Ben Lay
Part of the reason I like writing my dissertation is that I get to re-discover obscure figures in American history… Benjamin Lay spent most of his life in Pennsylvania around Philadelphia from 1731 to 1758. He and his wife Sarah lived rather simply and according to their morals. They wouldn’t eat meat or buy products associated with slavery. Both were hunchbacks and Ben had a long-ass beard.

Ben Lay was vehemently opposed to slavery at a time when many Quakers owned slaves. See his book ALL SLAVEKEEPERS THAT KEEP THE INNOCENT IN BONDAGE, APOSTATES (New York: Arno Press, 1969). Lay was thrown out of churches and Quaker meetings–literally. One time he was tossed out and remained on threshold and wouldn’t move. Another time he buried his foot in the snow outside meeting to demonstrate the pain slaves must feel working in the cold with very little clothing.

The Quakers eventually disowned him. But he had already made his mark on John Woolman and Anthony Benezet two Quakers who convinced the Society of Friends to ban slavery…