White Matlack (October 7, 1745;

Haddonfield, New Jersey Haddonfield is a borough (New Jersey), borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,550, an increase of 957 (+8.3%) from the ...

– January 7, 1824) was a New York Quaker and abolitionist. He was born to Elizabeth Martha Burr Haines and Timothy Matlack: a couple that had both lost their first spouses. His grandparents were William Matlack and Mary Hancock; and Henry Burr and Elizabeth Hudson. His siblings were Sybil, Elizabeth, Titus, Seth, Josiah and

Timothy Matlack Timothy Matlack (March 28, 1736 – April 14, 1829) was an American politician, military officer and businessman who was chosen in 1776 to inscribe the original United States Declaration of Independence on vellum. A brewer and beer bottler who em ...

. He married Mary Hawhurst on March 6, 1768. They had four children; White, Timothy, Mary, and Hannah. White was a watchmaker and silversmith in New York City from around 1769 to 1775. In 1775, he also worked in Philadelphia. Then he ran a brewery located not far from the

Fraunces Tavern Fraunces Tavern is a museum and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The location played a prominent role in history before, during, and after th ...

. By the 1780s he moved into steel manufacturing.George Washington Miniature

History Detectives ''History Detectives'' was a documentary television series on PBS. It featured investigations made by members of a small team of researchers to identify and/or authenticate items which may have historical significance or connections to important h ...

In 1782, he and

Isaac Howell Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of ...

signed a document titled ''The memorial and remonstrance of Isaac Howell and White Matlack, in behalf of themselves, and others, who have been disowned by the people called Quakers, &c''. White and his brother Timothy had been

disown Disownment occurs when a parent, sibling or a relative renounces or no longer accepts a child or a relative as a family member. Disownment might be due to actions perceived as reprehensible or lead to severe emotional consequences. Different from ...

ed by Orthodox

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

for their support of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. They formed a group with others called the Society of Free Quakers. In 1786, he signed a letter to the Senate and assembly of the State of New York, against the shipping of African slaves through the port of New York. Three years later he became a member of the

New York Manumission Society The New York Manumission Society was founded in 1785. The term "manumission" is from the Latin meaning "a hand lets go," inferring the idea of freeing a slave. John Jay, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States as well as stat ...

. In 1787, the society founded the

African Free School The African Free School was a school for children of slaves and free people of color in New York City. It was founded by members of the New York Manumission Society, including Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, on November 2, 1787. Many of its alum ...

. He died at Bay Side, near

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...

on Long Island, aged 80.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matlack, White 1745 births 1824 deaths American Quakers Abolitionists from New York City 18th-century Quakers 19th-century Quakers American watchmakers (people) American silversmiths Quaker abolitionists People from Haddonfield, New Jersey People from Flushing, Queens People from colonial New Jersey People from the Province of New York People of New Jersey in the American Revolution