Book Reviews The Journal (Abridged ) of William Edmondson, Quaker Apostle to Ireland and the Americas. Edited by Caroline N. Jacob. Foreword by Henry J. Cadbury. Philadelphia: The Book and Publication Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of die Religious Society of Friends. 1968. 124 pages. $1.50. There is an apostolic contemporaneity and urgency in Caroline Jacob's abridgement of William Edmondson's Journal which did not penetrate to this reader, at least, in the larger, older, more repetitious edition of 1820. This is a subjective value judgment which may be attributed (1) to the current interest in Edmondson as a principal founder of North Carolina and American Quakerism exactly 300 years ago; (2) to a conscience troubled by the agony of continued conflict and suffering in Ireland today; and (3) perhaps even to die fact that Caroline Jacob and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting have produced such an attractive and readable small paperback in this new edition. If one uses as a test of inspiration the simple rule proposed by Rufus Jones (Does it in fact inspire?), then the Journal of William Edmondson is indeed inspired. In quality, insight, dedication, commitment, influence, courage, lasting value, Edmondson is unquestionably of apostolic stature. The Journal reads like an epistle of Paul to the troubled Mediterranean world of the mid-first century, though one might say that the England, Ireland, and Americas of the seventeenth century may have suffered more critically at times even than the Roman empire. There are many similarities—conflict between state and church, ruler and ruled, social, cultural, linguistic, religious differences and prejudices. Caroline Jacob has edited judiciously the much longer, out-of-print Journal in such a way that one finds that he has a good overview of Edmondson's life from his birth in Little Musgrave, Westmoreland, in 1627 and his service in the English army under both Charles I and Cromwell, until his settlement in the Rossenallis and Mountmellick area of Ireland as a merchant and land holder, his convincement of Truth, and thereafter his many travels for Truth's sake, including the trips to America, and frequent travels in times of great hardship throughout Ireland and England. To North Carolina Friends, who regard William Edmondson as the first founder of Quakerism in 1672 and, so far as records indicate, the first organized religious meetings of any kind in the colony, the Journal should be a particularly welcome document during this tercentenary year. But Friends along the entire length of the Atlantic Coast, as well as those who have moved west, should welcome this edition as a very special journal which documents vividly the struggle for establishment of Quakerism in the New World during the years from 1671 to 1683. The central position of Edmondson as Father of Irish Quakerism, in both faith and practice, emerges in repeated accounts of the tragic suffering by 50 BOOK REVIEWS51 Scots, English, Catholics and Protestants, as well as by native Irish and newly convinced Friends, all of whom Edmondson loved and served. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Edmondson's life is die frequency and success of his efforts to speak Truth to power in high places. From George Fox to Raymond Wilson, Friends have been known for their open, frank, courageous lobbying efforts. Edmondson's Journal is a record of continuous efforts on his part, often under extreme duress as when he was himself a prisoner, applying to rough Irish rapparees, local justices, army officers, members of Parliament, even monarchs, to modify and improve their treatment of individuals in the name of Truth. Though one does not expect to find many personal or family details in early Friends' journals, Edmondson rewards the reader with insights into his own life. Among these are brief accounts of his first wife and their seven children (two of whom were given cryptic if not prophetic names— Hindrance and Tryal); the death of his wife after the burning and plundering of their home and shameful mistreatment; his second marriage at the age of nearly 70, with careful study and consent by family and Friends. That Edmondson survived the difficult seventeenth-century travel, illness, imprisonment, and numerous tragedies and still won wide approval and support for...