Reference
FR5/12/1/1
Title
Transcript of Letter to William Cole, John Miles, Hugh Albright, Thomas Tandy, Henry Roberts, William Ware, James Finemore and Hugh Clifton at the Monethly meeting at Shirington Friends
Date free text
c1705
Production date
From: 1700 To: 1710
Scope and Content
I haveing endeavored to come to a faire hearing for the Reconcileing the Mater in controversie between Us, both by my coming and alsoe my writeing to you, and as I am told my endeavors yet prove to little effect it is therefore in my heart to set before you with what brevity I can the inocency of my case and the uncharitablness of your dealing and falsnes of your record against me that thereby ye may in coolness and seriousness of mind consider what you have done.
I being dissatisfied some years since with Zachariah's too great confidence in his Imaginations and his fathering them upon god and his Spirit, and likewise in other miscariages; and knowing him to be of a natural temper not to be easily Intreated, In love to what we profess and likewise to himselfe I esteemed that I was obliged to Shew him his danger, and I writt privately to him that therby he might have time to peruse and consider what he had done, and for time to come take heed to himselfe. But I noteed of that he made use of my writeing to Strengthen himselfe against my advise, and finding it so, and him to goe on his in his dangerous confidence to the great dissatisfaction of divers Moore as well as my Selfe, I made my apeale to your meeting in a generall way nameing nobody but hopeing that you might understand me and endeavor to use some meanes by your advise to him to put a stopp to his proseedings without any further contending, but some of you seeming to be Ignorant of my meaning (though others of you knew it well) desired my explanation which I plainly and freely gave with submission to your meeting that if I erred you would deale by me or with me as a brother etc.
Now pray consider how brother like or like men professing what ye doe you have dealt by me. Before ever you Speake to me or shew me my error, you record me in your booke in generall termes without distinction for a Lyer, and when at the request of your messengers to me I cam to your meeting I was entertained with discourses about gospell order eldership singuler and plurall numbers and the like frivolous reasons with noyses and abuses that seemed to be made on purpose to avoyd my opening the merritt of the case depending which was to prove the truth of what I had writt which if I could not doe then was your time to record me as you have done - - -
But you have entered your Record the 19th day of the Second Moneth 1705 which was about five moneths before you let me know of it, and in it you say it was then agreed by your meeting which is false, for your meeting did not agree knowing some part of what I had writt was true and therefore would not set their hands to it, and some that did Set their hands have since blotted them out saying they were overperswaded by one that belonges not to your meeting contrary to their knowledge, they knowing something of what I writt to be true.
Now it being so is not your next words false, that say the charges charged (marke all the charges) by Joshua Wheeler should be returned as not true, as to Zacharia Thornton to be the man when it is manifest that Severall belonging to your Meeting then present with you knew him to be the man guilty of some of the charges I have charged him with.
And therefore my desire to come to a faire tryall with you is for no other end but that if I have otherwise erred in what I have writt it may be shewed to me by three that belongs to your meeting two chosen by your selves and one by me with a fourth that is a friend and your neighbour.
Level of description
item