LP 
 
 BX 7757 .R63 Z3 1844 
 Foulke, Joseph, ca 1786- 
 1863. 
 
 Memoirs of Jacob Ritter 
 
1 
 
MEMOI/tft 
 
 <0i OF Pffr 
 
 ■ JUN i2 i* 
 
 JACOB RITTER, 
 
 A FAITHFUL MINISTER 
 
 IN THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 BY JOSEPH FOULKE. 
 " Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be 
 
 lost." — JOHX VI. 12. 
 
 T. E. CHAPMAN, 74 NORTH FOURTH ST. 
 E. WEAVER, 5 NORTH FRONT ST. 
 BAKER & CRANE, N. YORK. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 1844. 
 
CHAPMAN AND JONES, PRINTERS, 
 
 Office of the t^Fi^ends* Vl^^eekly Inlelligaicer,''^ 
 
 No. 3 South Filth St. Philadelphia. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In presenting these memoirs to the public, it may 
 be proper to mention that the narrative of Jacob Kil- 
 ter was, at his own request, committed to writing 
 many years before his decease, and was carefully 
 preserved among his papers. It is now, with the 
 exception of a few verbal corrections, published in 
 its original form. This portion of the ensuing 
 work having, in manuscript, been submitted to the 
 inspection of many Friends, they were of the judg- 
 ment that it should appear in print ; and that many 
 additional anecdotes and striking incidents might be 
 usefully appended. Believing, in accordance with 
 the view frequently expressed to me by Jacob Ritter, 
 that some remarkable occurrences of his life should 
 be recorded for the benefit of posterity, I have en- 
 deavoured, with much pains, to collect and arrange 
 these reminiscences concerning this beloved Friend, 
 and trust they will be found to answer the object 
 for which they are now offered to the public. It may be 
 added, that Jacob Ritter being of German parentage, 
 had retained much of his vernacular style of language ; 
 and to this circumstance the reader will trace occa- 
 sional peculiarities of expression observable in tlie 
 following memoirs. Joseph Foulke. 
 
MEMORIAL 
 
 CONCERNING JACOB RITTER. 
 
 As the righteous are worthy of remembrance, it 
 may be said of Jacob Ritter, that he endeavoured to 
 live in the fear of the Lord, in humility, and self- 
 abasement becoming his rehgious profession, not 
 numberuig himself among the great. 
 
 His original ideas, his singular comparisons, and 
 his bright example of piety and virtue, made his min- 
 istry interesting and acceptable to Friends and those 
 around him. Like the good Samaritan, he sympa- 
 thized with the afflicted, pouring in the healing oil. 
 
 He frequently visited his friends and encouraged 
 them to keep their ranks in the truth, (being con- 
 cerned himself to do his day's work in the day time.) 
 cautioning them against a hasty forward spirit. He 
 was careful practically to observe the admonition of 
 the Apostle, " to be swift to hear, but slow to 
 speak," and in his labors he manifested no disposi- 
 tion to carry points, but was bold in declaring the 
 truth. His conversation was pleasant and instruc- 
 tive, and liis words were seasoned with giace. 
 
 His communications in meetings were not lengthy, 
 but generally to edification and comfort, especially to 
 
vi 
 
 those who were under trial of mind ; towards these 
 he manifested a deep concern for the welfare of their 
 immortal souls. 
 
 His dress and household furniture were plain and 
 simple, showing a good example in these respects, 
 and raanifestinof himself to be a man fearin<r God and 
 hating covetousness, and yet maintaining the ground 
 of industry for his own support and that of his fam- 
 ily. It may be truly said of him that he knew what 
 it was to be abased, and what it was to abound, both 
 in spiritual and temporal things, in all things giving 
 thanks. 
 
 He entertained his friends and strangers with kind-r 
 ness and hospitalit}^ being blessed with enough, and 
 believing in the testimony of tlie Divine Master: — 
 
 Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his right- 
 eousness ; and all these things shall be added unto 
 you." Malt. vi. 33. 
 
 He was a man much beloved by all who knew him. 
 Having passed through great suffering and afflic- 
 tion, he was thereby enabled to sympathize with his 
 brethren in various states and conditions, possessing, 
 at the same time, a large share oi" that cliarity that 
 coverelh a multitude of faults. 
 
 It appears from his own account that, at one period 
 of his life, he was like the prodigal son who had 
 strayed far from his father's house, and had wasted 
 his substance in riotous living ; but in great mercy 
 and loving kindness he was brought back again to 
 
VII 
 
 the banqueting house, where the Lord's banner over 
 him was love. Gratitude was felt for this unmerited 
 mercy, and he was increasingly induced to follow 
 that spn-it that leads in the way of life and salva- 
 tion. 
 
 He was a diligent attender of religious meetings ; 
 solid and grave in his deportment in them ; and was 
 favored frequently to make pertinent remarks in 
 those held for discipline, Ho was just and upright 
 in his dealings among men ; and, by keeping the eye 
 of the mind single, he became " a pillar in the Lord's 
 house th;it went no more out;" earnesdy recom 
 mending Friends to " mind the light ;" to " take 
 heed to the life;" "to keep down to the root of 
 love and life; to get down to the " root and founda- 
 tion ;" and thus be preserved in harmony and love, 
 and united together in feeling after the blessed spirit, 
 which is the bond of peace. 
 
 As none can rise with Christ into newness of 
 life, but those who go down with him into baptism of 
 suffering and death, so it was this dear Friend's ex- 
 perience to pass through seasons of great desertion; 
 insomuch that he would sometimes express his feel- 
 ings in the language of the Divine Master : " My 
 God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He 
 would thus hold out encouragement to Friends not to 
 shrink from suffermg, because by these baptisms we 
 are redeemed out of all evil, and fitted and prepared 
 for the heavenly kingdom, and also for a higher state 
 
viii 
 
 of enjoyment in this life, even communion with our 
 Creator. 
 
 In the latter part of his time, his hearing becam© 
 dull and heavy, yet in monthly meetings ho would 
 frequently speak to the business with life and clear- 
 ness, his mind being very much centered in the 
 truth. 
 
 The last meeting he attended was on first-day the 
 28th of eleventh-month 1841, in which he appeared 
 in the ministry with clearness, to the comfort and 
 satisfaction of Friends. Soon after he was taken 
 with a chill ; after which he graduallly declined for 
 about two weeks. During his illness, many Friends 
 visited him : he remarked that it was profitable for 
 Friends to visit one another in the life. On another 
 occasion, he said to two Friends who visited him, "I 
 am glad to see you: behold the Lamb of God who 
 taketh away the sins of the world." At another time 
 he expressed an earnest desire that people might be 
 loving and kind to one another. His mind was pre- 
 served in a heavenly calm, and in this undisturbed 
 and peaceful state he continued until one o'clock on 
 the 15th of tweltth-month, when he passed quietly 
 away in the 85th year of his age, being a minister 
 nearly fifty years. His remains were interred in 
 Friends' burial ground at Plymouth on Seventh-day 
 the 18th, on which solemn occasion a meeting for 
 worship was held after the interment. 
 
 Joel JiAIRE. 
 
MEMOIRS OF JACOB RITTER. 
 
 It has many times been on my mind to leave 
 some account of the gracious dealings of the 
 Lord with me, and to note down some of the re- 
 markable circumstances of my life from my youth 
 up ; and now, in the seventy-first year of my 
 age, the remembrance of the following particu- 
 lars has been brought very fresh before me. 
 
 My parents were Jacob and Elizabeth Hitter, 
 who came from Germany; and when arrived in 
 America, they bound themselves as servants to 
 pay for their passage. My father served three 
 years, and my mother four years. 
 
 When the period of their servitude was over, 
 they married; and, taking each a small bundle on 
 their heads, being all their worldly w^ealth, went 
 out mto the woods and made a settlement in what 
 is now called Springfield, Bucks county, in 
 2 
 
10 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Pennsylvania. Here I was born in the year 
 17-57. My parents were honest and industrious, 
 and I, being their first child, was brought up 
 inured to hardships. My father was a high 
 spirited man, and put me to hard work as soon 
 as I was able, and early accustomed me to the 
 management of the grubbing hoe. My mother 
 was always kind and tender to me. 
 
 When we had lived at Springfield for some 
 time, my father bought a small tract of land not 
 far off, and moved his family to it. I remember 
 when we got to it, we found that the dwelling- 
 house had been burned down, and nothing but 
 the chimney left standing. My father went out 
 to work by the day at his trade of shoemaking, 
 in order to earn a little money, and my mother 
 took me with her, and began to clear the land, 
 and I became expert in chopping down trees. — 
 Many times, after I had been thus employed, I 
 would sit down on a stump and eat my dinner of 
 cold pork and bread with a relish that no luxury 
 could give; the little birds used to hop around 
 me without fear, and I amused myself with scat- 
 tering crumbs for them. 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 11 
 
 When I was about thirteen years of age, I 
 used to love to throw myself down on the grass 
 before my father's door of evenings, when I had 
 finished my daily labor, and look at the sky ; and 
 when I observed the bright moon and stars, or the 
 changing of the clouds, I would think, surely 
 there must he some great power that created and 
 framed all these things; for though I had often 
 felt the secret touches of Divine love, yet I wist 
 not what it was. 
 
 After an evening thus spent, I got up off the 
 grass and went to bed ; and whether I dreamed, 
 or whether it was a vision, I cannot tell, but I 
 found myself on the same spot which I had oc- 
 cupied in the evening, and I thought two men 
 came to m.e clothed in white ; one of them laid 
 his han']s upon my breast, and the other placed 
 his behiix l my shoulders. I then perceived that 
 they .were angels, for they stretched out their 
 wings over me, and lifted me up, telling me 
 they would shew^ me the gates of heaven. — 
 When we came to the place, I beheld our Sa- 
 viour with outstretched arms, and was told I 
 must enter in by Christ who was the door. — 
 When I had passed into the glorious city, I 
 
12 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 beheld that every thing was clear and pure, and 
 that there was no Kght of the sun or moon, but 
 Christ was the light thereof. The two angels 
 who had brought me thither, set me upon an ele- 
 vated seat, and I saw an innumerable company 
 round me, all shining and bright, and they sang 
 the song of Moses and the Lamb. 
 
 When this heavenly harmony had ceased there 
 was a great silence, and then the shining host all 
 passed in quietude away, except my two conduc- 
 tors, who came and told me I must not stay there 
 then, but must go back again. When I came to 
 myself, heavenly love covered my mind, and I 
 got up in the morning in much quietness of spirit. 
 My mother took notice of it, and asked me the 
 cause, but I feared to show her the vision, until 
 at length she pressed me so hard to tell her, that 
 I did so, and she repHed : Jacob, my son, this 
 is certainly a foresight of some great work thou 
 wilt have to do ; mind now be a good boy and 
 fear God.'' 
 
 Time passed on, and when I was about six- 
 teen years of age, as nearly as I can recollect, I 
 was drawn into solemn silence, and stood alone 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 13 
 
 in the woods, when a sig^ht and sense came over 
 me of the horrors of war; but at that tune I did 
 not know the meaning of it, though there was 
 then a common talk about Whig and Tory. 
 However, when I was about twenty years of 
 age, there was a muster of the mihtia in our 
 neighborhood, and the clergyman of the Luthe- 
 ran Church to which I belonged, preached the 
 propriety and necessity of standing in defence of 
 our country against her enemies ; so I was per- 
 suaded against my better judgment, to join the 
 army ; and taking up my musket, I entered the 
 American service. 
 
 I saw much of a military life both in the camp 
 and in the field, and encountered many hardships. 
 Were I to enter minutely into a detail of them, 
 it would fill a volume ; but in order to make my 
 account as brief as may seem proper, I will notice 
 such events only as impress my mind most for- 
 cibly. The company and J^attalion to which I 
 belonged marched down to Brandy wine at 
 Chadsford and joined the army under the com- 
 mand of Washington and Lafayette. W"e had 
 orders to work day and night to erect batteries, 
 
14 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 &C.5 in order to resist the progress of the Eng- 
 lish army. 
 
 After several days hard labor, we became so 
 drowsy that nearly all the men except the senti- 
 nels fell asleep. General Washington stood in 
 the midst of our camp, and called out to us with a 
 loud voice : " Boys, get up — but be silent, the 
 enemy is nearly upon us." About day light 
 the alarm gun was fired by the British; then all 
 our army made ready for battle. 
 
 General orders were given for every company 
 to maintain its ranks, aud each man to keep his 
 place. An awful pause preceded the engagement, 
 and some of us stood in solemn silence. I then 
 i-emembered what I had seen and felt of the mer- 
 cies of God, and was afresh convinced that it was 
 contrary to the Divine Will for a christian to 
 fight. I was sensible in my o\yn heart that I 
 had done wrong in taking up arms, and the ter- 
 rors of the Lord fell upon me. I then secretly 
 supplicated the Almighty for preservation, cove- 
 nanting that if he would be pleased to deliver me 
 from shedding the blood of my fellow-creatures 
 that day, I would never fight again. Then the 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 15 
 
 love of God was shed abroad in my heart, and 
 all fear of man was entirely taken away ; and 
 throughout the engagement I remained perfectly 
 calm, though the bombshells and shot fell round 
 me like hail, cutting down my comrades on every 
 side, and tearing otf the limbs of the trees like a 
 whii'lwind : the very rocks quaked, and the liills 
 that smTOunded us seemed to tremble with the 
 roar of the cannon. 
 
 It happened that the standing troops were call- 
 ed into action before the militia of which the bri- 
 gade that I belonged to was partly composed. — 
 Towards evening, (for the battle lasted from sun- 
 rise to sunset,) our battahon was ordered to 
 march forward to the charore. Our way was over 
 the dead and dying, and I saw many bodies 
 crushed to pieces beneath the wagons, and we 
 were bespattered ^vith blood. But no orders 
 were given to use our small arms, and thus I was 
 enabled to rejoice, that though I was provided 
 with sixty cartridges, I did not discharge my 
 musket once that day. Forever magnified be 
 the God of my life that I was mercifully deliv- 
 ered from spilhng the blood of any of my fel- 
 low-creatures I 
 
16 
 
 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 As we had to march directly under the Eng- 
 lish cannon which kept up a continual fire, the 
 destruction of our men was very great, and Wash- 
 ington called out to us : " Men, retreat ; it is not 
 worth while to sacrifice so many lives." It was 
 now drawing towards night, and we retreated as 
 well as we could. I took shelter in the woods, and 
 having found a thick grape-vine, crept under it, 
 and worn out with hunger and fatigue, fell sound 
 asleep. 
 
