Marriage Proposal in Verse (no date)

FROM THE ACCOUNT BOOK OF JOHN BOWNE, FOLIOS 10 (verso) & 11 (Photostat copy)

DOCUMENT ID: BHHS 2018.2.02-01

DATE: No date; 1678 or later

This curious entry in John Bowne’s Account Book appears to be a marriage proposal in verse form, signed by John Bowne. It is not dated, and the main body of the poem is written upside-down, creating a clear separation with the other entries on the page. The text refers to his former love “going to her rest,” so it must post-date the death of his first wife Hannah Feake Bowne in the winter of 1677/78.

This is a mysterious document in many ways. It is not clear which of Bowne’s wives was the intended recipient—or alternatively, if it was intended for another woman whom he courted but did not end up marrying. Indeed, it is not clear that the proposal was ever delivered to its unnamed recipient. Likewise, the identity of “Dear P,” their deceased mutual friend whom Bowne credits with playing matchmaker for his first marriage, is unknown. (Bowne’s friend Phineas Pemberton, who might seem a likely candidate, outlived him.) Nor do we know why Bowne chose to memorialize this poem in his account book, rather than his diary. The very fact of a strict Quaker—a member of a sect so austere that they even frowned on whistling and humming—indulging in a pastime as “frivolous” as versifying is remarkable. This is the only known instance of Bowne writing or reading poetry, although he did copy some isolated verses from Scripture into the same account book. This seemingly out-of-character form of expression adds an intriguing human dimension to the character of John Bowne.

Children of John and Hannah (Bickerstaff) Bowne

The following information is taken from Edith King Bowne’s genealogy “Bowne Family of Flushing, L.I.”, aka “The Green Book.”

John Bowne and his second wife, Hannah Bickerstaff, had six children, four of whom died in infancy. Their surviving son, John Bowne Jr., moved to Westchester County with his family in later life.

  1. Sarah Bowne: b. 14 December 1680 - d. 18 May 1861 (aged 6 mos.)

  2. Sarah Bowne: b. 17 February 1681/2 - d. 11 May 1699 (aged 17 yrs.)

  3. John Bowne: b. 10 September 1683 - d. 25 October 1683 (aged 6 wks.)

  4. Thomas Bowne: b. 26 November 1684 - d. 17 December 1684 (aged 3 wks.)

  5. John Bowne, Jr.: b. 9 September, 1686; married Elizabeth Lawrence.

  6. Abigail Bowne: b. 5 July, 1688 - d. 13 July, 1688 (aged 1 wk.)

Citation: Bowne, Edith King, Bowne Family of Flushing, Long Island (New York: Bowne & Co., 1987) 3-4. This book is a reprint of the genealogy originally published in 1948.

Children of John and Hannah (Feake) Bowne

The following information is taken from Edith King Bowne’s genealogy “Bowne Family of Flushing, L.I.”, aka “The Green Book.”

John Bowne and his first wife, Hannah Feake, had eight children, seven of whom survived until adulthood. Their son Samuel Bowne inherited the Bowne House and passed it down to his own heirs. The children of the marriage were as follows:

  1. John Bowne, Jr. : b. 13 March, 1656/7 - d. 30 August 1673 (aged 16 yrs.)

  2. Elizabeth “Betsy” Bowne: b. 8 October, 1658; married 1st. John Prior, 2nd. Samuel Titus

  3. Mary “Marie” Bowne: b. 6 January, 1660; married Joseph Thorne

  4. Abigail Bowne: b. 5 February, 1662/3; married Richard Willetts

  5. Hannah Bowne: b. 10 April, 1665; married Benjamin Field

  6. Samuel Bowne: b. 21 September, 1667; married 1st. Mary Becket, 2nd. Hannah Smith; 3rd. Grace Cowperthwaite

  7. Dorothy Bowne: b. 29 March, 1669/70; married Henry Franklin. No issue.

  8. Martha Joanna: b. 17 August, 1673; married Joseph Thorne

    According to John Bowne’s Journal, the couple also suffered two stillbirths, one before the birth of their last child Martha Joanna and one while Hannah was abroad in Dublin on her final preaching tour (late 1676.)

