Jewish Community Relations Council - Long Island | homestead

 homestead  Add category

Built circa 1740 as part of the Seaman Farm, this house was the home of the noted Quaker abolitionist Elias Hicks. After his marriage to Jemima Seaman in 1771, the couple settled here. Hicks was born in 1748 in Rockaway, New York. A Quaker preacher and a prominent member of the Jericho Quaker community, Hicks helped build many local structures, including the Quaker Meeting House which still stands down the road from his house.

A man with a powerful intellect, and a reputation for scrupulous honesty, he travelled the country speaking about many of the political and spiritual issues that defined his era. Hicks' engaging, emphatic words of wisdom often challenged long-held beliefs and opened people to new ways of thinking. Believing deeply in the equality of all God’s creatures, Hicks spoke out forcefully against slavery and was an early leader in the anti-slavery movement. Elias Hicks was personally responsible for persuading slave owners to free 154 slaves.

Formerly occupied by the Women’s Fund of Long Island office, the home was a stop on the famous Underground Railroad.

archive.org/details/jerichohistoryof0000murp/page/78/mo...
digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/browse/elias-hicks-ho...