 The next morning I crawled out of my hiding 
 place, and a sense of my forlorn condition cover- 
 ed my mind. I knew I had sinned in entering 
 into the war, and no man going to execution 
 could have felt more remorse. I went along un- 
 til I came to a little cottage where dwelt a Dutch 
 woman. I entered at a venture and begged her 
 to give me a little broth, for I had not tasted a 
 mouthful of food for two days. She took pity 
 on me and gave me some, but I had scarcely 
 done eating it, when a party of Hessians came in 
 and took me prisoner. War-worn and weary as 
 I was, they marched me before them, beating rae 
 most unmercifully with the butts of their guns, 
 and occasionally placing their bayonets at my 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 17 
 
 breast ; they swore they would kill me on the 
 spot because I was a rebel. In this trial I experi- 
 enced heavenly Goodness to be near, and again 
 all fear of death was taken away. 
 
 They took me to the Hessian general, Count 
 Donop, who, after much rough language, order- 
 ed me to be put under the provost-captain, and 
 with a number of other prisoners of war, I was 
 marched to Philadelphia and lodged in prison. 
 
 The number of American prisoners in jail at 
 this tune was about nine hundred. During the 
 first five days of our confinement, most of us 
 had nothing to eat, and many died from want. — 
 One poor fellow who had been, as far as I can 
 remember, five days without food, got at last a 
 little piece of dry bread, which he devoured 
 greedily, and then leaning his head back, imme- 
 diately expired ! 
 
 I had been three days without a mouthful to 
 eat, when an aunt of mine got leave to see me ; 
 she gave me a small quantity of food and then left 
 me, and in a day or tw^o after sent her son with 
 some more, and thus under Providence saved my 
 3 
 
18 
 
 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 life. Ah! when I have seen the tables of 
 Friends in Philadelphia loaded with all the luxu- 
 ries of wealth, it seemed as if I could weep over 
 them, remembering the days of my famine, and 
 fearing that the day of plenty was not enough 
 valued. 
 
 While I was thus suffering imder this cruel 
 imprisonment, I remembered the impressions of 
 my mind on the day of the battle at Brandy- 
 wine, and feeling myself as a poor worm of the 
 dust, I used to go out every evening after dark, 
 into the jail yard, and throw myself prostrate 
 with my face upon the ground in deep abased- 
 ness of soul, and supplicate the Lord for mercy. 
 
 This sense of my undone condition lasted for 
 a considerable time, until at length the voice of Di- 
 vine compassion passed through my mind, that my 
 prayers were heard and that I should experience 
 deHverance from my troubles. I arose from the 
 ground with gladness of heart. But now my 
 trials increased, for I being a stout younj]; man, 
 the provost-captain sought to entice me into 
 English service, and for that end offered me a 
 a whole handful of English guineas ; but I firm- 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 19 
 
 ly refused, and then they beat me most cruelly, 
 until I was much bruised. 
 
 About this time I heard Count Donop say, 
 as he passed by the prison on his way to Red 
 Bank, that he would storm the American fort at 
 that place, even if it were hung at the very gates 
 of heaven. But this presumptuous man received a 
 wound at that battle which proved mortal. 
 
 My cousin who visited me in prison told me, 
 if I could get a petition presented to Joseph Gal- 
 loway (who was the particular friend of the Bri- 
 tish general Howe) he thought he would sign it. 
 This he did, and I was soon afterwards released. 
 
 After various difficulties I succeeded in getting 
 out of Philadelphia, and reached my father's 
 house in safety. My relations and friends were 
 rejoiced to see me, for they had not heard of me 
 after the battle, and had supposed me dead ; but 
 my dear mother had maintained a belief that she 
 would see me again, and would often say, " my 
 child is yet alive." 
 
 In the spring o^ 1778 I was married to Doro- 
 thy Smith, a young woman with whom I had 
 
20 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 been acquainted before I entered the army. 
 We were both poor, but having a true affection, 
 we determined to assist each other in making a 
 livehhood. We removed to Philadelphia and be- 
 gan house-keeping in a small way. I went out 
 to do days' work, and many times have mowed 
 grass on the spot where the Green Street meet- 
 ing-house now stands. My wife took in washing, 
 and we made out to live. 
 
 But it pleased Providence to permit trials to 
 continue, and I had the ague for twelve months. 
 During this afflictive period, I endeavored to 
 support my family by working at my trade of 
 shoemaking, and lest through debility of body I 
 should sleep too long, I used, instead of lying 
 down, to lean my head on my arms against a 
 bench, and catch a little rest in that way. 
 
 One day my wife was sick, and my little son 
 said to me,"Father, I am hungry, give me a piece 
 of bread." But, alas ! I had none to give him ; 
 and as I walked up and down the floor in great 
 trial, a soldier entered, and taking a loaf of bread 
 from his knapsack, asked me if I would give him 
 some potatoes in exchange for it. As soon as 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 21 
 
 ray child saw the bread he renewed his applica- 
 tion to me for a piece ; but I told him he must 
 wait until I went down cellar and saw whether 
 there were potatoes enough to satisfy the soldier. 
 I was very glad when he had satisfied himself 
 and departed, and then with gratitude to the God 
 of my life, I divided the loaf of bread amongst us. 
 
 My circumstances, however, began to mend 
 when I recovered my health.* My wife and I 
 continued to attend the Lutheran church. My 
 
 *The following account furnished by William Jeanes 
 as related to him by Jacofc Ritter, goes to show more mi- 
 nutely his trials and the state of his outward circumstan- 
 ces about this time: 
 
 " I had the fever and ague nearly a year, bat when I 
 recovered my bodily strength, I went to a Friend who 
 was a tanner, and making my case known to him, ask- 
 ed for some leather on trust, and told him that I would 
 make it up into shoes and pay him as soon as I could. — 
 He said he did not deal in that way, he must have the 
 money, or I could not have the leather. I went away 
 not knowing what to do, being very much cast down. — 
 As I was walking along the street, I met a Roman Cath- 
 olic, he stopped and asked me what was the matter, I told 
 him there was matter enough, I had neither money 
 nor bread, and I could not get any work: he told me to 
 
22 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 mind had been uneasy for some time, and I went 
 to some of the heads of the society, and queried 
 with them about matters of faith and doctrine, 
 and of the Light that shined within, and also 
 with regard to water baptism. 
 
 They told me there w^as no such thing as an 
 inshining light, and that I was under a tempta- 
 tion of the devil ; and recommended me to go 
 into company and amusements to dissipate such 
 thoughts. Here great exercise came upon me. 
 I found I must either unite with them in all their 
 creeds and ceremonies, contrary to the convfc- 
 
 come with him, and he would let me have aside of sole 
 leather, and a side of upper leather. I went with him 
 and got the leather and made it up into shoes, and took 
 them to market; I made them good and strong and had 
 ready sale for them. I paid the Roman Catholic for the 
 leather, and never wanted money to buy bread after- 
 wards; my business soon increased so that I had several 
 hands in my employ. The Friend met me one day, and 
 asked me why I did not come to him to buy leathei. I 
 told him when I had neither money, bread nor credit, he 
 would not trust me, but now I could pay for my leather, 
 and had paid the Roman Catholic many hundred dollars 
 since that time." 
 
JACOB HITTER. 
 
 23 
 
 tionsof my conscience, or must turn my back 
 upon them. 
 
 At length I made up my mind to leave them, 
 and remain as a pilgrim upon the earth, not join- 
 ed to any religious society. I attended to my 
 trade and business diligently ; and many persons 
 came to dispute with me on points of doctrine, 
 and tried to influence me to join them. Among 
 the rest there was a company of one sect, who 
 told me they w^ere the only people that walked 
 in the right way ; but I told them I was not 
 convinced of it. They asked me what further 
 evidence I wanted. I replied that I had seen with 
 an eye of faith a people who worshipped God in 
 spirit and in truth. They said they were the very 
 people, and began to quote many texts of scripture 
 to prove it. I told them all their talk would sig- 
 nify nothing to me, as I was determined not to 
 join any society, till I was thoroughly convinc- 
 ed in my own. mind. So they departed and trou- 
 bled me no more. 
 
 The night after the controversy above alluded 
 to, I saw in my sleep a great multitude of peo- 
 ple surrounding a steeple which stood in an open 
 
24 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 plain, and I wondered no houses were near it. — 
 Presently, a man clothed in shining garments 
 stepped up to me and said : " Jacob, these peo- 
 ple are looking for the appearance of the foun- 
 der of their society, who will show himself at 
 the belfry of the steeple-house, but mark! as 
 soon as he makes his appearance, the steeple will 
 take fire at its foundation and consume him with 
 every thing that is in the building, and it shall 
 be utterly destroyed." 
 
 When he left me, I saw the multitude earnesfej 
 ly gazing up at the man whom I now beh JT 
 standing at the belfry dressed in his black gown 
 and white bands. Great fear fell upon me when 
 I saw him, and in a few minutes I beheld the fire 
 kindle, and the whole building with the man in 
 it was totally consumed. I awoke and behold 
 it was a dream ! I arose and bowed myself in 
 supplication under the baptism of the Holy 
 Ghost. The heavenly Principle was opened to 
 my understanding, and solemn reverent silence 
 covered my mind. 
 
 In this state of feeling I was again permitted 
 to have a near view of Paradise, and to behold a 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 25 
 
 glorious company surrounding the throne of God, 
 singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, and a 
 voice was heard saying, there is more joy in 
 Heayen over one sinner that repenteth than oyer 
 ninety and nine just persons who need no repen- 
 tance." This blissful yie^v confirmed the vision 
 I had when I was a lad as has been related here- 
 tofore. Oh I that all would come to know this 
 pure inward silence before God ! On opening the 
 Bible while under these serious considerations, it 
 seemed as if I had a spiritual understanding 
 given me, such as I never had before, though I 
 had read the scriptures a great deal. 
 
 Soon after this, an impression was made on my 
 mind that I must go to the Bank meeting, but 
 did not know at that time any thing of such a 
 place, nor was I acquainted with any of the So- 
 ciety of Friends. Accordingly, I went out and 
 inquired of some person in the street for such a 
 place as the Bank meeting-house ;* it was on a 
 week day. I at length arrived at the place : 
 and opening the door, found a number of people 
 assembled and sitting in solemn stillness. I 
 went in, and seated myself behind the door. In ' 
 
 * Formerly situated in Front, above Mulberry street. 
 4 
 
26 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 a few minutes I found something working so 
 powerfully on my mind, that it was comparable 
 to the whirlwind, the fire, and the earthquake : 
 under this exercise I got up and went out of the 
 meeting, and stood at the corner of the house, 
 outside ; but I felt condemned in my heart and 
 very sorrowful for disturbing the solemnity of 
 the meeting ; for now my eyes were opened, and 
 a sense w^as given me, that these were the peo- 
 ple I had seen with an eye of faith, worshipping 
 God in the silence of all flesh. I then resolved 
 to go in again, and sit down in company with 
 Friends. I did so, and the same commotion 
 took hold of my mind again ; but as I endured 
 it and strove for stillness, light arose on my poor 
 soul, and it seemed as if a window had been opened 
 in a dark room, and let in the bright sunshine. 
 
 Here all my doubts were at an end., and I was 
 confirmed in my faith, not by outward observa- 
 tion nor by outward things, but by the everlast- 
 ing principle of Truth revealed in me, that this 
 was the true worship in spirit and in truth. — 
 Sweet peace covered my spirit, and I felt as if T 
 could have sat there till night. However, the 
 meeting broke up and I went home determined 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 27 
 
 to let none of my acquaintance know that I at- 
 tended the Quaker meeting. But the second 
 time I went the news spread, and the Lutherans 
 heard of it. Now my trials began afresh. — 
 When my wife heard of my having been to Qua- 
 ker meeting, she told me she hoped I would not 
 forsake the Lutheran faith, nor deny the scrip- 
 tures ; as it was commonly reported that Friends 
 did deny them. She continued to go to the Lu- 
 theran church, and I to the Bank meeting, foi" 
 about two years. 
 
 It was a close trial for me to differ from my 
 dear vdfe in matters of religion, but I was favor- 
 ed to keep pretty much in patience, and said 
 but little to her on points of controversy, which 
 proved of use. 
 
 Not long after I joined w^th Friends, hearing 
 of a fair to be held in Warwick in Maryland, 
 and also one at Charleston, I concluded to take 
 a parcel of shoes I had made to the fair. 
 
 Accordingly, I set out with a journeyman and 
 went down the river in a vessel about seventy 
 miles, then crossed the country to the head of the 
 
28 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 bay. When we reached Charleston I hired a room 
 and bought half a cord of wood, that we might 
 live quietly and peaceably by ourselves while 
 we remained in the place. A large concourse 
 of people gathered in the town, and among the 
 rest was a play-actor. He came to me 
 and olfered to show me all his art for nothing ; 
 but I told him I did not want to see it. 
 
 I was also asked to attend a Methodist meet- 
 ing, which I declined and remained quietly in my 
 room. One evening a company of rude men 
 came in and drank and used much bad langliage. 
 I bore with it for some time, but at length told 
 them, that as I paid the rent of the room, I wish- 
 ed to have it for myself and companions. Some 
 of them being warmed with liquor, got angry 
 and threatened to abuse me because I would not 
 join with them. 
 
 An Irishman who was acquainted with me, stood 
 up and told these abusive men, that if any one 
 insulted me, he was ready to defend me througli 
 rough and smooth ; but I told him to forbear and 
 not strike one of them, for they had drank so much 
 they did not understand rightly what they were 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 29 
 
 about — so he sat down peaceably. Now just 
 about this time, a stranger somewhat fashionable 
 came into the room — his countenance and deport- 
 ment were grave and solid. I perceived by his 
 language and appearance that he was not a 
 member of Friends' society. He spoke out and 
 said, " my friends, I have something on my 
 mind to say, if you are willing to hear, but if 
 you are not, I will try to keep it to myself." As 
 soon as he spoke my spirit bore witness to his 
 and I called out, " my friend, if thou hast any- 
 thing on thy mind to say, be faithful so he 
 stepped forward and spoke as follows : — 
 
 " My friends, I was once as fond of liquor as 
 any of. you, and drank a great deal not only in 
 company but by myself at home. But after a day 
 of carousing I began to reflect that if I kept on that 
 way, it would lead me to misery. I went to bed, 
 and thought I was conducted to the top of a 
 mountain, where I beheld two men entirely des- 
 titute of covering standing by a trough in which 
 I saw some red stuff that looked like fire. One 
 of the men had a scoop-shovel in liis hand, and 
 would frequently lade up a shovelful of the fire 
 and throw it into the open mouth of the other, 
 
30 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 who, after swallowing it, would vomit it back into 
 the trough, and this was done again and again ! I 
 was much astonished at this sight, and asked my 
 guide what it meant ; he replied, * this is the 
 miserable state of drunkards.' Oh ! said I, this 
 then is my state for I love liquor. I awoke 
 in great terror^ and trembling made a so- 
 lemn covenant, that I would not taste another 
 drop of liquor as long as I Ih-ed, and from that 
 time I have been entirely clear from that awful 
 sin." The company listened with profound at- 
 tention to the voice of this stranger ; and I do 
 not think any more hquor was drank that night, 
 for the people went away next morning all sober. 
 
