In 1772, Woolman traveled to England, where he urged Quakers to support abolition of slavery.
23 Facts About John Woolman
2.
John Woolman kept a journal throughout his life; it was published posthumously, entitled The Journal of John Woolman.
3.
John Woolman was born in 1720, originally from Rancocas, New Jersey, into a family who were members of the Religious Society of Friends.
4.
John Woolman began throwing rocks at the mother robin to see if he could hit her.
5.
John Woolman got the nest down from the tree and quickly killed the hatchlings, believing it to be the most merciful thing to do.
6.
John Woolman was inspired to love and protect all living things from then on.
7.
John Woolman married Sarah Ellis, a fellow Quaker, in a ceremony at the Chesterfield Friends Meeting, and they had a daughter whom they named Mary.
8.
John Woolman refused to write the part of another customer's will which would have bequeathed or transferred the ownership of a slave, and instead convinced the owner to set the enslaved person free by manumission.
9.
John Woolman wrote that he took up the trade of tailor in order to have more free time to travel and witness to fellow Quakers about his concerns.
10.
John Woolman believed he had a calling to preach "truth and light" among Friends and others.
11.
John Woolman addressed issues of economic injustice and oppression in his Journal and other writings, and knew international trade had local effects.
12.
Concerned about treatment of animals, in later life, John Woolman avoided riding in stagecoaches, for he believed operators were too often cruel and injurious to the teams of horses.
13.
John Woolman decided to minister to Friends and others in remote areas on the frontier.
14.
John Woolman preached on many topics, including slavery, during this and other such trips.
15.
In 1754 John Woolman published Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes.
16.
John Woolman continued to refuse to draw up wills that bequeathed ownership of slaves to heirs.
17.
John Woolman refused to be served with silver cups, plates, and utensils, as he believed that slaves in other regions were forced to dig such precious minerals and gems for the rich.
18.
John Woolman observed that some owners used the labor of their slaves to enjoy lives of ease, which he found to be the worst situation not only for the slaves but for the moral and spiritual condition of the owners.
19.
John Woolman could condone those owners who treated their slaves gently or worked alongside them.
20.
John Woolman worked within the Friends' tradition of seeking the guidance of the Spirit of Christ and patiently waiting to achieve unity in the Spirit.
21.
John Woolman lived out the Friends' Peace Testimony by protesting the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War.
22.
In one of his prophetic dreams, recorded in his Journal, John Woolman negotiated between two heads of state in an effort to prevent an outbreak of war.
23.
John Woolman traveled to York, but he had contracted smallpox and died there.