White Matlack Explained

White Matlack (October 7, 1745; Haddonfield, New Jersey  - January 7, 1824) was a New York Quaker and abolitionist. He was born to Elizabeth Martha Burr Haines and Timothy Matlack: a couple that had both lost their first spouses. His grandparents were William Matlack and Mary Hancock; and Henry Burr and Elizabeth Hudson. His siblings were Sybil, Elizabeth, Titus, Seth, Josiah and Timothy Matlack.

He married Mary Hawhurst^[1] on March 6, 1768.^[2] They had four children; White, Timothy, Mary, and Hannah.^[3]

White was a watchmaker and silversmith in New York City from around 1769 to 1775. In 1775, he also worked in Philadelphia.^[4] Then he ran a brewery located not far from the Fraunces Tavern. By the 1780s he moved into steel manufacturing.^[5]

In 1782, he and Isaac Howell signed a document titled The memorial and remonstrance of Isaac Howell and White Matlack, in behalf of themselves, and others, who have been disowned by the people called Quakers, &c.^[6] White and his brother Timothy had been disowned by Orthodox Quakers for their support of the American Revolution. They formed a group with others called the Society of Free Quakers.^[7]

In 1786, he signed a letter to the Senate and assembly of the State of New York, against the shipping of African slaves through the port of New York.^[5]

Three years later he became a member of the New York Manumission Society. In 1787, the society founded the African Free School.

He died at Bay Side, near Flushing^[8] on Long Island, aged 80.^[9]

External links

• Book: Colonial Furniture In America. Luke Vincent Lockwood. XI. Clocks. Part 5. 1913. Figure 848 shows another tall clock in a lacquer case, the property of Dr. Edward L. Oatman, of Brooklyn. The spandrels are in the form of scrolls, and on the dial in the dome is engraved "White Matlack New York," who worked in New York from 1769 to 1775..

Notes and References

1. Some sources have Hawxhurst
2. Web site: Names of Persons for whom MARRIAGE LICENSES Were issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York Previous to 1784. O'Callaghan. E. B. . 1860. Weed, Parsons and Company. 175. 2009-08-25.
3. Web site: Re: Timothy Matlack - Matlack - Family History & Genealogy Message Board - Ancestry.com . 2009-08-25 . 2011-07-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714142557/http://boards.ancestry.myfamily.com/surnames.matlack/92.2/mb.ashx . dead .
4. Web site: White Matlack . Voss . Wm Erik . 2005 . Rootsweb . 2009-08-25 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20100409024210/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~silversmiths/makers/silversmiths/143737.htm . 2010-04-09 .
5. https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigations/709_miniature.html George Washington Miniature
6. Book: To the representatives of the freemen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met: The memorial and remonstrance of Isaac Howell and White Matlack, in behalf of themselves, and others, who have been disowned by the people called Quakers, &c . 1782 . Printed by Francis Bailey? .
7. Book: Harker, John Balderston. Betsy Ross's Five Pointed Star. 2004. Chapter 6: Betsy Ross, Quaker Rebel. 2009-08-25. 2011-07-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714141934/http://mybetsyross.com/chapter6.html. dead.
8. Web site: MATLOCK-MEDLOCK DEATH RECORDS AND OBITS. 2009-08-25.
9. Jervey. Elizabeth Heyward . Jan 1954. Marriage and Death Notices from the City Gazette of Charleston (Continued). The South Carolina Historical Magazine. South Carolina Historical Society. 55. 1. 48–51. 27565947. Died on Long Island, near New York, White Matlack, Esq. a patriot of the Revolution, aged 80..