her mind to any human being, but adds : "I believe it best for me to be sober in all m^- movements, quiet and retired, that I may be more watchful over ni3-self " The time for her to be cheerful had not 3^et come, and those who tried to anticipate it, were strangers to her inward struggles.

She lived in the desire to do good, and as she grew older, became convinced that it was obedience to manifestations from the Most High that qualified for good works, — even the Grace of God that maketh known the Divine will to his children, and giveth ability' to perform it.

As she followed her convictions, she was earl}- led to exhort others with much tenderness, to a dependence on the same Divine Comforter, expressing the assurance that under its guidance every linman effort, however small, when made with a sincere desire to do good, is acceptable with the Father. B}- abiding in hnmility, and keeping a strict watch over herself, in conduct, conversation, and thoughts, she graduall}' experienced a growth in grace, and in her ministerial gift. In her twenty-ninth year, with the full unity of her meeting, her gift in the ministry was acknowledged and approved.

In the year 1845 she was appointed Clerk of the Yearly Meeting of Women Friends held in Philadelphia, and b}' successive appointments, filled that position until 1867. For this service she had unusual qualifications, — executive ability, great forbearance, and an inward criterion for determining the true sense of the meeting, — all combined with readiness and felicity of expression. While faithfully serving the meeting as Clerk, she was careful not to neglect her individual exercises. Sometimes she would find it necessary to lay down her pen, get into the quiet, and find what she had to do. After a short season of waiting, she would arise, deliver her message with clearness and power, and then proceed with the business of the meeting.

A concern opened by our Friend at the close of a First-dav morning meeting, was the origin of the First-day school at Moorestown, which was one of the first within the limits of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. She entered upon this important work with her usual earnestness, and was Superintendent of the school for man}- years. Here, as in her ministry, she did not feel called to sound the note of controversial doctrine, but her teach-

14 Mernorial of

iiig was according to the new commandment given by Jesus, — "That ye love one another." The testimonies embraced in our first and second Queries, were to her, vital realities, and her steadfast endeavor to maintain them has been of lasting benefit.

Her heart ever went out in sympathy to those in distress, affliction, or bereavement, and amid her many engrossing cares and labors she was never too busy, or too weary, to listen to their troubles, to give words of advice, encouragement or consolation, and to the extent of her abilit}^, share their burden.

In her middle and later life, she was a bright example of the happiness to be experienced from a full surrender, and an early dedication of heart. In the social circle she was a general favorite, her animated and interesting conversation being instructive and enlivening, both to the young and the old.

About eight years before her death, she and her two daughters removed to Camden, New Jersey, where, so long as her health permitted, she continued to attend meetings.

Her life as to the outward was a checkered one, and many were her trials and bereavements. Her aged mother, who died in 1847, was the object of her tender care, and her faithful ministrations to promote the comfort of this revered parent, are worthy of record, as well as imitation. The loss of her husband, in 1858, was keenly felt. As partners in life they had been congenial and closely united, and as an elder he had sympathized and traveled with her in her religious exercises. Of five [six] children, only one survived her.

But throughout all she was sustained by an unfaltering trust. One of her pupils gives expression to the feelings of many, when she says : " I have marvelled at her cheerfulness, her courage, her patience, and her unwavering faith in the goodness and protecting care of her Heavenl}' Father."

During her last illness, which she bore with great fortitude, she said to her friends that her sufferings were doubtless permitted for a wise, though unseen ptirpose, and was comforted with the firm belief that she would be accepted. That '' more sure word of prophecy" to which she early gave heed, and which had been followed by the dawning of the da}^ and the arising of the day-star in her heart, had been her faith through life ; and when her sun was about to go down in brightness, she desired that the young might have their attention called to this same more sure Word.

With full faith in the promise of a happy eternity, she made a peaceful close on the i8th of the Fourth Month, 1888, and on the 21st of the same her remains were interred in Friends' burial ground at Moorestown.

She was aged nearly eighty-seven years, sixty of which she had been a. faithful and acceptable minister of the Gospel,

16 Merriorial of

Read and approved in Chester Monthly Meeting of Friends, held at Moorestown, N. J., Third Month 7th, 1889, and directed to be forwarded to the Quarterly Meeting.

John M. Lippincott, \ ^i^^.j^^^ Rachel A. Coluns, i

Read and approved in Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting of Friends, held at Moorestown, N. J., Third Month 7th, 1889, and directed to be forwarded to the Representative Committee or Meeting for Sufferings.

Clayton Conrow, \ ^^^^^^^ Elizabeth L. Jessup, j

LIKK AND LKTTERS

OF

MARY S. LIPPINCOTT.

