History of Jericho, (Nassau County) New York United States of America

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Elias Hicks, preacher, was born in Hempstead, N.Y., March 19, 1748; son of John and Martha Hicks. His father was a member of the Society of Friends and Elias became a frequent attendant at the meetings of that sect. He was apprenticed to a carpenter at the age of seventeen, and on the expiration of his term he returned to his father, with whom he lived until his marriage, Jan. 2,1771, to Jemima, daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Seaman, of Jericho, N.Y. Thereafter he took charge of his father-in-law's farm, of which he ultimately became the owner. In 1768 he joined the Friends, and in 1775 began his ministry. For fifty years he was an acknowledged leader, his meetings being attended by large audiences composed of persons of various denominations. He travelled and preached throughout the United States and in Canada, receiving no pay as a preacher, and bearing his own travelling expenses, while at home he worked on his farm, thus earning the support of himself and his family. He was a powerful advocate of emancipation of the slaves in his native state, and to him is largely due the act of the legislature of New York, passed July 4, 1827, freeing all the slaves within its borders. About 1820 certain persons claimed to discover that he was a heretic, and was teaching to the community "pernicious and soul-ruining errors." He was accused of denying the divinity of Christ and the authority of the Scriptures. In a letter written to Charles Stokes, of New Jersey, in 1829, the year before his death, however, he states very clearly that he believed the Bible to have been written "by holy men, inspired by the Holy Ghost," and that he believed in the "miraculous conception of Jesus" and that He was "truly the Son of God" fully partaking "of the very nature, spirit, likeness, and divinity of His Heavenly Father." He did not, however, believe in the doctrine of original sin, or the vicarious atonement of Jesus, pronouncing them inconsistent with the nature of "a perfectly just, all-wise, and merciful Jehovah." His followers became known as "Hicksites," but they themselves only recognized the name of Friends, and the opposite side also retained that title. He published: Observations on Slavery (1811); Elias Hicks's Journal and his Life and Labors (1828); Sermons (1828); Letters of Elias Hicks (1834). He died at Jericho, N.Y., Feb. 27, 1830.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Jericho, (Nassau County) New York

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