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“Our Antient Friends . . . Are Much Reduced”: Mary And James Wright, The Hopewell Friends Meeting, And Quaker Women In The Southern Backcountry, C. 1720–C. 1790, Thomas Daniel Knight

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although the existence of Quakers in Virginia is well known, the best recent surveys of Virginia history devote only passing attention to them, mostly in the context of expanding religious freedoms during the revolutionary era. Few discuss the Quakers themselves or the nature of Quaker settlements although notably, Warren Hofstra, Larry Gragg, and others have studied aspects of the Backcountry Quaker experience. Recent Quaker historiography has reinterpreted the origins of the Quaker faith and the role of key individuals in the movement, including the roles of Quaker women. Numerous studies address Quaker women collectively. Few, however, examine individual families or …