The Quakers in the 1650s were a radical group and were perceived as a threat to the government. (William) Edmunson was one of the most prominent of the Quakers and this lead to frequent imprisonments. William's imprisonment in Armagh jail was the first of many sentences, which found him in jail in Cavan, Belturbet and Maryborough (Portlaoise). Edmundson decided to take up farming and moved with his family and several other Quaker families to land owned by a Col. Nicholas Kempston in County Cavan. The Quaker community increased in Cavan as a result of the conversion of a number of other settlers, including John Pim and William Neale. They moved to Cavan in the hope of starting a new life free from prosecution. Although Kempston was not a Quaker, he was sympathetic to the community. He promised to build a meeting house and 'do great matters to promote the truth.
[Arrival of the Quakers]
[Last updated: 28th July 2002 - Colin Ferguson]
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