Cheltenham Monthly Meeting Society of Friends in Fox Chase, PA

 This brief historical account of Cheltenham Monthly Meeting was written by my maternal grandfather, William T. Llewellyn. He read it at the dedication of the newly constructed meetinghouse on the grounds of Jeanes Hospital in Fox Chase near Philadelphia in 1956.

Our grandparents Ella H. and William T. Llewellyn were very active and instrumental in this meeting.

Below is a pancake picnic we had at Lorimer Park regularly. My parents are seated at the picnic table. This was 1958

Above is our mealtime after meeting - I am seated in the middle in a dark blue sweater next to my cousin Mark Llewellyn. My Mother Mary L. Sager is standing behind us. 1958

Part I

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CHELTENHAM MONTHLY MEETING 

Beginnings to 1956 

During the first years of the "Holy Experiment" in Pennsylvania, there was a group called the Cheltenham Friends Meeting, which met in the home of Richard Wall, near Old York Road and Church Road. That meeting, founded in 1683, has only an indirect connection with the present Cheltenham Monthly Meeting. 

The origin of this monthly meeting can be traced to the year 1911 when Francis R. and Elizabeth R. Taylor moved to Cheltenham. For several years, they walked the three miles to Little Abington Meeting in Jenkintown; but, in 1915, after other families of Friends moved into the vicinity, they began to hold meetings for worship in their home on Ryers Avenue. 

When the group which gathered outgrew the living room, the Friends began holding meetings for worship in the second floor of Cheltenham Town Hall, at Central Avenue and Ashbourne Road. The Town Hall was satisfactory in many ways, but one condition caused Friends much distress. The building was used for lodge meetings on Saturday night and always reeked of tobacco smoke on Sunday mornings. Friends did not smell as if they had been to meeting when they returned to their homes. 

When the group decided to build a modest meetinghouse, Francis and Elizabeth Taylor gave a piece of ground at 521 Ryers Avenue for that purpose. The building was completed in 1922 and  was used until October, 1956. The architect was George S. Morris; and the marriage of his daughter, Nancy, to Richard R. Wood was the first in the new building. The building was heated by a wood stove in the early years; and Friends would move back farther and farther from it as meeting progressed, and as the temperature rose. The stove was eventually replaced by a furnace which provided uniform heat. The benches for the new building came from Horsham Meeting.* 

The building was small, with only a meeting room and one classroom. Other classes met in private homes in the beginning; but as more children came to Sunday School, classes were held in the Cheltenham Fire House; and it became obvious that more adequate quarters were necessary. Definite plans for a new building were started in 1952. W. Macey Stanton was selected as architect and arrangements to build on the Jeanes Hospital Grounds grew out of William T.  Llewellyn's conversations with fellow members of the hospital board. The meetinghouse at Fox Chase was dedicated with a meeting for worship on December 16, 1956. 

· Friends in Cheltenham first met under the guidance of Abington Monthly Meeting* and were a part of that monthly meeting after 1917. As the years went by and Cheltenham grew stronger while Little Abington grew smaller, it was decided in December, 1944, to change the name to Cheltenham Monthly Meeting. It continued to be a part of Abington Quarterly Meeting.* 

Over the years a number of persons contributed to the spiritual well being of the meeting. The Taylors have already been mentioned. Francis R. Taylor was a powerful minister in the meeting for worship. He also held a Sunday School class for boys and the meeting assisted a number of them with scholarship help which made it possible for them to attend Westtown School. The meeting has always been deeply interested in encouraging and assisting students to attend Friends schools. Dr. Willard S. and Faith O. Hastings were also stalwart members of the meeting for many years. Phoebe Harvey, who wore the plain dress during her lifetime, was a lovely and Friendly influence on all, young and old alike. Hannah P. Morris was another Friend who was a source of strength in the meeting. She also took it upon herself to lecture unruly children in the meeting for worship when the occasion arose. 

