WELLS, Rachel ^{1 2 3 4 5}

  General Notes:

CD-100 says that Rachel's mother is named Rachel. This apparently comes from a Quaker baptismal record dated 12 July 1721 at All Hallow's, listing her father as Joseph Wells and his wife Rachel. In the Southern Friend, V. XVI, 1994, Richard Kelly states that the entry in the All Hallow's book was in error and they simply repeated daughter Rachel's name by accident. He also finds error with the date of birth listed for her in Quaker records as occurring on 3(May)/27/1720. This would have been before Joseph and Margaret were married. (C-575) There is one Quaker record that states she was the d. of Margaret Swanson and Joseph Wells, but this could be explained by the fact that she had only known Margaret as her mother, and gave her name without being concerned for the genealogy of it. (C-1553, D.J. Rowe) In any case, Rachel was born while her father, Joseph Wells, was farming land in Anne Arundel Co. belonging to his brother's stepson.

Rachel was a fairly well noted frontier Quaker minister before the American Revolution. She became a Quaker when she married. This is significant. Her parents moved into the faith several years after her marriage. She would not have been baptized Quaker and this where the controversy lies in Quaker Records. The Quaker Baptismal record would have been created after she was an adult and is therefore not first hand information. It is entirely possible that her mother was Margaret Swanson instead. Mhe came from radical Puritan and Catholic stock who sought religious freedom in the tolerant Maryland under Lord Baltimore. Several of her ancestors were of armorial families in England. (C-575, p. 35)

Rachel and her husband moved to Orange County, North Carolina from the Monacy Meeting, Prince George Co., Maryland about 1749. They helped found the Cane Creek Meeting in Orange Co., North Carolina. She with Abigail Overton Pike and several others rode on horseback to the Little River Quarterly Meeting in Peruimans in 1751 to seek permission for Cane Creek's Monthly Meeting status. This was granted by them on the sixth month, 31st day of 1751. Cane Creek held their first monthly meeting on the tenth month of 1751 wherein fifteen certificates of removal were submitted. (C-1663)

She was the center of a major controversy in this region during the movement known as the Regulators. She apparently committed an offense. Her apology was accepted until she applied to remove to Fredericksburg, SC in 1763. Some of the members doubted the sincerity of her apology and thought her certificate should not be granted. A principle, outspoken well known liberal Quaker of the time, Hermon Husband, was caught up in the feud. Due to his violent reaction, he was disowned in 1763 and moved north back to Pennsylvania with his family after the decision was appealed to the Quarterly and Yearly Meetings where only his disownment was not reversed. Rachel was granted her removal at the 1764 yearly meeting and that appears to be the timing where Rachel and her family moved to South Carolina. (C-575) The Cane Creek meeting back in North Carolina mentions her kindly at her death 23 12m 1771, aged about 52 years as "a friend of the Ministry, wife of John, one of the first beginners of a meeting at Bush River." (C-646, 966) ⁷

  Noted events in her life were:

• Occupation. Quaker-Minister

Rachel married John (C.?) WRIGHT, son of James WRIGHT and Mary BOWATER, about 1737 in Hopewell M.M., Frederick, VA, USA. (John (C.?) WRIGHT was born on Nov 4, 1716 in East Nottingham, Chester, PA, USA ^{8 9} and died between Sep 17, 1789 and Jun 8, 1790 in Bush River, Newberry, SC ^{4 10}.)

  Marriage Notes:

or Monacy, Prince George Co., MD. (C-1991)