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William Hibbs
and his wife Joanne, of Dean Forest, Gloucestershire, England, were
Quakers.
William, and
possibly Joanne, were beheaded March 6, 1686 at the behest of
King James II. The king
wanted all England to be Catholic. William's crime, according to one
account, was that "he did not attend church services required by English
law or pay the tithes as required and said 'The King can go to the
Devil.' His refusal to go to the Church of England resulted in several
fines which he paid. The fines were not a burden as he was moderately
wealthy.
He sent his 12
year old son, William Jr., to America for his safety and to help
establish the Quaker Colony proposed by
William Penn. William's
other son Jonathon was later executed in 1698, 14 years after his father
for similar resistance to forced religion and support of the Quaker
doctrine." Records are not sure as to whether Jonathan was beheaded or
drawn and quartered.
William Jr. was one of the founders not only of the Penn Colony, but of
the town of Burlington, New Jersey.
"William Hibbs Jr. came to America in 1677 on the
Ship KENT at the age
of 12 with 2 companies of 'Friends' (Quakers) from Yorkshire and London
- founders of Burlington, NJ. William lived in Burlington until 1680 and
them moved to Byberry Township in PA, where he bought a 100 acre farm."
William Jr.'s grandson Isaac, born in 1740, fought in the American
Revolution. He may have heard stories about his family's heritage when
he was growing up, or he may not have. In any case, the beliefs of the
Quakers apparently were not as important to him as to William Sr.,
Joanne, and Jonathan. He was "disowned by the then Low Dutch Church of
North and South Hampton (now the Presbyterian Church, Churchville, Bucks
County, PA) for marrying outside his faith in the Quaker Church." His
bride, Elizabeth Roberts was "Presbyterian German/Dutch." That might not
have been enough to get him kicked out of the Low Dutch Church, but his
other transgression ("having a child too soon after the wedding") was
the last straw.
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William Penn
King James II
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