 Thus I was delivered from my trials at that 
 time, yet felt impressed with the belief that more 
 awaited me. So when I embarked in the vessel 
 that was to bring me back to Philadelphia,! found 
 some rough men on board who persisted in pro- 
 ceeding on the voyage, though the captain said 
 he thought we should have a storm. They went 
 below deck to play cards, and drank and swore 
 all day. I went to them, and warned them to 
 leave off their evil doings, but they treated me 
 with scorn, and would not take my advice. 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 31 
 
 However, a gale overtook us in the evening, 
 the wind blew, the waves beat, the thunder 
 roared and the lio-htnincr flashed : then these 
 wicked men were seized with great terror, and 
 on their knees prayed for mercy. I sat in a so- 
 lemn frame of mind, and saitl to them, " My 
 friends, you have been serving the Devil all 
 day, and now^ in your extremity you cry unto that 
 God you have blasphemed," They were struck 
 with conviction, and implored me to forgive them 
 for their ill treatment of me in the mornmg. " My 
 friends," said I, I freely forgive you, and be- 
 lieve if you will now turn from your evil ways, 
 that the Lord \y\\l forgive you, and you will ex- 
 perience his mercy and preservation." And when 
 we came safe to land they hung round me like 
 poor beggai^,andwe parted in much tenderness.* 
 
 * JacolD Ritter was a faithful coadjutor with his breth- 
 ren of the Society of Friends in the support of their tes- 
 tiinon}- against intemperance. He labored earnestly 
 to dissuade all who were in the habit of drinking intoxi- 
 cating liquors from such a hurtful and dangerous practice. 
 
 He frequently expressed his fervent concern on this sub- 
 ject botiiin meetings and out of them ; remarking that he 
 had been grieved in the army on seeing the officers mix 
 gunpowder in liquor, and press the soldiers to drink it 
 
32 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 One day on my return from another part of 
 the town where I had some business, I found my 
 mother-in-law and another woman at my house, 
 disputing with my wife about doctrine. Her 
 mother had charged her with going to Quaker 
 meeting, which she denied, and on my coming 
 in, appealed to me. "No," said I,"thou hast never 
 been." My wife stepped up to me, and said in a 
 very loving manner, " now Jacob I am convinced 
 thou art in the right way, and I will henceforth 
 go to meeting with thee." 
 
 When she had so said, her mother start- 
 ed up in a passion, and when I tried to per- 
 suade her to stay and dine with us, she refused 
 declaring she would have nothing to do with such 
 reprobates. 
 
 When the yellow fever broke out in Philadel- 
 phia in the year 1793, my mind was secretly 
 drawn to visit those who had the disease ; but a 
 
 before going into battle, that their minds might be the 
 more infuriated : and thus men were hurried into eternity 
 in this state. He very justly observed that intoxicating 
 liquors inflamed the worst passions of men, and led 
 them on to the commission of crimes, which in moments 
 of sober reflection they w»uld abhor. 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 33 
 
 great conflict between my fears as a man, and 
 my duties as a Christian arose, till at length I de- 
 termined to put my trust in God, and venture my 
 life in the cause of suffering humanity. As I 
 was going out of the house, my wife said to me, 
 " Now don't thee go among the fever." I made 
 her no reply, but walked down to the residence 
 of a friend who lay ill with the fever. When 
 I got to his door, nature prevailed, and I passed 
 by ; but before I had gone many steps, great dis- 
 tress fell upon me for my disobedience, and I 
 then gave up to do whatever the Lord required 
 of me. So I returned to the house and entered 
 the sick man's chamber. I found him in the great- 
 est extremity, but the power of the Almighty 
 overshadowed me, and I had faith to believe he 
 would be raised, which he afterwards was, and is 
 living at this day. When I had performed the 
 services I had been sent to do, I left him and 
 returned to my home in great peace. 
 
 My wife immediately perceived the smell of 
 the yellow fever was upon me, and taxed me 
 I with having been among it. I did not attempt to 
 deny it, but told her I had done so in obedience 
 to Divine command : " well then," said she, " I 
 5 
 
m 
 
 MEMOIRS Of 
 
 submit and from that time I visited all the 
 sick I could, both Friends and otherS) rich and 
 poor, and administered such consolation and as- 
 sistance as the good Master put in my heart* — 
 Many of the Lutherans who looked shy at me 
 after I had left their Society, now they were 
 brought into affliction, received me gladly ; and 
 my confidence was strong in the Lord. At one 
 place, I found the husband lying very ill and his 
 young wife standing beside him. He stretched 
 out his hand towards me, and said he was glad 
 to see me, that he was aware his end was near, 
 but that he should die in peace with God and all 
 men. I spoke what was on my mind to him, 
 when, taking my hand, he said, "Jacob, farewell ! 
 we shall never more see each other until we meet 
 in Heaven, but be thou faithful unto death, and 
 thou shalt receive a crown of hfe." I left him, 
 and the next morning called again to inquire 
 about him. His poor wife, with two little chil- 
 dren, when she saw me, put her hands on her 
 head, and bowing herself in anguish of spirit, 
 cried out, " My husband is gone forever, thou 
 sawest him last night, and now he is under the 
 ground.** 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 35 
 
 My heart was moved at her distress, and I felt 
 more than I could well bear. I might relate 
 many more affecting circiunstances which I saw 
 during this awful visitation, but in order to be 
 brief, I let them pass. But one event now oc- 
 curs to my recollection w^hich perhaps I had bet- 
 ter mention. 
 
 As I was going along the street one day, I 
 saw a corpse brought to the Friends' burying 
 ground, and only one Friend* follo\\ing it. I 
 joined him and we proceeded to the grave. He 
 stood on one side of it, and I on the other, while 
 the corpse was buried. We parted at the gate 
 of the grave-yard, and each w^ent to his own 
 home, and we were both taken ill with the fever, 
 
 While I lay sick, expecting nothing but death, a 
 man came to my bed-side and told me the Friend 
 above alluded to was dead and buried. When I 
 heard this, great weight fell upon me, and I 
 thought I must die too ; but suddenly my mind 
 was raised, and I was again favored to have a 
 transporting view of the heavenly land. I be- 
 
 * Daniel Offley, an eminent minister, for an account 
 of whom, see Friends' Miscellany. — Ed. 
 
36 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 held the garden of Eden, and saw many persons 
 dressed in glorious habits, walking to and fro 
 among the trees which were loaded with fruits 
 and flowers ; numerous birds were singing among 
 the branches, and all was peace and happiness. 
 As I stood by the gate, much wishing that I 
 might dwell in the garden also, I saw the 
 Friend above alluded to walking among those 
 glorious inhabitants : he advanced towards me 
 and I perceived he looked very fresh and fair. — 
 He said to me, " Jacob, the people say I am 
 dead, but thou seest me here ahve and perfectly 
 happy." Then a delicious odour and pure air 
 came from the garden and passed quite through 
 me, and I heard a voice say to me, " Thou slialt 
 not die at this time, thy work is not yet done." 
 My ears were then filled with the same delightful 
 harmony that I had before a sense of, and the 
 praises of the Lord were sounded throughout 
 that happy land. When I came to myself, I 
 found my wife leaning over me to ascertain 
 whether I breathed. I soon revived, and began to 
 recover from that time. 
 
 My dear wife continued to accompany me to 
 meetings for some time, and was concerned to 
 speak a few words in them, and in the last one 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 37 
 
 she attended, she mentioned in German the para- 
 ble of the prodigal. About this time she told 
 me she thought she should leave me before long ; 
 that she saw her end was approaching ; that 
 she believed her peace was made with her Crea- 
 tor, and soon afterwards she was taken ill. A 
 little while before she died, she called me and 
 the children to her, and after tenderly commend- 
 ing them to my care, she foretold their future 
 history, which I have lived to see fully verified 
 in every particular except one ; then taking me 
 by the hand, told me, she had seen in the clear- 
 ness of the hght of truth that many trials await- 
 ed me : " but be thou fiiithful unto death and thou 
 shalt receive the crown of life, which is laid up 
 in store for thee, and for all them that love the 
 appearance of Jesus Christ." She then bid 
 the children one by one and myself, an affection- 
 ate farewell. " Now," said she, " I go," and 
 immediately leaned her head back on her pillow, 
 and died. 
 
 While a widower, I went regularly to Friends' 
 meetings, and many were my trials and exerci- 
 ses, both inwardly and outwardly. It would 
 often occur to my mind as I sat in meeting, that 
 when I was a prisoner in the revolutionary war, 
 
m 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I had vowed revenge upon those Englishmen 
 and Hessians, who had so cruelly beaten and 
 abused me, and I would secretly petition my 
 Heavenly Father to enable me to forgive them, 
 and to point out some way to overcome those 
 feelings. 
 
 One night it appeared to me that I stood in 
 my rank in the army, with my gun on my 
 shoulder and when I remembered that I belong- 
 ed to Friends' Society whose principle was 
 peace to all mankind, I thought how inconsistent 
 it was for me still to wear regimentals, and carry 
 my weapons of war. I then looked round to 
 see how I could get clear, and there seemed to 
 be no other way, than to throw down my arms, 
 and desert ; this I accordingly did, and as I ran 
 an officer called out, there is a man deserting, 
 but let him alone, a faithful sentinel is on 
 his way, who will stop him and bring him up, 
 and then we will pay him soundly." 
 
 I heard these words, but dared not turn out of 
 my way to the right or left to escape the threat* 
 ened danger. So when I came to the sentry- 
 box, 'a soldier in a red coat leveled his musket at 
 me, and bid me stop, for he must bring me back 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 39 
 
 to the army. I heeded hun not, but, making a 
 sudden spring forward, passed hun, and he fired 
 upon me ; I felt the bullet strike my back, but 
 Was not wounded. So I ran on until I was too 
 tired to rim any further, and, laying myself un- 
 der an oak tree, fell asleep. 
 
 When I awoke, methought I found myself in 
 great darkness, and was at a loss to know what 
 to do, when suddenly I saw a great light before 
 me, and was commanded to arise and follow^ that 
 light. I did so, and it led me safely ; for I ob- 
 served that wherever my road was rough and 
 difficult, the blessed light drew near, and distinct- 
 ly showed me how to step ; and when the path 
 was good, it removed to a greater distance be- 
 fore me* Thus travelling forward I was led 
 down hill in order to pass over a frightful desert : 
 the light now hovered about my head, and shed 
 such a brightness on my path that I could dis- 
 tinctly see numberless reptiles, and noxious ver- 
 min about my feet, but they fled from the light 
 and hid themselves, and I stepped from one sod 
 to another unhurt, and thus got safely over this 
 dismal place. 
 
 My guiding Ught now began to ascend a bill 
 
40 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and I followed it ; but I was now so wearied 
 with ray long travels, that I was obliged to climb 
 up the mountain on my hands and feet. 
 
 When the vision was gone I came to myself, 
 and was sensible that the Christian principle in 
 my own breast had entirely overcome that spirit 
 of war and revenge, which had so long troubled 
 me, even in meetings ; and I was enabled to for- 
 give my enemies, even those who had so greatly 
 abused me while I was a prisoner wholly in their 
 power, and unable to defend myself Yes ! and 
 I forgave them from my very heart, loved them 
 freely, and could have received them as brothers. 
 Oh ! the power of this redeeming principle in the 
 soul of man. 
 
 In the spring of 1794, I removed with my 
 motherless children to Springfield where I had 
 bought a small farm, hoping my trials and temp- 
 tations would be less in the country than in the 
 city ; but when settled on rriy farm, I found the 
 tempter was the same in every place. I attend- 
 ed Richland meeting, having to walk five miles to 
 get there. 
 
 Oftentimes a concern rested on my mind, to 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 41 
 
 open my mouth in meeting, to declare the deal- 
 ings of the Lord to his poor servant, though in a 
 few wordsand in a broken manner; and as I stood 
 faithful to the pure principle in my own breast, 
 I was favored to experience peace, and had also 
 the unity and sympathy of Friends. 
 
 When Friends first proposed recommending 
 me.as a minister to the Quarterly meeting of 
 Ministers and Elders, I begged of them not to 
 do so, for I felt myself a poor, dumb man, unfit 
 for the service. So it was put off nearly a year, 
 and I continued in my low and humble appear- 
 ances as before. Then the matter was proposed 
 to me again : I told them I had rather not, but 
 j at length submitted to the judgment of my 
 I friends ; and when they insisted on my taking a 
 j seat in the upper gallery, I did it ^vith great re- 
 ' luctance, my mind being covered with fear and 
 solemnity whenever I sat down therein. 
 
 I mention this little circumstance not to boast 
 of my humility, but because I believe the cause 
 of Truth has at times suffered loss by its pro- 
 fessors being too forward. 
 
 In the year 1802, 1 married Ann Williams of 
 
42 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Buckingham, and soon afterwards we concluded 
 to remove into a neighbourhood more thickly- 
 settled by Friends, and accordingly I sold my 
 farm at Richland and bought one at Plymouth, 
 to which latter place I removed with my family 
 in the spring of 1812. From that time to the 
 present year (1827) I have dwelt pretty much 
 in quiet, receiving all who came to my house ; 
 turning none av;ay ; until now, divisions and 
 rents have arisen among Friends, and many of 
 my fellow-professors have turned their backs 
 upon the galleries, because of disputes about 
 faith and doctrine. Now I am clear in the be- 
 lief that had we all attended faithfully to the 
 pure principle of light and life in our hearts and 
 minds, these disjDutes and divisions would not 
 have been among us, and I am convinced, that 
 we never shall get back to the unity of the spirit 
 in the bond of peace until we settle down in the 
 everlasting silence, to the saving and redeeming 
 principle in our own hearts ; and blessed is he 
 who attends strictly to its divine instructions and 
 reproofs, which are the way of life and salva- 
 tion. 
 
