The Sawmill and the Meeting House: The Unbroken Faith of the Hallowells

 

From the 17th- and 18th-century primary records of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in Nottinghamshire, England, and the Abington/Darby Monthly Meetings in Pennsylvania, we can offer the following historical analysis of our Hallowell Quaker family.

1. The true “Immigrant" John Hallowell Jr.

• Primary Quaker Meeting records show that John Hallowell Sr. (b. April 1617) lived, spent his life, and died in Nottinghamshire, England.

• John Hallowell Jr. (1647–1706) (Gen 2), was actually the transatlantic immigrant ancestor. Carrying a certificate of removal from the Derby Monthly Meeting dated December 19, 1682, John Jr. brought his family to Pennsylvania on a ship arriving in early 1683. He initially settled near Darby, Delaware County, before purchasing 630 acres in Abington Township, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) County, establishing the permanent American seat of the Hallowells. 

2. Gen 2: Untangling John’s Wives

• Sarah Claye vs. Mary Holland: English Quaker marriage records show John Hallowell Jr. married Sarah Claye on April 17, 1672, at Skegby, Nottinghamshire. After Sarah passed away, John married Mary Holland (1651–1701) on December 27, 1675, at Mansfield. Mary was the mother of our 7th great-grandfather, Thomas Hallowell. 

3. Gen 3 & 4: The Abington Builders

• Thomas Hallowell (1679–1734): Born in Hucknall, England, Thomas immigrated as a child with his parents in 1683. He married Rosamond Till on January 12, 1702, at the Darby Monthly Meeting. They settled permanently at Abington, where they built a thriving agricultural and timber estate.
• William Hallowell Sr. (1707–1794): William was a joiner, master builder, and saw-mill operator in Abington/Cheltenham. His primary records establish his birth on August 1, 1707, and his death on August 23, 1794, at age 87. He married Margaret Tyson (1708–1752), tying our line directly to Rynear Tyson (Theunis), one of the original 13 German Quaker families who settled Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1683. 

4. Gen 5 & 6: The DNA Anchors and Civil War Service

• Joshua Hallowell (1751–1835) & Hannah Trump: Joshua lived through the American Revolution as a birthright Quaker in Abington. His marriage to Hannah Trump (d/o Michael Trump & Grace Nanney) connects our tree to Welsh Quaker lines (Nanney of Nannau).
• Joseph Hallowell (1785–1872) & his son Lt. Rifford Randolph Hallowell: Joseph moved between Chester and Philadelphia Counties. His son, our 3rd great-grandfather Lt. Rifford Randolph Hallowell (1816–1864), broke with traditional Quaker pacifism to serve in the Union Army during the American Civil War, sacrificing his life in 1864.

Lineal Profile & Primary Milestone Summary

Generation	Ancestral Couple	Primary Colonial Settlement	Notable Historical Milestone
Gen 1	John Hallowell Sr. & Elizabeth Marriott	Hucknall / Teversal, Nottinghamshire, UK	Early English Friends who endured religious fines under King Charles II.
Gen 2	John Hallowell Jr. & Mary Holland	Abington Township, Philadelphia Co., PA	1682/83 Immigrant Ancestor. Arrived with Quaker certificate; purchased 630 acres in Abington.
Gen 3	Thomas Hallowell & Rosamond Till	Abington, Montgomery Co., PA	Married at Darby MM (1702); prominent landholders and elders in Abington Friends Meeting.
Gen 4	William Hallowell & Margaret Tyson	Abington & Cheltenham, PA	Master joiner and sawmill builder; married into the founding Tyson (Germantown 1683) line.
Gen 5	Joshua Hallowell & Hannah Trump	Philadelphia / Abington, PA	DNA Match Line. Married into the Welsh Quaker Nanney/Trump lineage.
Gen 6	Joseph Hallowell & Martha Evans	Oxford Village, Philadelphia Co., PA	DNA Match Line. Father of Civil War officer Lt. Rifford R. Hallowell.

📜 The Sawmill and the Meeting House: The Unbroken Faith of the Hallowells

Celebrating America 250

When you trace Quaker genealogy, you aren't just looking at dates in a family Bible—you are looking at the quiet, unyielding blueprint of early Pennsylvania. While other pioneers carved out their wilderness claims with muskets and militia commissions, our Hallowell ancestors built theirs with broadaxes, land deeds, sawmills, and an absolute commitment to peace.

The story begins across the Atlantic in the mist-covered hills of Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. In the 1670s, my 8th great-grandfather, John Hallowell Jr., stood in silent defiance of the English Crown. As a devout member of the Society of Friends, John faced steep fines and persecution just for gathering to worship without a state license.

When William Penn opened the province of Pennsylvania as a "Holy Experiment" for religious freedom, John knew it was time to cross the ocean.

In December 1682, John tucked a treasured certificate of clean living and Quaker fellowship from the Derby Monthly Meeting into his coat, gathered his young family—including my 7th great-grandfather, young Thomas Hallowell—and boarded a wooden ship bound for the Delaware River. Arriving in early 1683, John didn't just rent a patch of dirt; he bought 630 acres of timberland in what became Abington Township.

That 1683 land purchase became the anvil upon which five generations of our family were forged.

Thomas grew up, married Rosamond Till at the old Darby Meeting in 1702, and expanded the family farms. His son, my 6th great-grandfather William Hallowell, became one of the grand builders of the region. William was a master joiner and sawmill owner. If a newly arrived pioneer needed a house frame raised, a barn timbered, or planks cut for a homestead, they went to William Hallowell’s mill.

William tied our family tree directly into the bedrock of American history when he married Margaret Tyson. Margaret was the daughter of Mathias Tyson and the granddaughter of Rynear Tyson—one of the legendary thirteen German Quaker families who founded Germantown in 1683 and issued the very first written protest against slavery in the New World.

Generation after generation, the Hallowells stayed true to the soil of Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Through my 5th great-grandfather Joshua Hallowell and his wife Hannah Trump—a line solidly backed up by our modern DNA matches—they cleared the timber, served as Elders in the Meeting Houses, and kept the town registers.

By the time Joshua’s son Joseph Hallowell was raising his family in the 19th century, that deep Quaker devotion was tested by the fire of a nation splitting apart. In a poignant twist of fate, Joseph’s son, Lt. Rifford Randolph Hallowell, laid down the historic pacifism of his ancestors to take up arms for the Union in the Civil War, laying down his life—following the Battle of Gettysburg—in 1864 so that others might be free.

From the quiet meeting houses of 17th-century Nottinghamshire to the sawmills of Abington and the battlefields of the Civil War, the Hallowells never wavered. They built the homes, milled the timber, kept the faith, and helped weave the moral fabric of early America.

Thank you Gemini AI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy