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From:
Subject: [Q-R] Thomas Story -Assoc. of William Penn
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 22:55:07 EDT


This is in reply to the mailing of 06/10/2002 from
----- Does anyone have history/family of Thomas Story, Council of State
Province of Pennsylvania appt. by Wm. Penn and m Shippen, daughter of Edward
Shippen?

Writing from rural Iowa, far from the larger Quaker libraries, I seem to
have only one source reference available concerning Thomas Story. He wrote a
lengthy "Journal", which was reprinted in somewhate abbreviated form in "The
Friends Library", Vol. X, "The Friends Library" is a multi-volume work,
printed in Philadelphia by Joseph Rakestraw in the 1840's, comprising
journals, doctrinal treatises, and other writings of members of the Religious
Society of Friends.

This Journal was written in a form common among early Friends writers, in
which the personal family life of the writer is scarcely mentioned.

Thomas Story seems to have been born into a family in comfortable
circumstances, perhaps first living in an area not far from Carlisle in
northwest England. His date of birth is not mentioned, but he was a young
man when King Charles II was still on the throne. He became a convinced
Friend and traveled very widely in the ministry.

Thomas Story made an extended religious visit to America beginning in
late 1698. Early in 1700, as he was preparing to return to England, William
Penn persuaded him to stay in Pennsylvania and assume a number of
governmental responsibilities. He seems to have continued in the New World,
traveling extensively in the ministry, until he returned to England about
1714.

There is an editorial note inserted in the abridged text of the
"Journal", which reads as follows: [ On the tenth of fifth month, 1706,
Thomas Story was married to Ann Shippen, the daughter of Edward Shippen, of
whom he makes mention in his Journal; see page 108 of this volume. Their
union, however, was not of long duration; for on the 19th of sixth month,
1710, she departed this life.]

There seems to be no indication in the abridged Journal that Thomas Story
was married more than this one time, or that he had any children.

If anyone desires to explore in depth the life of Thomas Story, I would
suggest that they might plan to do research at the Quaker Collection at the
McGill Library of Haverford College, Haverford, PA. When I was employed at
that library a number of years ago, there was a large file of notebooks,
which may have had a name such as the "Friends Biographical Index", which
included biographical accounts of many prominent Friends, generally with a
number of source references included. Probably there is an account of the
life of Thomas Story.

---- Herbert Standing, 1806 Bear Creek Road, Earlham, Iowa 50072.

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