 Here the journal of Jacob Ritter, as left by 
 himself, closes. The last twenty-eight years of 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 43 
 
 his life he resided at Plymouth, a branch of 
 Gwynedd Monthly meeting, in Montgomery co.. 
 Pennsylvania. Some of us being intimately ac* 
 quainted with him, and frequently in his compa- 
 ny, have heard him relate many interesting oc- 
 currences that are not mentioned in his Journal ; 
 and it was thought best to annex these to the 
 foregoing account. 
 
 In his ministry, Jacob Ritter seldom mentioned 
 the sacred name, and when he did, it was w^th 
 awe and reverence. He abounded in original 
 ideas, and illustrated the subject before him from 
 familiar objects of creation. His disposition was 
 meek and unassuming. In humility and self^ 
 denial, he was exemplary : and after passing 
 through many trials, he became so much redeemed 
 from the world, and the spirit of human policy, 
 I that it is believed he never exercised the right of 
 suffrage so for as to attend an election. 
 
 j It is not recollected that he ever appeared in 
 I public vocal supplication, but in his appearances 
 in the ministry, he frequently adverted to 
 the duty and advantages of silent inward 
 prayer, 
 
il 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 In his person he was neat and clean, his dress 
 was generally of a light color ; his conversation 
 was cheerful and mixed with gravity. In com- 
 pany he frequently related anecdotes with which 
 his memory was abundantly stored, and they sel- 
 dom failed to attract attention, while they were 
 fraught with interest and instruction, especially 
 to young people. 
 
 His wife died about three years and nine 
 months before him, by which he sustained an ir- 
 reparable loss. She was a true help-mate to 
 him ; a valuable elder of our Monthly meeting 
 during most of the time she resided among us, 
 and frequently travelled with him. A short 
 time before her decease, he paid a visit to a num- 
 ber of Friends at Gwynedd, and in one of the 
 families he said : " When I was young, I had a 
 wife and I loved her, but I hardly knew her 
 worth ; and now I am old, my wife feels more 
 precious to me every hour." 
 
 A few days before her decease, he dreamed he 
 saw his staff, (a favourite cane he had cut in the 
 woods, and had used nearly forty years,) lying 
 broken on the floor ; this dream troubled him ; 
 when he awoke he found his wife, who had risen 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 45 
 
 early, returning to bed with a chill and a pain 
 in her bones that she said " struck at her life 
 he immediately thought of his broken staff, but 
 did not mention it to her. She died in a few 
 days, and the dream was affectingly realized in 
 the loss of his Avife, who had been a staff, a 
 faithful and an affectionate companion to him 
 for nearly forty years. She died on the seven- 
 teenth of the third-month, 1838. 
 
 In a Friend's family not long before his decease, 
 he related some circumstances that took place on 
 the battle-ground at Chadsford when he was 
 in the army. He said he had been very recent- 
 ly on the ground, and saw the hills, the rocks 
 and the trees that brought back the remembrance 
 of the awful scene he witnessed, when the deso- 
 lations of war were around him, when the shrieks 
 of the wounded and the groans of the dying were 
 ringing in his ears. He shed tears at the recital 
 of this melancholy picture of human carnage. 
 
 In conversation he frequently related the 
 events of that day, with expressions of gratitude 
 to the Father of mercies, who then clearly showed 
 to him the sinfulness of all wars and fightings, 
 
46 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 who took away all fear of man from him ; who 
 plucked him as a brand from the burning ; and 
 led him safely along through deep suffering. 
 
 After the death of his wife he was very lone* 
 ly, but continued for the rest of his days diligent 
 in attending meetings both for worship and dis- 
 cipline, and occasionally visited his friends and 
 neighbors, imparting counsel and encouragement 
 to them as the way opened. 
 
 A few months before his decease, he visited his 
 brothers at Springfield, and many of his former 
 neighbors and friends with whom he had reli^ 
 gious opportunities. On his return home, he 
 tarried several days at Richland, visiting Friends 
 and others. He attended meeting there, in w^hich 
 he delivered the following communication : 
 
 " Since I have been sitting amongst you this 
 morning, dear friends, I have remembered some- 
 thing: that I don't know I have thought of for 
 seventy years. When I was a little boy about 
 ten years old, I \ised to like to go to meetings 
 sometimes. One first-day morning, I asked my 
 father if I might not go with some of my com- 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 47 
 
 rades, neighbouring boys, to Quaker meeting. 
 He said, "for what would 3-ou go to their meet- 
 ing ? — they don't have any preaching, they just 
 sit still." 
 
 But still I wished to go; "well," said he, " go; 
 but mind and behave yourself." So I set off, and 
 walked about five miles barefooted: when I came 
 to the meeting, it was late ; all the people were 
 in. I went in, and sat down behind the door. 
 I looked round ; the people appeared so serious 
 and solemn, that it brought good feelings to my 
 mind, though there was no preaching. Oh! the 
 good feelings I experienced ! so that when 
 meeting broke up, I felt as if I could sit still an 
 hour longer. 
 
 If the children, — the dear children, would but 
 be still and try to wait on the Lord in the truth, 
 he would in mercy draw near to them ; for he loves 
 little children, and sometimes graciously visits 
 them, I believe, at a very early age. When I 
 came home, my father said, " well, did the Qua- 
 kers preach?" I said, "no, but there are good feel- 
 ings amongst them that are better than preach- 
 
48 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ing ; we have no such good feehngs in our meet- 
 ings." 
 
 From the period above mentioned until his en- 
 trance into the army, it is not recollected that he 
 related much in the order of time, that is not con- 
 tained in his journal. In this school of adversi- 
 ty, his mind became stored with a number of an- 
 ecdotes, some of which he related in meetings 
 and others by the fire-side, with considerable 
 force and interest. 
 
 On one occasion, he said, a young man was 
 brought into the army and required to perform 
 military duty; he said, he could not fight, for he 
 was a Quaker. The presiding officer replied, 
 " But you are no Quaker for you have not the 
 * cooterments,' " (accoutrements). The young 
 man then produced some written credentials by 
 which he proved his right of membership. The 
 officer now called for a shears that he might 
 trim him ; and so he cut off his capes and his 
 lappels, and sitch a hair tail he had behind, 
 (a cue) and then said to him, " now you may go, 
 now you look more like a Quaker." 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 49 
 
 Jacob related this anecdote in a Monthly meet- 
 ing when the subject of " plainness, &c.," was 
 under review, and went on to show that in the 
 array it was considered an act of gross misbeha- 
 viour and insubordination, for a man to wear any 
 other uniform than that wdiich accorded with 
 his rank, and the company to which he belonged ; 
 that the young man would have been saved a 
 great deal of chagrin, had his " cooterments'* 
 corresponded w^ith his profession ; that the offi- 
 cer could not understand why he appeared in a 
 dress having in many respects the semblance of 
 
 1 a mihtary garb, professing at the same time the 
 
 ' peaceable principles of Friends. 
 
 ' ^ . . . 
 
 He drew a very sensible conclusion from this 
 
 anecdote, viz. — that " plainness of speech and 
 simplicity of apparel" w^ere a much greater pro- 
 
 I tection to Friends than many were aware of ; 
 that the most correct and honorable people of 
 the world could not view a Friend, swerving 
 
 j from the principles of his profession, in any other 
 Hght than that in which the officer regarded the 
 individual above mentioned. 
 
 Jacob Ritter was a bright example to his 
 7 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 friends and neighbors in the faithful support of 
 our testimony to plainness in dress, furniture, and 
 equipage, and he agreed with many others, that 
 plainness in these respects consisted in the 
 greatest degree of usefulness, comfort, and con- 
 venience, obtained with the least degree of labor 
 and expense.*' 
 
 About the middle of the ninth-month, 1777, 
 he was taken prisoner as before related. The 
 weather was cold, the glass in the jail windows 
 was broken out, and he was compelled to lodge 
 on the bare ground, almost literally without food 
 and clothing. Many of his fellow-prisoners ac- 
 tually starved to death, and some of them died 
 with a little grass half chewed in their mouths.* 
 
 * This affecting- circumstance is forcibly alluded to in 
 a letter published in 1778, and addressed by Francis 
 Hopkinson, one of the signers of the declaration of 
 American Independence, to Joseph Galloway. In this let- 
 ter, which contains a severe rebuke of the conduct of the 
 latter individual, the writer thus expresses himself: "you 
 sit down daily to a board spread with more than plenty, 
 and know with unconcern that numbers of your coun- 
 trymen, even some of your former acquaintances are suf- 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 51 
 
 He was applied to by one poor prisoner, who 
 said his end was near, if he could not get some 
 relief. Having ^vith great difficulty procured a 
 cracker, Jacob told him to take a little at a time 
 well soaked in vrater ; this was done, and the 
 man revived, and several years afterwards, as Ja- 
 cob was passing, this person came out of his 
 house and addressed him in this manner : " you 
 are the man that saved my hfe in prison with a 
 cracker ! come in, for I owe my life to you, I 
 will make you all the compensation in my 
 power." 
 
 Jacob said, " I looked at him, and remembered 
 him, but I could not take any reward ; and after 
 we had talked a while about our sufferino;s in 
 prison, and about our release, and how we fared, 
 we both burst into a flood of tears, and parted in 
 great tenderness." 
 
 But to return, he said, " one day a family in 
 Philadelphia, knowing of our sufferings, sent us 
 
 ferinor all the lingering anguish of absolute famine in the 
 jails of this city." *' You well know that they have 
 plucked the weeds of the earth for food, and expired with 
 the unchewed grass in their mouths, &c." 
 
52 
 
 MElVipiRS OF 
 
 a large tub filled with warm soup ; and the keep- 
 er of the prison, who was a very hard-hearted 
 man, instead of dividing it among us, poured it 
 on the ground in the jail yard, and laughed when 
 he saw the prisoners foil down and lick up the 
 soup like dogs." " One day I saw a plain look- 
 jjig Friend step up to the prison door with a pa- 
 per in his hand, and ask the turnkey, * is Jacob 
 Ritter in prison'? ' There are nine hundred men 
 here, was the answer, I don't know Jacob Ritter.' 
 I then stepped up, and said, ^ I am Jacob Ritter;' 
 he said to me, ' well, Jacob ! what wouldst thou 
 say, if I should set thee at liberty?' I said, * Oh ! 
 Oh I I would be very glad.' He then handed 
 the paper to the turnkey, who, looking at it, un- ^ 
 locked the iron gate, and said to me, ' there, now 
 begone about your business.' I felt new life 
 spring IX}. me, I jumped off the steps, and went 
 to one of my relations in town ; but don't know 
 to this day, the name of the Friend who was in- 
 strumental in my release ; he seemed like an an- 
 gel that had come to let me out.* 
 
 * It is probable that Galloway and General Howe al- 
 lowed some Friend to transact the business for them after 
 Galloway had sijrned the petition, as mentioned in these 
 Memoirs, page 19. 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 53 
 
 My relations were very kind to me and gave 
 rae food and clothing until my strength returned. 
 And after I had done what I could in the way 
 of bodily labor to reward them for their kindness, 
 I went home to Springfield, where they were 
 all very glad to see me, for they thought I was 
 dead, but my mother kept the faith and wouhl 
 say, " I shall see my child again. 
 
 Soon after his removal to Philadelphia, he wa.^ 
 imder great exercise of mind concerning his reli- 
 gious duty, and inw^ardly concerned in prayer, 
 that he might be rightly directed. 
 
 He said, while under this exercise of mind I 
 had a dream or vision, in which I saw at some 
 distance before me a temple, or strong tower 
 standing in the light ; while I was looking and 
 wondering what it was, there was one who told 
 me " the name of the Lord is a strong tower, 
 the rio;hteous flee thereimto and are safe." So I 
 got a ladder and tried to get in at the upper sto- 
 ry, but I found no entering place there. I 
 moved the ladder and tried to get in at the next 
 story below, but found I could not. I trieil 
 a2:ain at the next story, but still could not get in. 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I then tried on a level with the ground, and walk- 
 ed all round the tower but could find no entering 
 place ; I now began to feel great uneasiness, 
 fearing I was unworthy and could not get in at 
 all. 
 
 " While I w^as musing, it sprang up clear in 
 my mind, that the w^ay to get in, was to go 
 down into the basement story, so I went down 
 and found the way without difficulty, and when 
 inside I found there was a w^ay to get up."* 
 
 * In relating this and other instances of a similiar 
 kind, he would say: "It was a dream oi a vision, but I 
 believe it was a vision." I prefer the latter name, because 
 vision is a more definite term than dream, and literally 
 means a sight or perception, whether ocular or mental. If 
 the object of perception addresses itself to the outward 
 senses, we see it with the outward eye, and obtain what 
 is called ocular demonstration. If it addresses itself to 
 the understanding, we examine it by the mental eye, or 
 the eye of reason, and thus "we may arrive at certainty 
 in this, no less than in the former case. If the object of 
 perception be supernatural, or such as our natural powers of 
 mind alone cannot comprehend, we require a superadded 
 means of vision. For what man knoweth the things 
 of a man save the spirit of man which is in him 1 even 
 so the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of 
 God." No man could ever have known anything more 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 55 
 
 Soon after this I had many trials : the offi- 
 cers of the church were roused up against me, 
 and the members were full of arguments. One 
 day as I was passing through the market, I met 
 one of them, who was full of zeal ; he got very 
 warm, and w^as angry because I went to the 
 Quakers. I thought he would have struck me 
 in the face, and this made me also feel a little 
 warm, but I happened to look down and saw my 
 
 than the thinors of man were it not that a measure of the 
 Divine spirit "is given to every man to profit veithal." By 
 this spirit we have a clear vision or perception concerning 
 Divine things and it reveals or makes known unto us 
 our duty to God and our fellow-man. But dreams are 
 generally the reverse of all this, being for the most part of 
 a vague and indeterminate character, without clearness 
 or certainty ; and yet none, perhaps, will call in question 
 George Fox's definition of dreams. He says in sub- 
 stance that they are of three kinds, viz : "The revelations 
 of the Divine Spirit to man in sleep; the workings of the 
 imagination when the mind is overcharged with tempor- 
 al business, and the temptations or whisperings of Sa- 
 tan." But it is evident that a divine discernment or a 
 supernatural power of vision is requisite to enable us to 
 make a proper distinction with respect to those several 
 kinds of dreams, and the true followers of Christ \\\\\ 
 doubtless be furnished with this necessary gift, or qualifi- 
 cation. " Blessed are your eyes for they see (or have 
 sound vision) and your ears for they hear.'WIat.xiii 16. Ed. 
 
m 
 
 MEMOIRS or 
 
 own list was shut, so I passed away as soon as 
 I could, and this was a lesson for me to take 
 care and not get into disputes about religion." 
 