Citation: Bowne, Edith King, Bowne Family of Flushing, Long Island (New York: Bowne & Co., 1987) 3-4. This book is a reprint of the genealogy originally published in 1948.

Blunston Letter, 1686

TITLE: Letter from John & Sarah Blunston in Darby, PA. to Hannah (Bickerstaff) Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-12

DATE: 10 December, 1686 (Old Style) / 20 December, 1686 (New Style)

The Blunstons send greetings to their sister and brother-in-law John and Hannah Bickerstaff Bowne and other New York Quakers, following a religious visit to the Friends Meeting on Long Island. Unlike the previous letter, which touched on family matters and business dealings, this one speaks exclusively of shared religious sentiments and the lingering sense of communion and fellowship that the Blunstons feel in the aftermath of their stay. At the time of writing, John Blunston was still a member of the Colonial Assembly and also a Justice of the Peace for Chester County.

Blunston Letter, 1683/4

TITLE: Letter from John & Sarah Blunston in Darby, PA. to John & Hannah (Bickerstaff) Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-11

DATE: 12 January 1683/4 (Old Style) / 22 January 1684 (New Style)

NOTES AND DESCRIPTION

John and Sarah (Bickerstaff) Blunston write to their “dear brother and sister” from Darby, PA., which they had settled with six other Quaker couples in the fall of 1682. At the date of writing, Blunston was already serving in the Colonial Assembly. The letter begins with condolences for the loss of a child; the Bownes’ infant son John had died three months earlier. It also refers to 500 acres laid out for Bowne in Pennsylvania, and business deals involving livestock Bowne that has promised to procure for Pennsylvania residents. Sarah reminds Hannah Bickerstaff Bowne to send her linseed, potatoes, and squash seed when she can.

Testimony for Hannah (Feake) Bowne, 1677/8

TITLE: Testimony of John Bowne for Hannah Bowne following her burial

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-09

DATE: 2 February 1677/8 (Old Style) / 12 February 1678 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

The Testimony, or eulogy, of John Bowne at Hannah Bowne’s memorial service, as recorded by the Quaker Meeting at the Sign of the Peel in St. John’s Street, Clerkenwell, London. Hannah died here at age forty, following an epic preaching tour that took her far from home and family to preach in the British Isles and through the Low Countries as far as Emben in present-day German, both in English and the Dutch learned in her childhood. Most of what we know about Hannah’s life and her remarkable relationship with John Bowne comes from this deeply moving account.

Evernden Letter, no date

TITLE: Letter from Thomas Evernden to John and Hannah Bowne, others

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-09

DATE: No date; before 1678

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

Prominent Maryland Quaker Thomas Evernden sends an Epistle, or religious letter, for the Bownes to share with a select group of fellow Quakers. This document shows the enduring ties between the Society of Friends in Flushing and those in the colony of Maryland, ties no doubt cemented by Hannah’s 1674/5 religious visit there. Evernden’s mention here of the preaching of Lydia Wright, one of three charismatic Wright sisters, also illustrates the influence of female preachers and missionaries in the Society of Friends. The date is not visible, but must fall before Hannah’s death in February 1678 (New Style), and likely precedes her 1676 departure on her final mission abroad.

Brocksopp Letter #2, 1677

TITLE: Letter from Joan Brocksopp to Ann Easton,c/o John & Hannah Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-08B

DATE: 23 August 1677 (Old Style) / 2 September 1677 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

This letter to Ann Easton of Rhode Island, a friend of Brocksopp’s youth, was bundled along with the previous one to “ye Rulers of Boston.” The two may have met during Brocksopp’s mission to America, when she and her traveling companion Elizabeth Hooten attended tthe first General Meeting of Friends in Rhode Island in 1661. The Bownes were entrusted with the task of traveling back to New England with these missives and seeing that they found their intended recipients. The fact that both remain among the Bowne Family Papers indicates that they never made it. Likely John was preoccupied in the aftermath of Hannah’s death in England and forgot to deliver them upon his return.

