Anthony Sharp (Quaker)

Anthony Sharp, the son of Thomas Sharp, was born in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England in January 1643.Grubb, Isabel (1927). Quakers in Ireland, 1654–1900. London: The Swarthmore Press, p. 40, 47

In 1665, impressed by the ministry of William Dewsbury at a meeting in Warwick prison, he joined the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers.Leadbeater, Mary (1823). Biographical Notices of Members of the Society of Friends who were Resident in Ireland. London: Harvey and Darton, pp. 119–120 In the summer or early fall of 1669, due to persecution of his Quaker religious beliefs, he fled from Gloucestershire and moved to Dublin and engaged in the woollen trade,Clark, Peter and Gillespie, Raymond (2001). Two Capitals: London and Dublin, 1500–1840. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 234 in which he was highly successful. By 1680, he employed about 500 workers in the trade and in 1688, the weavers’ guild elected him master.Hill, Jacqueline R. (1997). From Patriots to Unionists. Dublin Civic Politics and Irish Protestant Patriotism, 1660–1840. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 31

Anthony Sharp was active in the Dublin Quaker Community.Greaves, Richard L. (1998). Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643–1707. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 29–47 In 1683, he and some other Friends of Dublin were thrown into prison because they continued to attend their religious meetings, contrary to the orders of government which prohibited the public meetings of religious dissenters.Leadbeater, Biographical Notices of Members of the Society of Friends who were Resident in Ireland, pp. 119–120

Anthony Sharp was one of the original shareholders of West Jersey in 1677. Subsequently, when William Penn purchased land in East Jersey, Sharp also became an owner of property there as well. Not wishing to emigrate himself due to his successful woollen business, Sharp remained in Dublin. Anthony Sharp financed the Quaker colony established in the Province of New Jersey in 1681.Hatton, Helen Elizabeth (1993). The Largest Amount of Good: Quaker Relief in Ireland, 1654–1921. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Press, p. 37

Among those appointed to found the colony was Anthony's nephew, Thomas Sharp,Greaves, Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643–1707., p. 97 with whom he corresponded on both business and personal matters.The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 28 (1904). Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 113-114

In his will, Anthony Sharp bequeathed to his eldest son, Isaac Sharp, his land in West Jersey, and half of his lands in East Jersey, as well as his land in Queen's County, Ireland, including land in Killinure, which became the site of the Sharp Roundwood Estate.[http://www.failteromhat.com/quaker/page18.htm Quaker Records Dublin, Abstracts of Wills]

Anthony Sharp died on 13 January 1707, and was buried in the ancient Friends' burying-ground adjacent to St. Stephen's Green in the city of Dublin.Greaves, Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643–1707., p. 255 He was survived by three sons, Isaac, Joseph and Daniel, and one daughter, Rachel Sharp.Shourds, Thomas (1876). History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony. Bridgeton, NJ: George F. Nixon, p. 245 Anthony Sharp's father (born about 1603 in Tetbury, Gloucester, England) married Anthony's mother, Elizabeth Hookham on 27 Nov 1628 in Gloucester. Elizabeth Hookham was born about 1607 in Gloucester. They had 7 children William, Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Anthony, Isaac, Anis, and Thomas.

Stanford University Press published a biography of Anthony Sharp by Richard L. Greaves titled, Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643–1707.Greaves, Richard L. (1998). Dublin's Merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643–1707. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last= Clark |first= Peter |author2=Raymond Gillespie |title= Two Capitals: London and Dublin, 1500–1840|year=2001|publisher= Oxford University Press |location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-726247-4}}
• Clement, John (1877). Sketches of the first emigrant settlers in Newton Township, Old Gloucester County, West New Jersey. Camden: Sinnickson Chew
• {{cite book|last=Greaves|first=Richard L.|title=Dublin's merchant-Quaker: Anthony Sharp and the Community of Friends, 1643–1707|year=1998|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, CA|isbn=978-0-8047-3452-3}}
• {{cite book|last=Grubb|first=Isabel|title=Quakers in Ireland, 1654–1900|year=1927|publisher=The Swarthmore Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-19-820635-4}}
• {{cite book|last=Hatton|first=Helen Elizabeth|title= The Largest Amount of Good: Quaker Relief in Ireland, 1654–1921|year=1993|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press|location=Montreal| isbn= 0-7735-0959-3}}
• {{cite book|last=Hill|first=Jacqueline R.|title=From Patriots to Unionists. Dublin Civic Politics and Irish Protestant Patriotism, 1660–1840|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford| isbn=0-19-820635-6}}
• {{cite book|last=Leadbeater|first= Mary|authorlink=Mary Leadbeater|title= Biographical Notices of Members of the Society of Friends who were Resident in Ireland|url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalnoti00lead|year=1823|publisher= Harvey and Darton|location=London}}
• {{cite book|last=Shourds|first=Thomas|title=History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony|url=https://archive.org/details/historyandgeneal00shou|year=1876|publisher=George F. Nixon|location=Bridgeton, NJ}}
• West Jersey Proprietors (1964). Burlington, New Jersey: Revell Press

• [http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/heritage-towns/towns-and-villages-of-lao/mountrath/roundwood-house/ Roundwood House]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100109084617/http://www.roundwoodhouse.com/briefhistory.htm Brief History of the Roundwood House]

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Category:1707 deaths

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Category:Converts to Quakerism

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Category:17th-century Quakers

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