 One day when I came home from Friends' 
 meeting, T found some of the church Elders at 
 my house ; they said they came to beat me out 
 of the silly notion of going to Quaker meeting : 
 they were full of talk and used many arguments 
 to prove that I had better keep to the ftiith in 
 which I had been educated ; that 1 would ])e 
 greatly deceived if I went to the Quakers. 
 
 I said but little as I had no life in disputing, 
 so after dinner, I went aw^ay to lie dowTi, leav- 
 ing them to talk wuth my w^ife. I felt very much 
 tried because my wife was troubled, and did not 
 like me to go to Friends' meeting, though I had 
 been there but a few times. So I found it would 
 be best to say but little, and try to be still, and 
 had faith to believe that a way would be opened 
 for me in the clearness. 
 
 I soon fell into a sound sleep, and just as I 
 was waking up, I thought T saw a grave looking 
 Friend come to my bedside and call aloud tome, 
 saying, * arise Jacob and go to meeting,' it is 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 57 
 
 quite time, and be not faithless but believing." I 
 jumped up quickly, and heard the clock strike four. 
 It was on a first-day afternoon, and the meeting 
 \vas generally gathered : so I stepped into the 
 room, and found the church officers still talking 
 with my wife ; but now^ they began to talk to 
 me, and when they saw me take down my hat 
 which was hanging on a peg, they talked very 
 loud. I said nothing at all, but left them and 
 walked off to meeting as fast as I could, and 
 oh ! what a precious meeting it was. I. felt the 
 reward of sweet peace for obedience. 
 
 " When the elders of the church found I was 
 fixed in my mind to go to Friends' meetings, 
 they gave me up, and after a while disowned me. 
 About this time, William Savery took notice of 
 me; he would come and sit by me, when I was at 
 work, and was a strength to me ; I told him I 
 now felt peace, and believed I was safe. He said, 
 ' Oh ! Jacob, thy work is only pretty well be- 
 gun yet, but keep in good heart, keep the fiiith.' 
 
 " At length I felt it my duty to apply to be 
 received into membership with Friends : this was 
 a great trial to me, I tried to think it would 
 8 
 
58 
 
 MEMOIRS OF ^ 
 
 be enough to keep steady to meetings, and live an 
 orderly life, but I could not feel easy, — so I took 
 up the cross and applied, and Friends sent a 
 committee to visit mi;." 
 
 " They came a great many times to see me, 
 but did not say much, passing most of the time 
 of their visits in silence ; my ca'-e was in the 
 meeting about two years, so that I was fearful I 
 was not worthy to be a member. I told William 
 Savery one day, * I thought Friends were very 
 slow;' he said, * never mind, Jacob, all is right 
 enough, keep the patience, thou art just as well 
 off as if thou wast a member.' 
 
 When Friends informed me I was a member, 
 and invited me to meetings for discipline, I 
 thought, surely my work was done, that I had 
 now got into the tower I saw in my vision. I 
 attended meetings diligently, and felt great in- 
 ward peace." 
 
 " One day, while sitting in a meeting of wor- 
 ship, I felt a fcw words spring up in my mind to 
 speak; but I hi in the reasoner, and pleaded 
 within myself that I was very ignorant, and 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 59 
 
 was imperfect in the English language. So I 
 put it by, but oh I the darkness and horror that 
 took hold of my mind ; I felt the terrors of the 
 Lord for disobedience, and was fearful I was 
 now forsaken, and should no more feel the re- 
 ward of obedience: I cried inwardly to the 
 Lord, that if he would not forsake me, I would 
 be more faithful in time to come. So one day 
 while sitting on the back seat in the Bank meet- 
 ing, my good Master came to me again, and gave 
 me a few words to speak. I felt very fearful — 
 nature began to shrink, and my heart seemed to 
 come up in my mouth, and I trembled ; but af- 
 ter a while, I stood up and said a word or two, 
 and the people began to look hack, hack, all over 
 the house at me, to see where the words came from, 
 and it frightened me so that I poured it on them 
 in Dutch." 
 
 " When the meeting was over, I went away 
 as soon as I could, and kept out of sight for a 
 while as much as possible, but one day I saw 
 two young men getting into a gig, who laughed 
 out loud, and said, " there goes the man that 
 preached to us in Dutch;" — so I felt discouraged, 
 but William Savery came to see me, and said, 
 
60 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ' Jacob, thou preaches to us in Dutch, cans't thou 
 not preach in English, we can't understand 
 Dutch I said ' my Enghsh is very imperfect,' 
 he said, ' but thou can try Jacob, I want thee 
 next time to try and preach in Enghsh as well as 
 thou can.' ' So the next time Isphoke so well as 
 I coot, part Tutch and part English.^ Oh ! what 
 comfort I felt ; Friends were very kind to me ; 
 they did not tell me not to speak at all, which I 
 expected, but told me to do as well as I could, 
 and I received great encouragement from time to 
 time from William Savery." 
 
 It appears from his Journal that in the spring 
 of 1794, he removed with his motherless child- 
 ren to Springfield, (the place of his nativity,) 
 hoping his trials would be less in a retired part 
 of the country than in the large city of Phila- 
 delphia, where his children were much exposed 
 to many temptations ; though, as he frequently 
 said, he was well aware that his prospects and 
 profits in business at this time, would be likely 
 to suffer loss by his removal. 
 
 He added further, " my trials were many both 
 outwardly and in a spiritual sense ; several good 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 61 
 
 horses that I had died one after another, besides 
 many other losses I met with, so that I had a 
 great deal to do with the wheelbarrow and the 
 grubbing hoe. I had also to walk five miles to 
 meeting. 
 
 I was for several years much discouraged, but 
 as I kept humble and low, trusting to the care 
 of my Divine master, I was preserved from mur- 
 muring. So, after some years, my circumstances 
 began to mend, and I believed in the truth of the 
 Apostle's testimony, that " bodily exercise pro- 
 fiteth httle : but godliness is profitable unto all 
 things, having promise of the life that now is, 
 and of that which is to come."* 
 
 The following occurrence may perhaps be in- 
 serted in this place. 
 
 During the sittings of one of our Yearly Meet- 
 ings, he attended at one of the houses opened for 
 public worship on fifth-day — the house w^as 
 crowded. The time of the meeting was occu- 
 pied by two Friends in the ministry who in- 
 dulged in tiresome repetitions, evidently to the 
 disadvantage and unsettlement of the meeting. 
 Jacob was very much tried. After meeting, on 
 going to a Friend's house, he found a large com- 
 * 1 Tim. iv. 8, 
 
62 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pany, and the two preachers above alluded to. 
 The latter had heard of Jacob Ritter and were 
 desirous to see him, and to be informed of some 
 of the singular events of his life from his own 
 lips. After dinner, the company being collected, 
 he related some anecdotes that attracted great 
 attention, and, keeping to his exercise about the 
 meeting in the morning, proceeded as follows : 
 
 " After I had passed through many exercises 
 and deep provings in the army, way was made 
 for me gradually, until I became a member of 
 the Society of Friends ; then I thought I had 
 got to the root, and foundation, and spring of life, 
 but I found I wanted experimental knowledge ; 
 so I had to pass through the furnace again, and 
 I had many trials and deep provings. My wife 
 died, and I w^ent with my little motherless child- 
 ren into the country and began farming, where I 
 endured many hardships. 
 
 I cleared a piece of new land, and found a 
 great deal of rubbish on it. I cut down the trees 
 and hauled them olT, but had to leave the stumps 
 and the long roots in the ground. I had a great 
 deal to do with my grubbing hoe to dig up the 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 63 
 
 bushes and the underwood, and ploughed my 
 land as well as I could. 
 
 I have thought sometimes a farmer may learn 
 a great deal in a spiritual sense, for our hearts 
 must be cleared of a great deal of rubbish before 
 they are fit to receive the good seed of the king- 
 dom. Now after I had ploughed and harrowed 
 my land, I sowed it with good seed, and it soon 
 sprung up : bnt my work was not yet done, for 
 I had to watch it, and fence it in. My land pro- 
 duced well, and I felt thankful. 
 
 As I could see several days before harvest 
 when my grain would be ripe, I went out and 
 engaged my reapers ; I fixed the day when 
 they should come and reap down my harvest ; 
 so we reaped it and bound it up, and shocked it, 
 and I had a good crop, and after it had stood a 
 while in the shock to season, we hauled it to the 
 barn and put it away ; we gleaned it with the 
 rake, and hauled in the gleanings, and threshed 
 them out : JS'ow if I had told my reapers to go 
 and reap my field again, they would have thought 
 I was crazy P* 
 
 * The lesson inculcated in this instance is similar to 
 the pithy advice given by a distinguished person, the 
 
64 
 
 MEMOIRS OF' 
 
 The hint appeared to be well understood ; all 
 could comprehend that there was a reference to 
 the occurrences of the morning ; the force of the 
 application was the more sensibly felt from the 
 fact that it was kept in reserve for the last words 
 while the story was related in free and pleasant 
 conversation, and all were waiting attentively 
 to learn what he would make of his farming an- 
 ecdote. 
 
 Jacob Ritter seldom travelled long journeys 
 in the work of the ministry, but whenever it 
 was required he cheerfully gave up his time to 
 the service of Truth. He was a diligent attender 
 of meetings both for worship and discipline, and, 
 while industrious in his outward calling, his pri- 
 
 late John Witherspoon, when principal of Princeton Col- 
 lege, to several students who had completed their educa- 
 tion,and were about to receive his farewell address on their 
 leaving- school to enter upon the duties of their seveial 
 professions. He said to them, "Boys, I foresee that 
 some of you will become distinguished in the pulpit and 
 others at the bar. In relation to public speaking, I have 
 one charge to give you which T hope you will alw ays care 
 fully observe, that is, before you speak, be sure you have 
 something to say, and always mind to stop when you 
 are done." 
 
JACOB HITTER. 
 
 65 
 
 mary concern was to seek first the " kingdom of 
 God and his righteousness.'' 
 
 While he resided at Springfield, he accompani- 
 ed James Simpson on a religious visit. On their 
 return home, James appointed a meeting at 
 Easton : they put up at a public house, and Ja- 
 cob undertook to make arrangements for the 
 meeting ; for this purpose the court house was 
 obtained, though not without some opposition 
 from one influential individual. 
 
 James, who was probably aware that there 
 had been some difficulty about the meeting, and 
 seeing the people assemble in crowds, became 
 very much depressed ; he sat for a while in the 
 chimney corner, questioning the rectitude of his 
 proceeding in appointing the meeting : in this 
 state of feeling, he ordered his horse to be put to 
 the carriage, and, like the prophet Jonah, was 
 going to flee from the word of the Lord. 
 
 At this critical juncture, Jacob arrived and in- 
 quired of the ostler, *what does this mean V The 
 reply was, — " the gentleman ordered his horse," 
 " well, I order him back again," said Jacob. The 
 . 9 
 
66 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 horse was put away, and when Jacob walked in, 
 he found James, who was under a great weight 
 of exercise, preparing to go ; he was very glad 
 to see Jacob, and wished him to take charge of 
 the meeting. 
 
 Jacob said, "that wont do, James, but thou must 
 go to the meeting thou hast appointed, and I 
 will go with thee." James said " thou must do 
 the preaching then, for I cannot." Jacob replied, 
 " never mind about the preaching, nobody has 
 asked thee to preach, but let us go to meeting, 
 that is the first thing to be done." 
 
 James went in great fear and trembling, and 
 Jacob felt brotherly sympathy with him; for 
 some time, James sat with his head bowed almost 
 to his knees ; but at length light sprang up, 
 and he was enabled to proclaim the truth in the 
 demonstration of the spirit and with great power, 
 and the meeting concluded under a solemn cov- 
 ering. 
 
 The individual who had thrown difficulty in 
 the way of appointing the meeting, was now 
 so changed in his feelings that he gave the 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 67 
 
 Friends a pressing invitation to dine with 
 him ; but Jacob said, " no, thee throwed cold 
 water on this concern in the beginning, and now 
 we must go to the public house for our dinner.'* 
 
 After dinner they passed quietly away, " re- 
 joicing for the consolation"* which they felt for 
 this little act of dedication, and when they had 
 ascended an eminence out of sight of the peo- 
 ple but within full view of the town, James 
 stopped his carriage, and, looking back, exclaim- 
 ed, " Oh ! Easton, Easton, thou hast had a 
 broad-side to-day." Jacob replied, " Ah ! thou 
 can brag now, but remember how it was a while 
 ago in that chimney corner." 
 
 In the spring of 1812, he removed with his 
 family to Plymouth ; he had been in search of a 
 place for a considerable length of time, seeking 
 after the mind of truth in so important a step 
 as a change of residence. He at length agreed 
 with Thomas Corson, and purchased his farm, 
 about a mile and a half from Plymouth meeting 
 house. 
 
 * Acts 15. 31. 
 
68 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Thomas removed to Whiteland in Chester 
 county, and soon after he and his wife joined with 
 Friends and became valuable members of our 
 Society. From remarks made by Thomas Cor- 
 son, it is believed that his intercourse with Jacob 
 Ritter on this occasion, and the strong impres- 
 sion which he received of the sterling integrity 
 and uprightness of the latter, were means of 
 awakening convictions in his mind, and of indu- 
 cing him to look towards being united in 
 church fellowship with Friends. 
 
 During the time of his residence at Plymouth, 
 Jacob Ritter attended an appointed meeting 
 on a first-day afternoon in a neighbourhood of 
 Germans in Toaraensing, about fourteen miles 
 from his home ; here a large number of aged 
 people, mostly Germans, attended, many of whom 
 understood but little Enghsh. 
 
