BIO: Elizabeth Gurney Fry, Quaker helper of prisoners (12 Oct 1845)

ELIZABETH GURNEY FRY, QUAKER HELPER OF PRISONERS (12 OCT 1845)

A list of related biographies follows:
  MARY DYER, QUAKER MARTYR (1 JUN 1660)
  ROBERT BARCLAY, QUAKER THEOLOGIAN (3 OCT 1690)
  GEORGE FOX, FOUNDER OF THE QUAKERS (13 JAN 1691)
  WILLIAM PENN, QUAKER STATESMAN (30 JUL 1718)
  JOHN WOOLMAN, QUAKER VOICE OF CONSCIENCE (7 OCT 1772)
  JOSEPH JOHN GURNEY, EVANGELICAL QUAKER (4 JAN 1847)
  STEPHEN GRELLET, QUAKER ARISTOCRAT (16 NOV 1855)
  RUFUS JONES, QUAKER MYSTIC AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST (16 JUN 1948)
  KENNETH BOULDING, QUAKER ECONOMIST FOR PEACE (19 MAY 1993)
  (Many of the biographies have appended sections on aspects of the
  Quaker mvement.)

Elizabeth Fry was a Quaker born more than a century after the
founding of Quakerism by George Fox, and some of the initial energy
of the movement had ebbed. A bit of background is in order.

$$$ QUAKER TABOOS

     On the basis of Matthew 23:8-12, the Quakers held that all are
equal in the sight of God, that a Christian ought to call no one
master except Christ, and that signs of deference to any fellow
sinner are inappropriate.
     Thus, they they refused to practice what they called "hat
honor". They took off their hats to pray, but kept them on when
addressing employers, judges, noblemen, or the King himself. (Note
that in those days a man normally wore his hat indoors and out, so
that the difference between Quaker usage and common usage was
noticeable indoors and not just on the street.)

     Similarly, they used what they called "the plain speech."
     Older English usage (what we may call Stage 1 English) is
"thou, thee, thy, thine, thyself" for the second person singular,
and "ye, you, your, yours, yourselves" for the second person plural.
This usage is found consistently in the King James Bible, and has
the advantage of enabling the translators to distinguish numbers in
the translation where they are distinguished in the original Greek
or Hebrew.  Thus, for example, in Luke 22:31-32, we read:
 + And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to
 + have you [plural, meaning the disciples], that he may sift you
 + as wheat: But I have prayed for thee [singular, meaning
 + Simon].
 Ideally, a translation should be ambiguous where and only where the
original is, and the use of Stage One English helps the King James
Bible to pass this test.
     What we may call Stage 2 English (found, for example, in
Shakespeare) has "you" in the plural throughout, but in the singular
uses "thou" to someone whom the speaker would ordinarily call by his
first name, and "you" for everyone else. Thus, "thou" is informal or
intimate, "you" is formal or deferential. ("Thou" is retained for
God, perhaps because religious language tends to change slowly.)
Quakers used "thou" to everyone, except when addressing a group.
     Now that we have Stage 3 English, in which the "you" form has
completely taken over, and most persons never say "thou" to anyone,
the plain speech has lost its original rationale, and most Quakers
have abandoned it.
     [NOTE: Many Quakers, instead of the standard forms "thou art,
thou wast, thou hearest," etc., use forms like "thee is, thee was,
thee hears," etc. I once assumed that the speakers were trying to
imitate King James usage and getting it wrong through lack of an ear
for syntax. But then I met a Yorkshireman and discovered by
listening to him (what I might have learned from reading Eric
Knight's THE FLYING YORKSHIREMAN and LASSIE COME HOME) that the
"thee is" forms are standard Yorkshire dialect to this day.  And,
since Yorkshire was an early stronghold of Quakerism, this explains
the usage perfectly satisfactorily.]

     The early Quakers had no objection to alcohol or tobacco. Fox
smoked a pipe. Eventually, however, most Quakers came to perceive
their use as undesirable. For example, In 1757 the American Quaker
Joshua Evan wrote:
   I received a plain, gentle intimation, as in a silent language
   inwardly spoken on this wise: "Use no more rum; it is a great
   evil in the country; and thou shalt have peace in declining
   it." This seemed to try me closely.... I had heard of some who
   were said to have died instantly when they had drunk cold
   water, for want of rum in it.

     Quakers did not use words like "Thursday," or "March," because
"Thor" and "Mars" were the names of heathen gods. Instead, they said
"Fourth Day" for Wednesday, and "First Month" for the first month of
the year (which in England was March until 1752, when England
adopted the Gregorian Calendar). Some Quaker astronomers used the
terms "First Planet," "Second Planet," etc. instead of "Mercury,"
"Venus," etc.

