Sandiford's illness & Franklin's anti-salvery activities

[Terrance Flaherty]

Sandiford took on the illness of slavery, took it right into his heart.
For Sandiford it was struggle with death itself. At the Yearly meeting
in Philadelphia, 1730, the then Conservatives in power, refused to
permit Standiford to talk about freeing slaves. It had all been
discussed in previous meetings. In NJ though, the Minutes tell another
tale, liberals were arguing that buying and selling slaves in America
was no more virtuous that engaging in the vicious slave hunts and
shippings. From Sandiford's sufferings and efforts a small step was
taken on that long road to ending slavery in America, the Quakers, in
1743, drew up "the twelve queries" on church discipline, to be answered
at meetings annually. Question eleven read asked if Members held to the
advice not to buy or sell slaves?

   


SANDIFORD, Ralph, author, born in Liverpool, England, about 1693" died
in
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 28 May, 1733. He was the son of John
Sandiford,
    of Liverpool, and in early life was a sailor. He emigrated to
Pennsylvania,
    where he settled on a farm and became a Quaker preacher. Sandiford
was one
    of the earliest public advocates of the emancipation of neg'ro
slaves, and in
    support of his views published "A Brief Examination of the Practice
of the
    Times, by the Foregoing and Present Dispensation, etc."
(Philadelphia, 1729"
    2d ed., enlarge(l, 1730). These were printed by Franklin and
Meredith.
    Franklin says, in a letter dated 4 November, 1789: "I printed a book
for Ralph
    Sandiford against keeping neg'roes in slavery, two editions of which
he
    distributed gratis." Sandiford's doctrines met with but little
favor, except
    among the poor, who were brought into competition with slave labor.
The chief
    magistrate of the province threatened Sandiford with punishment if
he
    permitted his writings to be circulated, but, notwithstanding, he
distributed the
    work wherever he thought it would be read. Sandiford was buried in a
field, on
    his own farm, near the house where he died. The executors of his
will had the
    grave enclosed with a balustrade fence, and caused a stone to be
placed at the
    head of it, inscribed" "In Memory of Ralph Sandiford, Son of John
Sandi-ford,
    of Liverpool. He Bore a Testimony against the Negroe Trade and Dyed
ye
    28th of ye 3rd Month, 1733, Aged 40 Years." See "Memoir of Benjamin
Lay
    and Ralph Sandiford," by Robert Vaux (Philadelphia, 1815" London,
1816).