Part II 

1956-1987 

Thirty years after the opening of the meetinghouse on the Jeanes Hospital campus, the hospital found it necessary to relocate the building in order to erect a new surgical/rehabilitation facility. After months of careful discussion, the Meeting and the Hospital agreed to the demolition of the meetinghouse and the construction of a close replication of it on another site. A joint meeting-hospital committee worked out plans for the new building cooperatively and supervised its construction. This occasion marks the end of our temporary accommodation in Stapeley and the formal dedication of our new home. It seems an appropriate time to review our history during the first years of our life as a meeting in Fox Chase.
One member who took an especial interest in the building of the meetinghouse was Catherine S. Ortlip. Her long illness and death from cancer drew the meeting together spiritually and strengthened our feeling that a Friends' meeting is essentially a family.
During the early years in the meetinghouse, a notable feature of our meetings for worship was the ministry of Ella H. Llewellyn, who was the last minister to be recorded by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.* These years were marked also by the leading part taken by Thomas B. Charles, who was deeply aware of both the physical and spiritual needs of the meeting. In his last years, his energies were directed largely to working with the guests at Friends' Hall, at that time a nursing and convalescent home, where he arranged worship services twice a week for patients and staff. He was responsible for initiating Cheltenham Meeting's practice of contributing food and money regularly to Holy Cross Lutheran Church in North Philadelphia.
For many years we kept the meeting room open during daylight hours as a place of meditation, until increasing vandalism obliged us to discontinue the practice. Many people visited this quiet spot. We plan to resume this practice in our new building.
Members of the meeting have for a long time constituted a unit of the Jeanes Hospital Auxiliary. Among other activities we have undertaken an annual sale of geraniums as a contribution to the hospital.
As a meeting we have, since 1956, felt an obligation to make our facilities available to outside groups. Among those who have used our meetinghouse, for varying lengths of time, are the following: various groups from Jeanes Hospital Health Systems, the Raymond R. Reiff Great Books discussion group, Pennypack Valley Bird Club, Philadelphia Inter-High German Club, Vital Age program, Latin-American Parents Group, George Washington Home and School Board, a chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous (Impaired Professionals Recovering), Fox Chase Methodist Church for Easter sunrise services, the Fox Chase Jewish Community group pending completion of their new building, and a chapter of B'nai B'rith Women. For many years we hosted groups of children and adults from Mantua for all-day outings which featured sports, crafts and lunch.
In addition to Sunday School classes for both children and adults, the meeting has maintained a reasonably full social schedule, the chief features of which have been monthly covered-dish suppers and lunches after meeting, and semi-annual pancake cook-outs in Lorimer Park. We have often invited speakers to these functions from Yearly Meeting committees and staff, as well as from other organizations and meetings. At one such gathering we were addressed by Dorothy Day, co-founder of "The Catholic Worker" Movement, who inspired the U.S. bishops to accept pacifism as a legitimate Catholic response. For about ten years, the meeting provided a speaker on some aspect of the Peace Testimony for a joint service at the Cheltenham Methodist Church on a Sunday near Veterans' Day.
Over the years the meeting has accumulated funds which have been set aside for scholarship aid to Friends' schools. We attempt to be generous in allocating these funds to children of the meeting.
Perhaps, at the opening of this new chapter in our life as a meeting, we might repeat the words which closed the sketch of our history before 1956: "As we begin a new period in the history of Cheltenham Monthly Meeting, it is well to stop for a moment to remember those who have gone before us and to look forward to the opportunities and obligations of the future."
*Arch Street Yearly Meeting

Friends Journal, January 26, 1957

Cheltenham Meeting House 

CHELTENHAM Monthly Meeting, Pa., dedicated the new meeting house, located on the grounds of Jeanes Hospital in Fox Chase, Philadelphia, on Sunday afternoon, December 16, 1956. Approximately 100 persons were present. During the service Dorothy Hutchinson, a member of Abington Meeting, Pa., explained the Quaker meeting for worship to visitors unaccustomed to the practices of Friends. At the close William T. Llewellyn, who has been a part of the Meeting for more than 40 years, presented a brief outline of the history of Cheltenham Friends, which is summarized below. Many years ago, during the first years of the "Holy Experiment" in Pennsylvania, there was a group called the Cheltenham Friends Meeting, which met in the home of Richard Wall, a house which still stands near Old York Road and Church Road. That meeting, founded in 1683, has no direct connection with the present Cheltenham Monthly Meeting. The origin of this Monthly Meeting can be traced to the year 19ll, when Francis R. and Elizabeth R. Taylor moved to Cheltenham shortly after their marriage. For several years they walked the three miles to Little Abington Meeting, but in 1915, after other families of Friends moved into the vicinity, they began to hold a meeting for worship in their home at 215 Ryers Avenue, and later at 525 Ryers Avenue. When the group outgrew the living room, Friends began holding meeting for worship in the Cheltenham Town Hall. Later the group decided to build a modest meeting place, and Francis and Elizabeth Taylor gave a lot at 521 Ryers A venue for the purpose. The building was completed in 1922 and was used until October of this year. The architect was George S. Morris, and the marriage of his daughter Nancy to Richard R. Wood was the first in the new building. The wood stove and benches came from the Horsham Meeting House. These benches have been refinished and are being used in the new meeting house. The 1922 building had only a meeting room and one classroom. Other classes met in private homes from the beginning, but as more children came to Sunday school, classes were held in the Cheltenham Fire House, and more adequate quarters were necessary. Plans for a new building were started in 1952, and we now see the culmination of four years of effort in the new stone structure. The meeting first met under the guidance of Abington Monthly Meeting (Arch Street), Pa., and was a part of that Monthly Meeting after 1917. As the years went by and Cheltenham became stronger while Little Abington grew smaller, it was decided in December 1944 to change the name to Cheltenham Monthly Meeting. Over the years a number of persons contributed to the spiritual well-being of the Meeting. The Taylors have already been mentioned. Francis R. Taylor was a powerful minister in the meeting for worship until his death in 1947. He also held a Sunday school class for boys which contributed a great deal to the Meeting. Each summer he took the boys on a camping trip in Sullivan County, north of the Eagles Mere region. A number of these boys were assisted by the Meeting with scholarship help to attend Westtown School.