     In addition, Quakers in the latter 1600's came increasingly to
favor "plain" dress, which meant nothing ornamental--no collars on
coats (compare with this century's "Nehru jackets" and "Mao
jackets," which omitted collars for similar ideological reasons), no
lace, no bright colors, etc. The plain dress consisted of bonnets,
long dresses of dove gray, and a white scarf folded about the neck
for the women, collarless coats in a drab color and broadbrimmed
hats for the men. Everything that was not sombre was forbidden.
(Later, when Quakers were not unanimous in their dress code, they
were classified as "plain Quakers" or "gay Quakers.")
     Margaret Fox, widow of George Fox, and from 1652 to 1702 the
most influential Quaker woman, called this a "silly poor gospel."
She pointed out that Christ had told us that God will provide us
with clothing, just as He clothes the lilies of the field (i.e.
anemones), and that these flowers were brightly colored, more
spectacular than "Solomon in all his glory," not a dull gray. For
many years, however, her view of the matter did not prevail.
     A Quaker did not sing, owned no musical instrument, wore a
plain collarless coat of a somber gray, gave up all bright colors,
had no pictures in his house, and used "plain speech." Robert
Barclay, in the APOLOGY, conceded that the mind needed rest and
relaxation, and that innocent recreations were therefore allowable,
but he did not think music and dancing and painting and the like to
be innocent. His list of recommended relaxations was "for Friends to
visit one another; to hear or read history; to speak soberly of the
present or past transactions; to follow after gardening, to use
geometrical and mathematical experiments, and such other things of
this nature."

     One historian summarized the situation by saying: "In about
1700, the Quaker Explosion gave place to the Quaker Exhaustion--the
Quaker Riot to the Quaker Coma."
     The opening years of the movement, say up to the end of the
1600s, are often called the Quaker Explosion. The movement was
remarkable for its rapid growth, and for the joy and dedication of
its members.  This was noticeably less true in the 1700s and early
1800s. One factor in the decline was the death in 1691 of George
Fox, whose personal energy and dedication were contagious. Another
was the relaxation of persecution following the Toleration Act of
1689.  Another reason was that "convinced Quakers" (those who had
been converted as adults) began to be outnumbered by "birthright
Quakers" (those who were born to Quaker parents and brought up in
the movement). As a result, the initial fire gave way for a time to
a certain dullness. The use of "plain speech" and "plain dress,"
which had once been an expression of passionate recognition that God
loves and values all souls equally, and that all are brothers and
sisters in the Kingdom of Christ, became simply badges of group
identity, like gang colors or school or team jackets today. Meetings
began to disown (Quaker term for expel) members whose behavior did
not meet with the approval of the elders and overseers. (Those who
have seen the film FRIENDLY PERSUASION will remember that the
family, having purchased an organ, was very worried that the elders
would learn of this.) A Quaker would be disowned, not only for
owning or trafficking in slaves, but for owning or playing a musical
instrument, for being otherwise frivolous, and in particular for
marrying without parental consent, or marrying a non-Quaker. It is
estimated that in the late 1700s, one third of all Quakers who
married, married non-Quakers and were disowned for it.  Those who
left the movement by being disowned outnumbered those who joined by
being convinced, and the membership was dwindling. The Quakers of
this period have an honorable record of anti-slavery activity. But
aside from this, they tended to emphasize withdrawing from the
world.

     Fortunately for Quakerism, the "Coma" did not last. The turning
point in England <@ 52 N 1 W> came in 1859, with the publication by
J S Rowntree of an essay called QUAKERISM PAST AND PRESENT; BEING AN
INQUIRY IN THE CAUSES OF ITS DECLINE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
     The turning point in America came in 1860, at the Indiana <@40
N 80 W> Yearly Meeting, when the younger Friends held a meeting by
themselves, without the presence of sober elders. More than a
thousand attended, and many spoke or prayed for the first time in
their lives. In the resulting revivalist movement, music was not
only employed in practice, but defended in theory. The question was
asked: "Will a child be led to commit evil any more readily by
improper music than by improper conversation, and would not the
sensible plan be to endeavor to regulate both, not cut either
entirely off?"

$$$ QUAKERS AND WEALTH

     For many years, Oxford <51:46 N 1:15 W> and Cambridge <52:12 N
0:07 E> were closed to all but Anglicans. Nonconformists (i.e.
Protestants who refused to conform to the doctrine and worship of
the Church of England, also called Dissenters) directed their
ambitions elsewhere. They became merchants, or bankers, or
industrialists, or inventors, or scientists. Many of the nobility
and gentry considered Anglicanism the only respectable religion, and
income from inherited wealth, especially inherited land, the only
respectable kind of income. This gave Dissenters, and Quakers in
particular, a clear field.  They acquired a reputation for honest
dealing and well-made products, and so had plenty of customers. They
trusted one another, and so lent money readily to a fellow Quaker
who was planning t expand his business and needed capital.  Since
they did not spend their money on "frills and furbelows," they
tended to re-invest it, and so their fortunes accumulated. The
Barclay family became bankers. If you have ever travelled in
Britain, carrying traveller's checks that were made out in pounds
sterling, they were probably issued by Barclay's Bank. What is now
the VISA credit card was formerly BarclayCard in Britain. The only
British bank I can think of that is better known than Barclay's is
Lloyd's of London, and that was also founded by a Quaker family. It
is not surprising that the wealthy Nonconformist, and especially the
wealthy Quaker, became a British stereotype.
     Let us consider the Gurney family, of Earlham, in East Anglia.
Lovers of Gilbert and Sullivan will remember that in their TRIAL BY
JURY, the Judge, in telling the story of his career, and how he got
his career started by proposing marriage to the daughter of a rich
attorney, ends with the words,

