Thomas Lower's hand in the ‘Long Journal’

The manuscript Journal of George Fox in the Spence MS (The ‘Long Journal’) was largely dictated by Fox to his stepson-in-law Thomas Lower c.1675-8.



London: Friends House, Library of the Society of Friends, MS Vols 376-77


Lower takes over from another amanuensis halfway fol. 11v (page 20). He appears to have corrected the work of this earlier writer as well as his own.


His writing is workmanlike and fluent, though undistinguished. An autograph letter (Friends House MS 378, page 174) of 4 January 1674/5 provides samples of both his formal and more hasty writing:



He is clearly writing to dictation from an author who is both used to communicating orally and concerned with the effect of his words. There are two layers of correction clearly visible: one made during dictation, and one on a later read-back.


        ye Lorde Came to mee eate not lest thyn breade
        with such as has an euill eye : & I gott vppe from


        in ye morninge: & Jo: Blayklinge & others: came to

                                                                    reproue ym:

        mee & & Desired mee not to speake publickely to ym
        for they was not parish teachers but pretty sober men

We have marked up these erasures and corrections in two different colours:
      •   dark blue for the first level of correction, and
      •   bright purple for the later level.

London: Library of the Society of Friends, MS Vol 376 (Spence MS) fol. 36v
© Image copyright of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain


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