Dr. Willard S. and Faith 0. Hastings were also stalwart members of the Meeting for many years. Phoebe Harvey, who wore the plain dress during her lifetime, was a lovely and Friendly influence on all, young and old alike. Hannah P. Morris was another Friend who was a source of strength in the Meeting. Alfred C. and Eleanor G. Garrett visited the Meeting frequently and made a valuable contribution. William C. and Caroline C. Warren also made a deep impression on the Meeting. · EDWIN B. BRONNER





In the archives of Quaker Meeting Records at Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections and Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College I found the following brief description of the entire history of this meeting. The meeting no longer exists after it was officially laid down in 2007 which must have been about the time Uncle Bob (Robert H. Llewellyn) died.




Abington Monthly Meeting was established in 1683 by Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting as a monthly meeting for the meetings for worship at Tacony [Frankford] and Poetquesink [Byberry]. From 1687 to 1710, Abington Monthly Meeting was known as "Dublin". It was transferred to Abington Quarterly Meeting in 1786.




The Orthodox branch of this monthly meeting removed to Cheltenham in 1920; in 1944, it was renamed as "Cheltenham Monthly Meeting". A new Meetinghouse was built on the grounds of the Anna T. Jeanes Foundation with approval of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and with cash from scholarship and other funds. The Meetinghouse and other physical assets were later transferred to the Jeanes Foundation. Cheltenham Monthly Meeting was laid down in 2007 and members transferred to various meetings.




The former Hicksite monthly meeting is the forerunner of the current Abington Monthly Meeting.



https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/phcheltmm

Friends Journal, May 19, 1956

Cheltenham, Pa., Monthly Meeting has announced plans to erect a new meeting house on the grounds of Jeanes Hospital in Fox Chase. An historical search indicates that this is only the second meeting house to be erected within the city limits within the last I 00 years. The ground for this building has been made available by the trustees of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends, who hold title to all of the ground occupied by the hospital. All funds for this program have been provided by the Cheltenham Monthly Meeting or through their efforts, and this project has no relationship whatever to the Building Expansion Program of Jeanes Hospital. The present meeting house occupied by this group is located a't 521 Ryers Avenue, Cheltenham, Pa. The new building will include the large room for religious meetings and areas to be used for Sunday school classes and other purposes. It is planned that these facilities will also be made available to the hospital for Board meetings and other occasions. Plans were to break ground by May 1, and it is hoped that the first meeting for worship may be held in the new building before the end of 1956. Those who have been most active in working out the details of the project have been members of the Building and Finance Committees of the Meeting. Included on the Building Committee are Thomas B. Charles, chairman, William T. Llewellyn, Charles R. Krewson, Fred Petri, Louise H. Stone, and Samuel T. Brinton, clerk of the Meeting. The Finance Committee is composed of William T. Llewellyn, chairman, Jane 0. Krewson, Howard W. Ortlip, William H. Sager, Jr., treasurer of the Meeting, and Hubert R. Taylor, who is also official counsel for the group. Jeanes Hospital has welcomed and helped Cheltenham Friends in this move, believing that more people will be made aware of the fact that the hospital is administered by a volunteer Board of Trustees, all of whom are Friends.