Early Quakers in Richmond

Richmond (Ind. City) County · dedicated 2008 · S. 20th and Main Streets, southwest corner

Near this site a meetinghouse was built in 1797 to1798 by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Called Quakers, the earliest had arrived in Virginia from England in 1655. The building was the second house of worship in Richmond after St. John's Church. Richmond Quakers advocated religious freedom, worked to make the prison system more humane and, as pacifists, usually refused to bear arms. They also joined with the Virginia Society of Friends to pressure the General Assembly for passage of the Manumission Act of 1782. Because they opposed slavery, many Quakers migrated west early in the 19th century.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Old Stone House170 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.