Chapter I. A Brief Account Of Her Life

Mary S. Hallowell was the daughter of Anthony and Jane Hallowell, and was born in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on the 23rd of Sixth Month, 1801. Her parents being members of the religious Society of Friends, she had a birthright therein, and her name was so recorded on the books of Abington Monthly Meeting.

Her grandparents were William and Mary [Williams] Hallowell, and Benjamin and Mary [Comly] Shoemaker. She was the fifth and youngest child, and only daughter of the family. Her name combines those of her two grandmothers, Mar^^ Shoemaker Hallowell.

Her brothers were James S., Benjamin (who died in infancy,) Joseph, and Benjamin.

The place of her birth was the homestead of her grandfather Shoemaker ; and the house which stood until quite recently, was near the corner of York Road and Cheltenham Avenue. The latter is sometimes called Clielten Avenue, and was formerly known as " Graveyard Lane.'' It took its early name from a small enclosure, which was commonly called " The Shoemaker Burying Ground," though more properly designated as Cheltenham Friends' Burial Ground. It is situated on Cheltenham Avenue, a short distance above where Benjamin Shoemaker's buildings stood, and on the opposite side of the road. It has recently been ascertained that forty-five persons named Shoemaker, besides the many descendants of the family having other names, have been interred in this ground.

The place is in close proximity to the village of Ogontz, which was, until quite recently, called Shoemakertown, as most of the prominent residents, and nearly all the property owners, were named Shoemaker.

So far as we can learn, they were (nearly, if not quite all) members of the Society of Friends, and were persons of good repute; being honest, industrious, thrifty, benevolent, and some of them — for that time — quite well educated.

Their ancestor, George Shoemaker, came with his family from Kreisheim, near Heidelburg, in the Palatinate, to England. From London they embarked for Pennsylvania, in the ship Jefferies^ Thomas Arnold, master. On the passage the small-pox broke out, and many of the passengers died, among the number being George vShoemaker. His family, consisting of a wife and seven children, were thus left to establish themselves, and found a home in the New World. They landed at

Chester, Pennsylvania, in the early part of the year 1686, and came up to Germantown, now a part of the cit}^ of Philadelphia.

The eldest son, George Shoemaker, Jr., was about twenty-three 3'ears old, and being a steady, capable 3^oung man, as well as a dutiful son, he assisted his mother in the care of the younger children.

About eight years after their arrival in America, George married Sarah Wall, the granddaughter and only descendant of Richard Wall, an English Friend who had settled in Cheltenham.

It would appear from the records that Richard took much interest in the maintenance of Cheltenham Friends' Meeting [which afterwards became Abington Meeting], and in his will he bequeathed to said meeting the burial ground already referred to.

It was in the early part of the year 1801 that Jane Hallowell and her two sons, James and Benjamin, came to live with her father. The other son, Joseph, went to live with an uncle named Brumlield, at Columbia, Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Shoemaker was about seventy-four years of age, and had been a widower nine years, when his daughter and her boys came to live with him, and to add so much to the comfort and enjoyment of his home. After the birth of Mary he had an added source of joy to cheer him in his declining years.

As Benjamin was a farmer, and had the work of planting and gathering the crops carried on by hired laborers, his daughter was much occupied with household duties, such as providing for the men, attending to the dairy, spinning, &c. From the memoranda that we have of the domestic arrangements, it would appear that Benjamin passed much of his time in his arm-chair, with his little granddaughter near him. Which was the entertainer, and which the entertained, we need not inquire, for we may suppose that the care was reciprocal and the enjoyment mutual. He taught her to knit, to spin, and most probabl}- to read, as there is no mention made of her having attended any school until after his death ; but we are informed that she had read aloud to him the whole of the Bible, and of George Fox's Journal. While these two books had been read in their entiret3^ portions of others had also received attention ; but there is no account of an3^thing light or frivolous — onl}' the Holy Scriptures and the writings of Friends being chosen.

But the time was approaching when this close companionship must cease ; when the aifectionate grandparent and his devoted little attendant must be separated, he going to his long home, and she mourning on her wa}' for the loss of one whom she had revered, trusted and loved.

Benjamin Shoemaker died on the i6th of Third Month, 1811, aged eighty-four years. His death lacked but one day of being eighteen years after that of his wife. Of their fourteen children twelve had lived to adult age, but only three survived their father. These three were Nathan, Comly, and Jane.

On the day following his death, the remains of Benjamin Shoemaker were interred in the Cheltenham Friends' Burial Groimd, near which he had lived and died.

Of the Hallowell, Williams, and Comly ancestors, we are not so full}' informed, but it appears that they, also, were Friends, and that Mar}- Williams (grandmother of M. S. L.) was a descendant of George Shoemaker, Jr., though not of his first wife Sarah, but of his second, who was named Katharine.