 After a time of silence, he stood up and recited 
 in Dutch a few words from the scriptures. — 
 Here, as in the case of Paul when he spoke in 
 the Hebrew language, the people kept the more 
 silence. He spoke for a long time fluently, and 
 pathetically ; some who understood him said it 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 69 
 
 was the most eloquent and impressive discourse 
 they had ever heard. He was evidently not 
 under any difficulty and embarrassment for 
 words, as was frequently the case when he 
 spoke in English. His communication, a por- 
 tion of which had reference to his sufferings in 
 the army and from which he took occasion to de- 
 scribe the horrors of war, drew tears copiously 
 from many eyes apparently unaccustomed to shed 
 them. After the meeting had concluded, the old 
 Germans, men and women, gathered round him 
 and conversed with, him freely and affectionately 
 in their mother tongue. 
 
 On a certain occasion, a very zealous profes- 
 sor of religion remarked to Jacob " that the 
 world of mankind had lapsed into a state of 
 great degeneracy, that many thousands were 
 hurled into the vortex of eternal ruin ; that the 
 Lord had a harvest, and the harvest was great, but 
 the laborers were few The few, he said, were 
 too idle ; it was high time they should be up, and 
 a doing, up and a doings doing, domg I that he 
 saw clearly the blood of the ruined would be 
 upon the heads of the idle laborers." 
 
70 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " Ah !" said Jacob, " we are in great danger 
 of running where we are not sent ; of doing that 
 which we ought not to do ; and of leaving un- 
 done that which w^e ought to do. Our salvation 
 depends upon a true and Hving faith in the son 
 of God, w^ho said, ' ye are my friends if you do 
 whatsoever things I command you.' He surely 
 knows best what we should do, and when we 
 should do it : this has always been the doctrine 
 of Friends. Now suppose the Lord of the har- 
 vest calls a man to reap in his harvest on a given 
 day ; but he who is thus called thinks it is a 
 weighty matter and has a great many things to 
 do first, and, like Martha, is cumbered about much 
 serving ; so he lets the right time slip. By and 
 by, he shoulders his sickle and goes out into 
 the field after harvest, what is he then to do? 
 he can only reap stubble. But suppose he is a 
 very doing man, and he takes his scythe and cra- 
 dle and goes into the field before the Lord of 
 the harvest had told him to go, and he tashes in" 
 to the wheat before it is ripe, he toze mishtuf, 
 and the Lord says to him, " where are thy orders, 
 who hath required this thing at thy hands ?" 
 The professor was silenced, having met with a 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 71 
 
 mouth and wisdom that he could not gainsay nor 
 resist. 
 
 He related to a friend, some years ago, the fol- 
 lowing : " one day, I had some difficulty with one 
 of my neighbours, and he let in hardness towards 
 me, so that he would not speak when we met, 
 and he would not shake hands with me. I felt 
 very much cast down and distressed in my mind 
 both day and night ; so I cried inwardly to the 
 Lord for deliverance out of this state, and that 
 the unity and good fealings between us might be 
 restored. One day, as I was sitting in meeting 
 waiting in silence on the Lord, he put it into 
 my heart to go to the man as soon as meeting 
 ended ; so before I had spoken to any one, or 
 had eaten or drank I went in the faith and found 
 my neighbor alone in the barn, threshing. He 
 threw down his flail and looked very much sur- 
 prised : we both stood still for some time, until 
 tears began to run down my face ; he then shed 
 tears also. I told him of the great distress I had 
 felt day and night ; he said it had been the case 
 ■with him too ; so we made friends, and the unity 
 was never again broken, for afterwards, when 
 we met, we always had good feelings." 
 
MEMOins OF 
 
 He related an occurrence, in reference to treat- 
 ing with offenders, that should be handed down 
 to posterity. He said, " a Friend committed a 
 breach against the good order and discipline of 
 the Society, and justified himself in his offence. 
 A committee were appointed to wait on him, 
 but he was full of arguments in defence of his con- 
 duct — a party was forming in the monthly meet- 
 ing, for he went about telling what he had said 
 and what the committee had said, and some 
 thought one thing, and some another. I felt my 
 mind drawn in love and life to go with the com- 
 mittee to see him. Knowing very well that he 
 would fortify himself with arguments against 
 every thing that could be said to him, I told 
 Friends that we were going to meet with a 
 crooket spharet, (crooked spirit) that never could 
 be overcome with words, so we must all be silent, 
 and say nothing about the man's offence, for he 
 knows very well what we are coming for. All he 
 wants is for us to begin, and he will match it at 
 once ; but if he begins, let us help him out his 
 own way as well as we can in brotherly kind- 
 ness ; but if we cannot, let us all be silent. So j 
 we went to see him, and he invited us into a 
 room, and we all sat in solemn silence together, 
 
JACOB RITTER. 73 
 
 until he became very uneasy and restless. We 
 then conversed about other matters, and after- 
 wards walked out, looked at his farm, and talked 
 friendly together. So we came in and took tea, 
 and after tea we sat in silence, in a feeling and 
 tender state. We then concluded to order our 
 horses and go, but he said, " Friends, not so, it 
 is too late.'* So we consented and stayed all 
 night, and in the morning, after breakfast, we sat 
 down again in solemn silence, and were all much 
 tendered together. When w^e had bid the family 
 farewell, and had mounted our horses, he called 
 us back, and said, " Friends,! am conquered ; for 
 I could not sleep last night. I had nothing but my 
 conscience to war with, and it continually re- 
 proached me with having done wrong. Oh ! 
 Friends, I am willing to make any acknowledg- 
 ment, if it will only atone for the evil I have 
 done." I told him he had not much acknowl- 
 edgment to make to Friends ; if he could only 
 make peace with his heavenly father, a very lit- 
 tle would satisfy Friends. So we went back again, 
 and he wrote an acknowledgment which we 
 thought was more than enough, and when it was 
 made right, we parted in much tenderness, and 
 he gave the paper to the monthly meeting. It 
 10 
 
74 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was freely accepted, and peace and harmony AvaS 
 restored among Friends." 
 
 On one occasion during harvest time, on which 
 account probably the meeting was unusually 
 small, and Friends were very drowsy, Jacob 
 stood up, and impressively cried outj " Friends, 
 we must try to keep one another awake, or else 
 we shall lose the life. To lose the life would be 
 losing everything ; the life is more than meat, 
 and the body than raiment." Friends felt the 
 force of this brief exhortation, and the meeting 
 was refreshed and enlivened. 
 
 During the Yearly meeting of 1827, Friends 
 met in Green Street meeting-house to deliberate 
 on the state of Society and to adopt such mea* 
 sures as, in the wisdom of truth, might appear 
 suitable to extricate the body from the embar- 
 rassments into which it had been thrown, occa- 
 sioned by the rash and intolerant conduct of 
 some of its members. 
 
 The following statement relative to this event, 
 furnished by a Friend, is here introduced without 
 further comment : 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 75 
 
 " A short time after the Yearly meeting in 
 1827, Jacob Ritter informed a Friend, that in 
 said meeting he could not hear ^vhat was said, 
 (his hearing being heavy,) but he could feel that 
 things were not right, that he was deeply tried, 
 and in his distress remembered his younger years, 
 his education in the Lutheran church, his con- 
 vincement and the feelings which induced him to 
 join this society ; that in so doing, he had sacri- 
 ficed much, endured many trials, and offended the 
 friends of his youth, hoping and believing that 
 he would here find a place of rest, a refuge from 
 the storm until the close of his days. But he 
 now felt that his hopes and expectations were 
 gone, that the bond of unity was broken, and 
 that he had no further interest with this people." 
 
 He i-^flected with melancholy feelings on his 
 disappointment, and lost estate ; being, as he ap- 
 prehended, now left alone and turned out in his 
 old age like a pelican in the wilderness, or a 
 sparrow upon the house top, with no society that 
 he could unite with in religious fellowship. — 
 Looking over the house, he concluded that he 
 could never come into it any more, and, on the 
 rising of the meeting, he went out and sauntered 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 
 along the street, until he arrived at a Friend's 
 house. Upon going in, he found the family at 
 tea and sat down with them, but could not eat ; 
 he therefore arose from the table, and again walk- 
 ed the streets for some time, in deep distress. — 
 Coming to another Friend's door, and finding it 
 open he walked in ; observing Friends putting 
 on their coats, he inquired where they were 
 going. One of them answered, " to Green Street 
 meeting-house :" he asked " what for ?" and was 
 told that the state of the Yearly Meeting had 
 become so trying, and the Society involved in so 
 much difficulty, that many Friends thought it 
 right to assemble there in order to seek for a 
 right opening, and to determine the proper 
 course to be pursued under those affecting cir- 
 cumstances. On being asked if he w^ould accom- 
 pany them, he replied, " I will go," remarking at 
 the same time, that they did not know his feel- 
 ings, nor what he had been thinking of. He ac- 
 cordingly went and sat down with them in silence; 
 and, in a short time, felt the same power to over- 
 shadow him, and the same concern and unity of 
 feehng which first drew him to join this Society, 
 and the evidence was so clear, that there was no 
 room for doubt." 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 He also also added that at the Quarterly 
 meeting at Horsham, a committee from the 
 Yearly Meeting, appointed by a party out of the 
 unity, attended, and introduced great difficulty 
 and confusion. Jacob said he sat altogether 
 quiet and easy in his mind, under a full assurance 
 that the meeting would sustain its standing and 
 testimonies, that he had seen to the end of the 
 spirit of strife and confusion, and that truth 
 would have the victory. 
 
 Towards the close of this interesting meet- 
 ing, Jacob observed, " these trials are not 
 new to me. I have passed through the furnace 
 before and came out unhurt, and now I am ready 
 to pass through it again: this is the same spirit of 
 orthodoxy that got up in the church to which I 
 once belonged, and disowned me ; it always did 
 and always will persecute the true seed, for its 
 enmity is with the cross of Christ." 
 
 At a meeting in the sixth-month following, 
 held in the same house, he expressed his faith in 
 the Divine power that would deliver Friends out 
 of all their trials. He added, " Friends should 
 always be faithful to the truth, and never shrink 
 
•78 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 from it, though all the powers of the world 
 should rise up against them." He also warned 
 Friends of the danger of entering into conten- 
 tions about faith and doctrine, as the spirit above 
 alluded to was endeavouring to draw them into 
 it to their hurt. 
 
 As this work may fall into the hands of per- 
 sons not in religious profession with Friends, a 
 brief explanation of the causes that produced 
 the separation here alluded to, may not be out of 
 place in these Memoirs, This cannot be better 
 done, perhaps, than by presenting to the reader, 
 the following extracts from epistles issued by our 
 Yearly Meeting in reference to this event. It 
 may be proper to add that the Society of Friends 
 recognises but one rule of action as the funda- 
 mental law, or principle of Christianity, viz : the 
 influence of Divine grace, or the spirit of Christ 
 Jesus dwelling in^ and operating upon the hearts 
 of men. It maintains, agreeably to the testimo- 
 ny of scripture, that this Divine influence is the 
 gift of God, freely dispensed to every member of 
 the human family ; and that by a conformity of 
 life to the dictates of this heavenly monitor and 
 guide, Christ within, the hope of glory, the 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 79 
 
 Christian character is attained. ; the work of sal- 
 ^ Htion is accomplished ; and by no other means. 
 
 This doctrine, so plain, so rational, so com- 
 prehensive, and, at the same time, so scriptural, is, 
 and has always been, the distinguishing tenet of 
 Quakerism. And whatever may have been their 
 former relations to the Society, all who have, in 
 any degree, abandoned this simple groimd of be- 
 lief by attempting to introduce and establish 
 other and supernumerary views of Christian ob=- 
 ligation, have justly forfeited their claim to the 
 title of Friends. To an obvious defection of this 
 kind, as well as to the causes specified in the fol- 
 lowmg extracts, may be traced the recent diffi- 
 culties in our Society, and the origin of a disaf- 
 fected party since known by the name of Ortho* 
 dox Friends. This name it has received, in view 
 of its former standing as a portion of the Socie- 
 ty of Friends ; and its present position, as having 
 embraced some points of doctrine, and especially 
 the outward views of Christian redemption es- 
 teemed by religious denominations generally as 
 fundamental andorthodox* This body, since its 
 organization, has, from time to time,instituted and 
 propagated a variety of charges denunciatory of 
 
MEMOIRS OP 
 
 the Christian standing of Friends. Thisjhowever, 
 was to be expected from the new character which 
 it had assumed. To these charges, allusion is 
 made in the extracts here given. In an epistle 
 issued in the fourth-month 1829, addressed " to 
 the members of the religious society of Friends 
 on the continent of America and elsewhere," 
 the late division in onr Society, and the causes 
 which led to it, are thus briefly adverted to : "It 
 is a subject of public notoriety, that a division 
 has taken place in our religious society, accom- 
 panied by circumstances to which we reluctantly 
 advert ; but we apprehend ourselves called upon 
 to do so, inasmuch as charges have been prefer- 
 red against us, implicating our character as a 
 Christian people, by those who once stood con- 
 nected with us in religious fellowship. 
 
 The events to which we allude have had their 
 origin, as we believe, in the same prohfic cause of 
 evil that has so often agitated the Christian 
 world — a lust after power and pre-eminence in 
 the church. Our religious society had long re- 
 cognised in its disciplinary regulations, and in 
 its practice, those excellent precepts of Chris- 
 tian fellowship and brotherly feeling, which the 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 81 
 
 blessed Jesus laid down for the observance of 
 his disciples, when he said, " Ye know that the 
 princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over 
 them, and they that are great exercise authority 
 upon them, but it shall not be so among you, but 
 whosoever will be great among you let him be 
 your minister, and whosoever will be chief among 
 you let him be your servant." Matthew, xx. 
 25. And again, " Be not ye called Rabbi, for 
 one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are 
 brethern.'' — ^latthew, xxiii. 8. As long as 
 these commands were respected, and adhered to 
 in practice, harmony prevailed among the mem- 
 bers of the society — their violation was follow- 
 ed by discord and confusion. 
 
 Some influential individuals, long occupying 
 conspicuous stations in the church, disregarding 
 these precepts, found means to extend, from thne 
 to time, their power, and combining together, ar- 
 rogated an authority over their fellow-members 
 incompatible with their civil and rehgious rights. 
 This authority once assumed, pretexts were soon 
 found for its exercise, and hence an arbitrary 
 rule of ihe few over the many was openly advo- 
 cated and practically enforced. When men feel 
 11 
 
83 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 power, and forget right, no precautions avail to 
 prevent abuses. Neither our long established 
 practice, nor our excellent discipline, could arrest 
 the progress of this evil — the bonds of unioL 
 were burst asunder, and a division of the society 
 became inevitable. 
 
