Youths’ meetings established 1739
There remains to be presented in this chapter the activities of Sadsbury Meeting, which, though outside the limits of Chester County, was made up very largely of members residing in Chester County.[626] The most distinctly educational work of any sort was the youths’ meeting, which was very frequently mentioned as early as 1739, only two years after they became a monthly meeting.[627] Numerous statements of these meetings occur throughout the first thirty years and more. Attention was also directed to a care for the children of the poor.
One of the Friends appointed in the case of John Marsh’s child report they attended the service and met with some encouragement concerning the education of the child, the person with whom it resides being its grandmother; the meeting concludes to leave it under the care and notice of Henry Marsh, the child’s uncle.[628]
Committee appointed on schools
In 1779 the first committee to carry out the instruction of 1777 and 1778 was appointed, consisting of the following members: James Miller, Andrew Moore, and Samuel Simons.[629] They were to afford assistance to each of the preparative meetings (Sadsbury and Leacock). This they reported in the second month they had done; James Moore, Isaac Taylor, John Moore, James Smith, Abraham Gibbons, and James Webb were then appointed to do the work.[630] In 1782 a visit was made to Sadsbury Meeting by the committee appointed by the quarterly meeting.[631] They reported further at that time:
School at Sadsbury mentioned
The Monthly Meeting committee has it under care and there is a school set up at Sadsbury, and it is closely recommended to Friends for a further progress and to the committee of this meeting in particular, to which George Cooper, Andrew Moore, and Joseph Dickinson are added.[632]
Discontinued, but not long
The conditions remain substantially the same for the five subsequent years, with frequently interspersed reports, made to the monthly meetings and to be sent to the quarterly meeting. In that year, as the following report shows, the school at Sadsbury was discontinued, and the old committee removed to make place for a new one.
Several Friends of the committee respecting schools report they have conferred together since the last meeting, and it doth not appear that there is any school at this time within the verge of this meeting under the care and direction of Friends, and the said committee expressing their desire to be released, the meeting consents thereto, yet in order to keep alive the concern and promote a matter so interesting, concludes to appoint a fresh committee, and James Miller, John Moore, son of James, Isaac Taylor, and Joseph Williams, Joseph Brinton, Moses Brinton, William Downing, and Gaius Dickinson are appointed for the service.[633]