Brocksopp Letter #1, 1677

TITLE: Letter from Joan Brocksopp to “ye Rulers of Boston,” c/o John & Hannah Bowne

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-08A

DATE: 23 August 1677 (Old Style) / 2 September (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

This address to “ye Rulers of Boston” was accompanied by greetings to John and Hannah Bowne, whom Brocksopp was entrusting with the task of delivering it upon their return to the Colonies. Brocksopp and her “yoke-mate,” or fellow missionary, Elizabeth Hooten had been jailed in Boston and driven into the New England wilderness as punishment for their unorthodox preaching during their 1661 visit there; hence her exhortations to the authorities to repent and be saved. As this letter is still in the Bowne Family Papers, it seems that it was never delivered. However, Brocksopp’s fearless audacity indicates the type of role model she set for Hannah.

To Hannah (Feake) Bowne, 1676

TITLE: Letter from John Bowne to Hannah Bowne in London

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-06B

DATE: 23 July 1676 (Old Style) / 2 August 1676 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

John Bowne writes to Hannah during her second religious visit and preaching tour abroad, expressing his desire to join her overseas and assuring her as to the preparations that he is making at home for the care of their farm and family. (John would join her towards the end of that year and accompany her on her final travels.) This letter accompanied that of their daughter, Elizabeth Bowne (BFP 2018.1.03-06A) and was sent care of John Elson, who ran a Quaker Meeting in London with his wife Mary (see separate address label, BFP 2018.1.03.06C).

To Hannah (Feake) Bowne, 1675

TITLE: Letter of John Bowne in Oyster Bay to Hannah Bowne in London

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-04

DATE: 18 May 1675 (Old Style) / 28 May 1675 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

This letter from John Bowne to his wife reports to her from the annual meeting of Long Island Quakers held in Oyster Bay. He writes of discovering second-hand Hannah’s departure from Maryland for England: “…the news of thy being gone, for which the Lord had fitted me, as thou hast known in like cases formerly.” This indicates both that Hannah’s religious vocation had led her to make unplanned journeys in the past, and that John had accepted these activities on the part of his spouse. He also reports on the drowning death of Quaker missionary Hannah Wright and a confrontation with a splinter sect called the Ranters.

To Hannah (Feake) Bowne, 1674/5

TITLE: Letter from John Bowne to Hannah Bowne in Maryland

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-03

DATE: 18 March 1674/5 (Old Style) / 28 March 1675 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

This brief letter references a religious visit that Hannah made to Quakers in the colony of Maryland in the winter and spring of 1674/75- the earliest evidence that we have so far of her religious travels prior to her first overseas voyage. Such travels show how itinerant Quaker women and men were and demonstrate the strength of their social networks throughout the Colonies at a time when travel was difficult and dangerous.

To Hannah (Feake) Bowne, 1663

TITLE: Letter from John Bowne to Hannah Bowne, from Exile in Amsterdam

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-02

DATE: 9 June 1663 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

In this letter sent from Amsterdam during Bowne’s period of exile, he gives his wife Hannah a first-hand account of his appeal to the Dutch West India Company and his anger at what he perceives as their double-dealing and shabby treatment of him following his apparently successful appeal. It contains references to James Clement, the indentured servant whom he has dispatched to help her in Flushing, along with a variety of cargo (including possibly contraband Quaker writings) that he is shipping to Long Island. This letter offers insights into everyday tools and household items needed on a Colonial farm, alongside the Bownes’ struggle for religious liberty.

To Hannah (Feake) Bowne, 1662

TITLE: Letter, John Bowne to Hanaah Bowne, from Jail in New Amsterdam

DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-01

DATE: 5 November 1662 (Old Style) / 15 November 1662 (New Style)

DESCRIPTION & NOTES

John Bowne wrote this letter to his wife Hannah while jailed in New Amsterdam for the offense of holding forbidden Quaker Meetings in the colony of New Netherland. In it, he offers her advice on running the farm and providing for their family in his absence, along with recommendations as to which neighbor to ask for help with various tasks during the crucial harvest season. We get insight into the tremendous weight of labor and responsibility that fell upon Hannah during Bowne’s ordeal, but also the strength of familial and community ties in the Colonial-era farming settlement.