 In order to justify the course pursued, and 
 cover the misrule that has thus divided the body, 
 misrepresentation has, as is usual in such cases, 
 been resorted to. Books and pamphlets have 
 been issued from the press, and industriously cir- 
 culated, impeaching our character as a Christian 
 people I — some of them sanctioned by bodies pro- 
 fessing to be Yearly Meetings of the Society of 
 Friends. On the present occasion let it suffice to 
 declare, that these high charges preferred against 
 us, are destitute of any foundation in truth." 
 
 From an epistle addressed by our Yearly 
 Meeting to that of Friends in London, the fol- 
 lowing is extracted: 
 
 " We are aware that our opponents have pro- 
 nounced us infidels and deists ! They have said 
 we have departed from the Christian faith, and, 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 83 
 
 renounced the religion of our worthy predeces- 
 sors in the Truth. Nothing is easier than to 
 make such charges as these ; but in the present 
 case we are happily assured that nothing is 
 harder than to prove them. We are not sensi- 
 ble of any dereliction on our part from the prin- 
 ciples laid down by our blessed Lord. The his- 
 tory of the birth, hfe, acts, death and resurrec- 
 tion of the Holy Jesus, as in the volume of the 
 Book it is written of him, we reverently believe. 
 We are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, 
 because it is the power of God unto salvation to 
 all them that believe ; neither do we hesitate to 
 acknowledge the Divinity of its author, because 
 we know from living experience, that he is the 
 power of God, and the wisdom of God ; that, 
 under the present glorious dispensation, he is the 
 one holy principle of Divine life and light ; the 
 unlimited icord of grace and truth, which only 
 can build us up in the true faith, and give us an 
 inheritance among all those who are sanctified ; 
 neither are we sensible of any departure from 
 the faith or principles of our primitive Friends. 
 
 " The charges brought against us by our op- 
 posers, to injure and invalidate our character as a 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Christian people, are the same that were prefer- 
 red against our primitive Friends, and, we ap- 
 prehend, upon the same grounds. In that day, 
 those who, Hke Diotrephes, loved to have the 
 pre-eminence, could not bear to see a people ri- 
 sing up and bearing testimony to the truth and 
 practical importance of that humbling doctrine ; 
 * Be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your master, 
 even Christ ; and all ye are brethren.' (Matt. 
 23 c, 8v.) We do not believe that the dissen- 
 sions which have appeared amongst us had their 
 origin so much in differences of opinion in doc- 
 trinal points, as in a disposition, apparent hi 
 some, to exercise an oppressive authority in the 
 Church. These, in our meetings for discipline, 
 although a small minority of the whole, assumed 
 the power to direct a course of measures, painful 
 to the feelings, and contrary to the deliberate 
 judgment of their brethren. Thus the few 
 usurped a power over the many, subversive to 
 our established order, and destructive to the 
 peace and harmony of society. After long and 
 patient forbearance, in the hope that our oppo- 
 sing brethren might see the impropriety of such 
 a course, the great body of the Yearly Meeting 
 saw no way to regain a state of tranquillity, but 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 85 
 
 by a disconnection v^'ith. those who had produced, 
 and were promoting such disorders amongst us. 
 By official accounts, which we beheve to be 
 nearly correct, from all parts of this Yearly 
 Meeting, it appears that out of about twenty-Jive 
 thousand adults and children, which composed it 
 at the time of the division, about eighteen thou- 
 sand remain in connection w^ith this body." 
 
 To the foregoing it may be added that of 147 
 meetings which constituted the whole number, 
 belonging to our Yearly Meeting at the time of 
 the separation, 130 remained with Friends. — 
 The minority, nevertheless, have assumed exclu- 
 sive claim to the title as well as to the prop- 
 erty of the Society ; with what show of justice 
 the reader, is, perhaps, by this time prepared to 
 judge. The statistical details above furnished, 
 are obtained from official documents, offered as 
 evidence in the case of a law suit instituted 
 soon after the period of the division by Ortho- 
 dox Friends, who, not content with their relative 
 proportion of the property, which Friends have 
 always been loilling to accord them, were resolv- 
 ed, by virtue of legal process, to appropriate the 
 
86 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 whole to themselves. The law-suits have heen 
 generally concluded since 1829. 
 
 To the official statements here furnished, in 
 reference to the cause of the late schism in our 
 Society, may be added, the strikmg and forcible 
 testimony with which the excellent subject of 
 these memoirs concludes the narrative of his life, 
 as given by himself : 
 
 " Now I am clear in the belief that had we 
 all attended faithfully to the pure principle of 
 light and life in our hearts and minds, these dis- 
 putes and divisions would not have been among 
 us ; and I am convinced, that we never shall get 
 back to the unity of the spirit in the bond of 
 peace until we settle down in the everlasting si- 
 lence, to the saving and redeeming principle in 
 our own hearts ; and blessed is he who attends 
 strictly to its divine instructions and reproofs, 
 w^hich are the way of life and salvation." 
 
 About the time of the event here alluded 
 to, Jacob Ritter, in company with my father 
 Hugh Foulke, w^as engaged in a religious 
 visit to the families of Friends, and others who 
 had formerly been members of our Society, re- 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 87 
 
 siding between Gwynedd and Richland. While 
 engaged in this service, he used great plainness of 
 expression which was kindly received. 
 
 In one of these families, a young man man- 
 ifested great uneasiness. (He indulged himself 
 in biting a stick, and spitting and twisting vari- 
 ous ways.) Jacob appeared not to notice the 
 circumstance, but was careful to keep to the 
 pointings of truth in his labors. Next morning, 
 however, on rising early, as was his usual prac- 
 tice, and while dehberately engaged in dressing 
 himself, he was heard to mutter : 
 
 " It was a crooked spharet, (spirit) it was an 
 evil spharet, it would pite tat sthick and sphit it 
 out agm, but oh I I had noting to do with it." 
 
 This amusing soliloquy was the first intima- 
 tion that my father had that Jacob had noticed 
 the circumstance above related. In the evening, 
 while conversing on this subject, it was remark- 
 ed, " that a man may easily betray himself by 
 his motions and gestures, and give pain to 
 others, when it would be wise for him to sit still 
 and endeavor to overcome his mental conflicts ; 
 
88 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that it is impossible to attain quietude and sere- 
 nity of mind while indulging in bodily contor- 
 tions ; that to sit, especially on occasions of Di- 
 vine worship, in a careless and irreverent pos- 
 ture, indicated a vacant and thoughtless mind ; and 
 that those habits were equally at variance with 
 civility and religion." 
 
 He frequently visited the meetings of Friends 
 both for worship and disciphne in Bucks, Mont- 
 gomery, and Chester Counties in his own State, 
 and also some parts of the State of New Jersey. 
 
 He labored assiduously for the promotion of 
 salutary discipline in the church ; was a sincere 
 lover of order and harmony, and often mourn- 
 ed over the declension in society from primitive 
 simplicity in dress, language, &c. ^ 
 
 He was particularly qualified to administer 
 reproof without giving offence. In a neigh- 
 bouring Quarterly meeting, he observed that 
 Friends confined their appointments to a few 
 members. He said, " Friends, I have taken no- 
 tice it is here as it is toa much the case at 
 home, and in other places, — many gifted Fii^nds 
 
JACOB HITTER. 
 
 89 
 
 f^eem to have nothing to do, ^vhile oiliers are 
 overloaded with business. I have taken notice in 
 this meeting that one Friend has been named on 
 every committee, and this does not seem to be 
 fair, for one man cannot do everything. When 1 
 was a boy I heard a saying, that you must not 
 fill the basket too full, or you will push the bot- 
 tom out." 
 
 The following are memorandums of a concern 
 which he expressed in a monthly meeting, viz : 
 " If Friends v;ould get down to the root and 
 foundation and spring of life within themselves, 
 there would be a different state of things among 
 us, and our neighbours ; we would be more 
 careful to attend our meetings, and W'e should 
 remember that the Lord looks on the heart, and 
 not so much on a fine coat on our backs, or a 
 fine horse or carriage, or on the outward appear- 
 ance. Man looks on these and is liable to be 
 proud, and in this state the Lord cannot be wor- 
 shipped, for he beholdeth the proud afaroflf ; and 
 they who are in this state are always afar olf from 
 him, and he is not nighinth-'ir heai ts,r.s he would 
 beif they w^rehun.ble andlow\ I wasbroughtup 
 in a Society that taught me in my catechism, 
 12 
 
90 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 when I was young, to renounce the Devil and all 
 his works, and the pomps and vanities of the 
 world ; but as I grew up I found this catechism 
 was but mere words, and was no more to me than 
 as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal, and 
 my heart was no better." 
 
 " Friends that are unfaithful to the teachings 
 of the lip of truth, whose hearts and minds are in 
 the world, and their thoughts running after fine 
 dress, and fashionable appearances, who follow 
 the w^orld in its language, manners, and customs, 
 are not a whit better than any other Society 
 that is in the same spirit ; for it will be found, as 
 the lip of truth has declared, that wheresoever the 
 treasure is, there will the heart be also, and 
 wheresoever the carcase (or body) is, there will 
 the eagles be gathered together." 
 
 He frequently exhorted Friends to be faithful 
 in visiting one another in love, and especially to 
 remember those who are beginning in the world, 
 with young families around them. These had many 
 difficulties and temptations to encounter, and 
 often required the attention and sympathy of 
 their brethren. 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 91 
 
 In the year 1829, he attended Baltimore Year- 
 y Meeting. Here he attracted considerable at- 
 ention. His original ideas, his apt compari- 
 sons, the relation of his sufferings and preser- 
 vations communicated in broken English, joined 
 to his innocent and unassuming manners, impart- 
 ed much interest to his religious labors. 
 
 During this visit, an eminent minister, a mem- 
 ber of the meeting for sufferings in Baltimore, ob- 
 served that he did not approve of Friends run- 
 ning after popular preachers to hear eloquent 
 orations, &c., but that he felt a strong inclination 
 to hear Jacob Ritter. On being asked his rea- 
 son, he said, that Jacob attended tl.eir meeting 
 for sufferings the other evening, and said, "when 
 I was a boy, they set me to keep the sheep, and 
 so they called me the sheep boy, and I took no- 
 tice in the spring of the year, when there was a 
 cold easterly storm, the ewes would stand over 
 the lambs to keep the storm off. And I want 
 this meeting for sufferings to stand over the 
 lambs to keep the storm off." This seasonable 
 hint, the Friend remarked, was of such weight 
 and value that he would not soon forget it. 
 
93 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 He afterwards attended New York Yearly 
 Meeting. Of his services on this occasion, his 
 companion gave an interesting account. Some 
 time after this, a member of that meeting, in the 
 course of a rehgious visit, called to see Jacob 
 Ritter. He found him very unwell, and appa- 
 rently under some depressi ) i of mind, bu', en- 
 couraged by the kind and cheerful conversation of 
 the Friend, his drooping spirits revived. He 
 shed tears, and inquired after a number of Friends 
 in New York who had shown much kindness to 
 him, and expressed his thankfulness that Friends . 
 should remember him, and that they should come 
 to see a poor old man. He was reminded that 
 it was such as he the Apostle alluded to when he 
 said, " Hath not God chosen the poor of this 
 world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom 
 which he hath promised to them that love him?" 
 JamL's ^c, 5v. 
 
 His vJ'^^c.v o-' ed h"m, iP he reircmbered the' 
 good advice he had given to Friends, at the last 
 sitting of the Yearly Meeting in New York. 
 He answered, No, I don't now remember ever 
 doing much good." The Friend replied, " It 
 having been observed that we had a very good 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 93 
 
 meeting, thou said, " I think too Friends, we 
 have had a good meeting, and we should be 
 thankful for it : for it is what we cannot com- 
 mand in our own will, or by our own wisdom. 
 Bnt we should all remember, that a good meet- 
 ing, like every other good thing from the Father 
 of mercies, brings forth good fruits; now let us 
 all remember friends, and take some of the good 
 home to our neighbors." 
 
 Jacob brightened up, and inquired, " but did 
 you obey?*' It was answered that many Friends 
 bore it in mind, and it was believed that the hint 
 had been useful ; that after meeting the general 
 query among Friends was, what good thing they 
 should take home to their neighbors. 
 
 It has been already remarked that he seldom 
 travelled long journeys in the work of the minis- 
 try. He once went to the state of Ohio, but his 
 business being of a temporal nature, he did not 
 ask for a minute. On mentioning his prospect to 
 the monthly meeting, he was encouraged to at- 
 tend the regular meetings for worship and disci- 
 pline, as way opened in the course of his journey, 
 
94 
 
 MEMOIRS OF. 
 
 he being well known by many Friends in that 
 part of the country. 
 
 He attended the Yearly Meeting of Ministers 
 and Elders in 1840. The business of this meet- 
 ing was conducted in much harmony : brotherly 
 affection was felt to abound as is frequently the 
 case on these occasions when Friends, whose re- 
 sidences are remote from each other, are thus 
 convened together. This feeling brought out 
 more expression than was believed to be profita- 
 ble, and it was suggested by some Friends, that 
 more inward and silent retirement would contri- 
 bute to the best interests of the meeting. Ja- 
 cob remarked, " that a prudent mother who had 
 a number of children around her, while she was 
 careful to provide bread enough for her family, 
 would always deal it out sparingly, that none 
 should go to waste, that all said in meetings not 
 really needed, however good it might be in itself, 
 was wasting bread that might be wanted in the 
 time of need. In the Father's house there is al- 
 ways bread enough and to spare, but never any 
 to waste." 
 
 While attending the Yearly Meeting, he was 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 95 
 
 taken very unwell, and returned home. Before 
 the meeting concluded, it was reported in Phila- 
 delphia that he was dead. A Friend who had 
 heard the report hastened home and went to his 
 house. He found Jacob sitting under his piazza, 
 weak but pretty well recovered : the Friend told 
 him it was reported, " he was dead he an- 
 swered, I am dead to sin." On which the 
 Friend observed, that many people considered 
 a being dead to sin a state of perfection, that 
 could not be attained in this life. To this, (as he 
 had at other times frequently observed in rela- 
 tion to the doctrine of perfection,) he answered 
 in substance : 
 
 " Ah ! I did not say it boastingly, (his being 
 dead to sin,) but I have not served a hard Mas- 
 ter, and I know he loves me ; and he has pre- 
 served me in many great dangers, and severe 
 hardships. Now, for several years past, I have 
 not felt any thing laid to my charge, for I have 
 endeavoured night and day to do his will, inso- 
 much that it has been my meat and my drink to 
 do my Heavenly Father's will ; but the murmurer 
 who pleaded that he had served a hard master, 
 and who had not improved his talent, was not ad- 
 
96 
 
 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 mitted into the kingdom, but was cast into outer 
 darkness, where there was weeping, wailing and 
 gnashing of teeth." 
 