About two 3'ears before the decease of her father, Jane Hallowell had passed through a sore affliction in the death of her son Joseph. Though only about twelve years of age, he assisted in the store of his uncle, witli whom he lived. One evening, while he was weighing some gunpOM^der for a customer, two boys who were in the store were pla3'ing, and when one threw something at the other, a spark, either from a candle or from a cigar, fell into the powder and caused a terrific explosion, after which Joseph was found in the cellar, the floor under him having given away, ^\'hen found he was unconscious , but soon after became sensible, and told the family how the accident had occurred. He lived until next morning in great agony, but fully aware of his situation, and made some remarks suitable for one of his age, and his innocent life. His motlier was expecting him home on his first visit, and when the sad tidings of his death came, her inward grief was no doubt very great. Her son Benjamin, in his "Autobiography," says, '' All the reference mother ever made to it afterwards, was to say, ' Poor Joseph,' and weep."

Soon after the death of Benjamin Shoemaker, his estate was settled b^- selling the homestead, and thus the famil}' had to be broken up. It now consisted of Jane Hallowell and her two children, Benjamin and Mary ; the eldest son, James, having previously gone into the store and the family of his uncle William Hallowell, in Philadelphia. Jane and her daughter went to her uncle, Samuel Shoemaker's, near Hatboro, Montgomerv Count}-, Penna. Both mother and daiighter found it to be a pleasant home, and as it was near the Lollar Acadeni}', Mar}- was entered as a pupil in that institution. It was under Presbyterian management, and was in high repute for being a good school.

Benjamin M'ent to live with his uncle, Comly Shoemaker and wife, on their farm, called Pleasant Valley, adjacent to the old homestead.

Subseqiiently, Jane Hallowell and her daughter went to live with their relative George A\^illiams, whose home being near Abington Aleeting House, was probabh' a resort for traveling Friends. While there, most likely, Mar}' was a pupil in the Abington Friends' School.

In 1819, after she had entered her nineteenth year, she went to Westtown Boarding School, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and continued there as a pupil about one year.

In Ninth Month, 1820, came another famil}^ affliction. Her brother James died, after a brief bnt very distressing illness, leaving a widow and one child. In a few days after the fnneral. Mar}' went with her onl}^ surviving brother, Benjamin, to Friends' Boarding School at Fair Hill, near Sandy Spring, Mar\dand ; Benjamin resuming his duties as teacher in that Institution, and Mary entering it as a pupil.

In the early part of the year 1823 we find her teaching a family school in Cheltenham, near the place of her birth. While thus occupied, she was visited by members of the Westtown Committee, and invited to take the position made vacant by the absence of Sybella Kmbree, who had gone to Europe in consequence of her failing health. Ann Mifflin, who was temporarily taking the place of Sybella, was desirous of being relieved of her duties at the earliest date practicable ; and as she was one of the Yearly Meeting's Committee having charge of the School, she and another member of the Committee went to Cheltenham, and made the proposition to Mary. It was favorably received. The appointment was accepted, and in less than a week from that time Mary was regularly installed, and was performing the duties of her new position. She began on the 8th of Second Month, 1823.

It was during her sojourn at Westtown that she became acquainted with John Mott, who subsequently established a boarding school for girls, at Rensselaerville,

New York, and secured the services of Mary S. Hallowell as teacher.

In less than a yesLV from the date of her entering upon her duties as teacher at Westtown, we find the first record in her Diary, from which it will appear that she was laboring under deep religious exercise. The baptisms through which she passed to prepare her for the work of the ministr}^, were mortifying to the flesh, as well as purifying to the spirit ; and during all this trjdng period she was obliged to respond to the daily call of routine duties in the school, and to associate with the members of that large family during the intervals intended for social mingling. Then, as now, there were those who failed to comprehend why a young person should be so serious as to appear gloomy ; so the}- urged her to be cheerful. No doubt their motive was good, but the advice alone was evidence that the}^ were strangers to the experience through which she was passing. But with all the care that she found necessary to exercise in the social circle (for she was naturall}^ of a lively disposition, and prone to freedom of speech), her surroundings, taking all the conditions into account, were probably about the most favorable that she could have had for her advancement in spiritual things, and as a preparation for her life-work in the training of young women.

The meetings for worship were often favored seasons, being attended by solid Friends who were members of the Committee, and also by Gospel messengers from different parts of this country and from Great Britain, who were traveling on religious visits. In the general arrangement of the school and of the household, there was maintained a conservative strictness that taught the young people by example, as well as by precept, the importance of a steadfast adherence to the practices of Friends. This teaching was not lost on the pupils, but was conducive to the formation of such habits in thought and discipline as to regulate their conduct while in the institution, and to clothe them with a protective armor after leaving its fostering care.