Call Number:

PA.090

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Extent:

.1 cubic ft. (1 folder, stored with pa-091 and pa-093)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item or series here], Rogerenes of New England photograph collection, PA 090, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.

Date:

1940

Creator:

Brinton, Ellen Starr, 1886-1954

Abstract:

This collection consists of images relating to the Rogerenes, a pacifist religious sect founded by John Rogers (1648-1721) in New England in the late 1670s. These materials were collected by Ellen Starr Brinton during her tenure as Curator of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection (1935-1951); she wrote several articles on the Rogerenes and compiled an extensive bibliography of sources.

Although often referred to as Rogerene Quakers, the Rogerenes had no connection to the Society of Friends founded by George Fox. Instead, they were originally a splinter sect of the Rhode Island Seventh Day Baptists and were founded by John Rogers Sr. in the late 1670s. As an oppositional group to the Congregational Church, the Rogerenes believed in not paying taxes to the church, and most scandously, disrupted church service to make their beliefs known and to argue with the minister. Fined and repeatedly imprisoned, the Rogerenes nevertheless persisted into the early 20th century. They were, however, active in the abolition movement and in the push for women's rights.

This collection of prints and copy negatives consists of sepia photos (some mounted and/or damaged) and their loose negatives depicting the Rogerene Meeting House and cemetery and other structures. There also photographs of individuals standing by their houses or of landscapes/signs, but the majority of the photographs are of the Rogerene's Meeting House in Connecticut.