The Bowne House in Flushing, N.Y. was built in 1661 by John Bowne, an English settler in what was then the Dutch colony of New Netherland. Today the Bowne House is the oldest house in the Borough of Queens, and the second-oldest house in all New York. However, its chief significance lies not in its age and original architecture, but in its builder’s courageous stand for religious liberty in the face of persecution.
Starting in Fall 2020, Bowne House will be “live-blogging” John Bowne’s ordeal on behalf of religious freedom in real time, as recorded in his journal and correspondence from September 1662 to April 1664. Bowne House archivist Charlotte Jackson and our research team will flesh out his story with other 17th century voices, ranging from the edicts of New Netherland’s Director Peter Stuyvesant to the correspondence of Quaker leader George Fox. We invite our community to follow the saga of Bowne’s arrest, trial, imprisonment, exile, appeal, and homecoming- in his own words.
“In the year 1662 … on the first day of [ye] seventh month, Resolved the scout came to my house at Vlissing with a company of men with swords and guns (where I was tending my wife being sick in bed and my youngest child sick in my arms…)”
JOHN BOWNE’S JOURNAL, 1 SEPTEMBER 1662
The Story of John Bowne’s Trial
John and his wife Hannah belonged to the Religious Society of Friends, popularly known as “Quakers.” In 1662, the couple were hosting Quaker Meetings in the newly constructed Bowne House. However, only the Dutch Reformed Church was legally permitted to hold public worship services in New Netherland. The Quaker faith had been outright banned by Peter Stuyvesant, Director-General of New Netherland- this despite a guarantee of “liberty of conscience” in the Flushing Town Charter. Eventually the magistrates from neighboring Rustdorp informed on Bowne, and he was arrested and put on trial in New Amsterdam. Bowne refused to recant, pay a fine, or agree to discontinue meetings, instead choosing to endure several months of imprisonment, at times on a bread and water diet. In January 1663 he was exiled aboard ship to Europe. Undaunted, he made his way to Amsterdam to appeal his case before the Board of the Dutch West India Company. He carried with him a copy of the Flushing Charter, with its promise of “liberty of conscience.” Although the Directors never gave him the full public endorsement of free worship that he sought, they did rebuke Stuyvesant in writing and order him to cease persecution of the Quakers. Bowne’s challenge to Stuyvesant thus led to an early affirmation of the principle of tolerance in the New World. Bowne was able to return to his family via an arduous eight-month ocean voyage that detoured through the West Indies. Upon his return, he hosted the Flushing Quaker Meeting for the next thirty years. Nine generations of his descendants lived in the Bowne House, preserving their ancestor’s legacy and his commitment to “liberty of conscience.” You can learn more about the House and family on our Bowne House History page.
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