       At length I became as rich as the Gurneys.
          An incubus then I thought her.
       So I threw over that rich attorney's
          elderly, ugly daughter.
       That rich attorney my character high
          tried vainly to disparage.
       And now, if you please, I'm ready to try
          this breach of promise of marriage.

   In short, the wealth of the Gurney family was proverbial.

$$$ ELIZABETH GURNEY FRY

John Gurney and his wife Catherine were married in 1775, and lived
at Earlham Hall, an estate near Norwich <52:38 N 1:18 E>. They had
seven daughters and five sons (including a son that died in
infancy). Catherine was the great-granddaughter of Robert Barclay
(author of the APOLOGY, and founder of the banking family). They
were Quakers, and John used the plain speech and the plain dress,
but was, in comparison with most of the other Quakers we have met in
this study, a relaxed rather than a fiery and dedicated adherent.
His home was a social center, with many parties, and the guests
included the Bishop of Norwich and the Prince of Wales. The children
found the local Quaker meeting unattractive, with the speeches
perfunctory and insipid.  They might easily have dropped their
Quakerism altogether, and become fashionable Anglicans. However,
some of them became committed Quakers, and two of them in
particular, Joseph John Gurney and Elizabeth Gurney Fry, became
heroes of the Quaker movement. What influenced them? First, they
were introduced to the writings of Quakers from an earlier, more
dedicated era, and learned from them about a Quakerism other than
the local variety. Again, their family extended its hospitality as a
matter of course to travelling Quaker ministers, and so they heard
the preaching of William Savery, a Philadelphia <40 N 75:10 W>
Quaker and, like John Woolman, a firm opponent of slavery. He
preached at Norwich in 1798, and the 17-year-old Elizabeth Gurney
was powerfully affected.  Her life was changed. Not everyone
approved. Her 15-year-old sister Richenda wrote in her journal,
about a month later:
   I have felt extremely uncomfortable about Betsy's Quakerism,
   which I saw, to my sorrow, increasing every day. She no longer
   joined in our pleasant dances, and singing she seemed to give
   up, she dressed as plain as she could, and spoke still more so.
   We all feel about it alike, and are truly sorry that one of us
   seven should separate herself in principles, actions, and
   appearance from the rest.
     Elizabeth's new commitment showed itself in ways other than
"plainness." She started a school for poor children of the
neighborhood, who would not otherwise have been able to afford
learning. She taught them herself, in rooms at Earlham, as many as
seventy in a class. In 1800, when she was twenty, she married Joseph
Fry. Thirteen years later, when she and her husband had eight
children and very little money (he was not a good businessman),
Elizabeth Fry began her prison ministry at Newgate Prison in London
<51:30 N 0:10 W>.  The immediate impetus for her work was a visit
from Stephen Grellet (see 16 Nov). She ministered to the prisoners
in person, and also inspected the prisons and wrote reports and
recommendations.  She argued for separate quarters for men and
women, for female supervision of female prisoners, for
classification of prisoners (distinguishing the violent from the
non-violent, the career criminals from first offenders, those
serving sentences from those awaiting trial), for provision of
religious and secular instruction, and for opportunities for useful
employment. Her work was a powerful influence for prison reform
throughout Europe and America. She was also influential in improving
the quality of hospitals and of the treatment of the insane. She
died 12 October 1845. A debunking biographer (J. Rose) complains
that, while running around helping prisoners and others, she left
her children in the care of relatives and nannies, and that they
resented this, so that only one of the eight remained a Quaker upon
reaching adulthood. Elizabeth's problem of balancing the competing
claims of family and others is one that has faced many who have
believed themselves called to a great work.  I am not prepared to
say that she was wrong.

$$$ FOR FURTHER READING

 @@@ FRY, ELIZABETH
     MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH FRY, with extracts from her
letters and journals, 1120pp $45 0-87585-187-8 Patterson Smith
     Emma R Pitman, ELIZABETH FRY (1969) $38.50 269pp 0-8371-1005-X
Greenwood
     Janet Whitney, ELIZABETH FRY, QUAKER HEROINE (1972) $27
0-405-90972-2 Ayer
     J. Rose, ELIZABETH FRY (London, 1980)