An Almost Friend: Papunhank, Quakers, and the Search for Security amid Pennsylvania's Wars, 1754-65

Abstract

Papunhank wanted no part of war. The community he had gathered of Delawares, Nanticokes, and Munsees in the early 1750s hung in the balance as violence raged across major portions of the British and French mainland colonial empires from 1754 to 1765, even seeping to the edges of imperial centers in Quebec, Montreal, and Philadelphia. In Pennsylvania, within Indian country and colonial settlements alike, religious leaders struggled to map out paths for their peoples to avoid destruction. Papunhank’s followers coalesced around his reform message, which combined an emphasis on the wisdom of ancient native ways with a willingness to benefit from the resources other communities possessed. From his town of Wyalusing along the north branch of the Susquehanna River, Papunhank pursued various strategies to maintain the community’s viability amid a decade of war, none more important than searching for key allies who could aid his people politically and spiritually. Naturally, he sought productive relationships with other Indians, especially larger numbers of eastern Delawares and the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. But he also endeavored to make himself valuable to the Pennsylvania government and to explore connections with Euro- American pacifist Christians. Ultimately, Papunhank joined himself and a portion of his community to the Moravians, but not before seriously considering a close attachment to the Friends. During the first half of the 1760s, his band and influential members of the Society of Friends were drawn to one another, each believing the other had something valuable to offer. Crafting an alliance appeared to hold great promise. Yet, in the end, that promise dissipated almost as quickly as it arose, and Papunhank and Philadelphia Quakers went their separate ways.

PDF