 About the year 1840, a number of barns in 
 his neighbourhood were burnt by lightning. A 
 Friend having alluded to the loss and distress 
 occasioned by this awful visitation, he said in a 
 solemn manner, " that he had an inward sense 
 of it ; and that these dispensations of the Al- 
 mighty were not designed for evil but for good: 
 for when the judgments of the Lord are in the 
 earth, the inhabitants thereof learn righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 About six months before hif?' decease, he at- 
 tended the Yearly Meeting of 1841, and ap- 
 peared to enjoy good health and spirits. It may 
 here be observed that for several years his hear- 
 ing was very dull ; but it was remarkable that 
 he would, notwithstanding, speak pertinently to 
 the business of the meetings. In this meeting 
 he discovered that there was some dilBculty in 
 relation to the language of a paper under con- 
 sideration. He had a particular objection to 
 criticisms about words ; his principal concern 
 
JACOB HITTER. 
 
 97 
 
 was the life. His remarks on this occasion were 
 as follows : 
 
 I can remember very well when this Year- 
 ly Meeting was held in Pine street, and I thought 
 there were great and good men belonged to it — 
 but in regard to writing epistles, they could not 
 agree ; though I thought at that time, that they 
 could spin out a story pretty long, and write verv 
 well, and so on ; but when it was read in the 
 Yearly Meeting, one would have a word scratch- 
 ed out here and another there, but it made hack- 
 ling work — too many cooks spoil the broth." 
 
 At the Monthly meeting held at Plymouth in 
 the seventh- month, 1841, he was very clear and 
 favored in his ministry. His observations in the 
 meeeting for discipline were impressive, and 
 brought solemnity over the minds of Friends. — 
 A concern was expressed that our approaching 
 Quarterly meeting might be held to the comfort 
 of Friends ; that the members might endeavour, 
 as much as possible, to keep their seats, and to 
 avoid conversation in and about the yard, as a 
 contrary behaviour was disorderly, and had an 
 13 
 
9S 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 rnisettling tendency. Jacob addressed the meet- 
 ing in substance as follows : 
 
 " I have long considered worship as the most 
 solemn act we can engage in ; and when we go 
 to meetings, either for worship or discipline, we 
 should remember, we are professing to do the 
 Lord's work, and not man's. Now it is a great 
 favor that we are permitted to take part in such 
 a work, and are called to it : we are here called 
 to the house of prayer. I have been think- 
 ing in this meeting, what would the king, or 
 the president, or a great man of the earth think 
 of us, if we had a petition to make to him, and 
 we should come in before him in a light manner, 
 and busy ourselves about other matters besides 
 our petition, and misbehave oursf;lves before him, 
 what would he think of us ? Or if we were to 
 go to sleep before him, could we expect in reason 
 he would grant us our petition ? Oh ! Friends, 
 if these things are so when we come before a 
 man like ourselves, our fellow-worm, what will 
 become of us in the day of solemn account, when 
 we come before the King of Kings, and Lord of 
 Lords?" 
 
JACOB RITTER. 99 
 
 On his way home from a funeral a little before 
 his decease, he said to a Friend, " I believe my 
 time is now very short in this world ; and when 
 I am gone, if thou hast any of the management 
 or direction about my funeral, I desire that my 
 interment may not take place too soon." 
 
 He attended Plymouth meeting on first-day, 
 the 28th of the eleventh-month, 1841, and ap- 
 peared in the ministry with clearness, and much 
 to the comfort and satisfaction of Friends. This 
 was the last meeting he attended. 
 
 On third-day the 30th, he was taken very un- 
 well, and from this time, continued gradually to 
 decline for about two weeks. 
 
 A few days before his departure, two Friends 
 called to see him. He greeted them affection- 
 ately, and desired to be raised upon the bed. Af- 
 ter a pause, he said, in a firm distinct voice, — 
 " I have seen, as it were, all the world of man- 
 kind before me; and they that repent, and are fa- 
 vored to overcome their own stubborn wills, shall 
 live and shall be saved v;ith an everlasting salva- 
 tion. But they that will not repent must die." 
 
100 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 One of the Friends remarked, " that it was a 
 great consolation that his Divine Master was 
 \vith. him ; that it reminded him of some of the 
 last expressions of a beloved Friend, lately de- 
 ceased, who had quoted the promise of our Sa- 
 viour to his disciples, and who had felt at that 
 solemn time, that this promise applied to himself, 
 viz : " Lo, I am with you always, even unto 
 the end of the world." 
 
 After a pause, he said in a very feeling man- 
 ner, " yes, it is true in my case, and though my 
 bodily sufferings are very great, yet I am merci- 
 fully supported under them ; and I know they 
 are refining and preparing me for a state of ever- 
 lasting rest and happiness." 
 
 Soon after this, two other Friends visited him 
 and found him apparently asleep, but suffering 
 under grea": difficulty of breathing. After he 
 awoke, seeing the Friends, he said, " Oh ! I am 
 glad to see you :" and after a little pause, ad- 
 ded, " Behold the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sins of the world." 
 
 The following memorandums were made by 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 101 
 
 nvo Friends who had assisted in the care of him 
 11 ing his ilhiess. From these, it appears, that 
 e prominent feature in his character was pre- 
 i ved to the last, viz : " A remarkable exemp- 
 tion from any thing like self-righteousness." On 
 one occasion, on parting with some Friends who 
 had come to see him, he said, " It is profitable 
 for Friends to visit one another in the life," and 
 on several occasions he repeated the admonition, 
 " mind the light." 
 
 " As his means of living had been truly ex- 
 emplary in dress and furniture, setting a good 
 example himself, so in his last illness he was of- 
 ten led to make solid remarks on these subjects. 
 He said he had abused himself in younger life by 
 excessive labor, and too much ambition to obtain 
 a livelihood ; that he now felt the effects of his 
 former abuses of the good gifts of Heaven, and 
 that his suffering was increased by it ; he admon- 
 ished those around him not to do so, that it be- 
 spoke a manifest Avant of faith in the promise 
 from the lip of truth. 
 
 " His affectionate admonition to all Friends 
 every where was to exercise forbearance towards 
 
102 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 those who had transgressed the discipline, ob- 
 serving that the kingdom of Christ comes by 
 entreaty and not by force ; and in relation to 
 persons under convincement, he was desirous 
 that patience might have its perfect work, and 
 that they should be treated with love and ten- 
 derness. 
 
 "He expressed an earnest desire that Friends 
 might be preserved from, and keep out of the 
 spirit of the world, and all its commotions, and 
 that all Friends every where should be faithful, 
 and not suffer the fear of man to prevent them 
 from doing the w^ll of their Creator. 
 
 " As his end drew near, he said, " I feel that 
 the truth and seed of hfe has the dominion and 
 reigns in me. Oh ! that the babe of immortal 
 life might be brought forth, and be nourished, and 
 have the dominion in all people ; how kind then 
 would they be to one another." 
 
 " His words were seas oned with grace, and 
 his mind w^as preserved in a heavenly calm to 
 the last ; and in this undisturbed and peaceful 
 state, he continued until one o'clock in the after- 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 103 
 
 noon of fourth-day, the fifteenth of the twelfrh- 
 raonth, 1841, when he passed quietly away, in 
 the eighty-fifth year of his age, and resigned his 
 spirit to him who gave it. He was a minister 
 about fifty years, and a member of this meeting 
 nearly twenty-nine. 
 
 His remains were interred in Friends' burial 
 ground at Plymouth on seventh-day the eigh- 
 teenth of the month, on which solemn occasion, 
 a meeting for worship was held after the inter- 
 ment."' 
 
RECAPITULATION. 
 
 On reviewing the life, character and religious 
 experiences of Jacob Ritter, together with the 
 merciful display of the Divine power in preser- 
 ving him in his greatest extremities, and de- 
 livering him out of all his dangers ; and finally, 
 after leading him safely along to old age, taking 
 the dominion and reigning over all in him, while 
 he was passing through the valley of the sha- 
 dow of death, we discover much for edification 
 and comfort. 1 Cor. xiv. 3. Hence it becomes 
 the duty of those who knew him, and were his 
 brethren in the same spiritual relationship, to be 
 faithful to the injunction, " gather up the frag- 
 ments that remain, that nothing be lost." 
 
 In him, we see the character of the Apostles, 
 their experience, and the promise of Christ ex- 
 emphfied. They said, '-Lo, we have left all, and 
 followed thee." Jesus answered, " YerDy I 
 say unto you, there is no man that hath left 
 house or parents, or brethren or wife or children 
 for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not re- 
 
106 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ceive manifold more in this present time, and in 
 the world to come, life everlasting." Luke xviii. 
 28, 29, 30. 
 
 Jacob Ritter had not received a scholastic 
 education ; he had not been instructed in the 
 rules of theology ; he had not, like Paul, been 
 brought up at the feet of a Gamaliel. But the re- 
 ligion that Paul learned in that school, was at en- 
 mity with the cross of Christ; and he knew nothing 
 of the Gospel " but by the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ," Gal. i., 12. : nay, he counted (he 
 righteousness which was in the law, and all 
 things with it (by comparison), but dross and 
 dung' that he might w^in Christ. Philemon iii. 8. 
 
 Jacob, when thirteen years of age, had not re- 
 ceived instruction by w^hicli he had been taught 
 even the being of God ; but when he beheld the 
 starry firmament and changing clouds, his young 
 untutored mind thought, " surely there must be 
 some great power, that created and formed all 
 these things and though he had often felt the 
 secret ^ouches of Divine love, yet he wist not 
 what it was. 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 107 
 
 Soon after this he beheld in the visions of 
 Light, the heavenly city, and was shown that he 
 must enter this city by Christ ; this accords 
 with the declaration : " Verily, verily, I say imto 
 yoQ, he that entereth not by the door into the 
 ^heep-fold, but climbeth up some other way, the 
 same is a thief and a robber." John x. 1. Again, 
 he saw that this heavenly city needed not the 
 light of the sun, nor of the moon, for Christ is 
 the light thereof. 
 
 When he w^as about sixteen, while standing 
 alone in the woods in solemn silence, a sight and 
 sense came over him of the horrors of war ; but 
 he did not know the meaning of it. 
 
 When he was about twenty years of age, there 
 was a muster of the militia in his neighborhood ; 
 and he was taught by the minister of the church 
 to which he belonged the propriety and necessity 
 of standing in defence of his country against her 
 enemies ; and he was finally prevailed upon, 
 against his better judgment, to join the army. 
 
 He now experienced a pause somewhat simi-^ 
 lar, though under very different circumstanceSi 
 
108 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to the solemn silence that came over him while 
 standing alone in the woods when he was sixteen 
 years of age ; it was indeed its painful counter- 
 part : " an awful pause" he says, (alluding to 
 the battle of Brandywine,) "preceded the en- 
 gagement." Here he was taken prisoner and 
 brutally beaten. War-worn and weary, he was 
 driven to Philadelphia, and turned into prison 
 with about nine hundred men. In this prison, 
 he suffered almost all the privations and cruelty 
 that we can conceive human nature capable of 
 enduring. 
 
 It may be here mentioned more fully than is 
 recited in his journal, and as he frequently rela- 
 ted, that in all his sufferings in prison he was 
 never wholly forsaken by the Divine presence ; 
 that though he felt keen remorse for his disobe- 
 dience to clear manifestations of duty in entering 
 into the army, yet in compliance with what he 
 believed to be his duty, he prostrated himself on 
 the ground every evening, and implored the 
 Father of mercies for forgiveness. " I laid my- 
 self down and begged" said he; and in one of 
 these mental fervent intercessions, he received 
 the assurance of Divine pardon, accompanied 
 
JACOB BITTER. 
 
 109 
 
 by a promise of deliverance which gave him 
 new life. 
 
 He was in awful perils when the yellow fever 
 was raging in the city of Philadelphia in the year 
 1793 ; but he saw the finger of God in this dis- 
 pensation of his judgments, and cast all his care 
 and dependence upon Him, who mercifully pre- 
 served him, and raised him from the bed of sick- 
 ness when that malignant epidemic was upon 
 him. 
 
 Twice he was in perils among false brethren 
 who, in the first instance, denoimced him as a re- 
 probate, and in the second, as an unbeHever and 
 a heretic. As the same spirit, in the same man- 
 ner, accused Paul formerly : so he, like Paul, de- 
 clared that after the way which they called heresy, 
 so worshipped he the God of his fathers, belie^-ing 
 all things which are written in the law and the 
 prophets : and again, " they could not prove the 
 things whereof they accused him." Acts xxiv. 
 13, 14, 
 
 But through all his trials he maintained the 
 doctrine of the common salvation, and according 
 
110 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to the Apostolic exhortation, contended ear- 
 nestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, 
 Jude iii, saying, by the expressive language of 
 example, and by his blameless life and conversa- 
 tion among men, "none of these things move me, 
 neither count I my life dear unto myself, so 
 that I might finish my course vv^ith joy, and the 
 ministry w^hich I have received of the Lord Je- 
 sus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.'* 
 Acts XX. 24. 
 
 Like Job, " he died, being old and full of 
 days." We who are left behind, are sensible 
 that a faithful standard bearer has been removed. 
 We feel the privation, yet not without the cheer- 
 ing hope that our loss is his eternal gain. This 
 hope is confirmed by his dying words, viz : " I 
 feel that the truth and seed of hfe has the do- 
 minion and reigns in me." Oh I such a testi- 
 mony at such a time naturally inspires in us who 
 are left behind the ejaculation of one formerly: 
 " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my 
 last end be like his." 
 
 To conclude, as his life was in some respects 
 similar to that of the apostle, so, we believe, 
 
JACOB RITTER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 the declaration of the latter when he drew near 
 the solemn close, might have been fully adopted 
 by the subject of these memoirs : " I am now 
 ready to be offered, and the time of my depar- 
 ture is at hand. T have fought a good fight, I have 
 kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me 
 a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the 
 righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and 
 not to me only, but unto ail them also that love 
 his appearing." 2. Tim. iv. 7, 8. 
 
 THE END.