Annals of the Sartain Tribe1557 to 1886 and on Philadelphia, October 24th, 1886.1346 North Broad Street.To my Grandchildren:You know that there exists a natural desire in most persons, especially in those far advanced in years, as I am now, to learn all they can concerning their ancestry, and preserve what they learn: hence I, influenced by that motive, have occupied myself in arranging the few following pages with what knowledge I have been able to collect concerning the Sartain tribe to which you belong. Perhaps the subject may interest you sufficiently to induce you to preserve this record, as I hope you will, for if you care little about it now, those who come after you may care a good deal. With this expectation I have prepared it.I remember, when I was quite young, during my father’s life-time - and who died when I was but eight and a half years old - that mention was made occasionally made of the family tradition, that our fore-fathers were broadcloth weavers who fled from France to escape the persecutions

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instituted against those who were convicted of reading the Bible. For a long time I entertained the belief that this imigration of the family occurred subsequent to, and in consequence or the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XlV in the year 1685. But I now posses certain knowledge that it took place, at least a hundred and thirty years before that event, and more than forty years prior eve to the promulgation of that famous Edict of religious toleration by Henry lV in the year 1598.  You will see by the subjoined authentic records, that the Sartains must have been among those who composed the first exodus from France when the persecutions began after, and consequent on, the invention of the art of printing.The lists of Baptisms, marriages and Burials of the Sartains preserved in the old vestry records of the Parish Church of Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, England, show that they were residents of that town in 1557, and how long before that date, I have at present no means of ascertaining precisely.What caused them to leave France for England the flowing narrative will explain.After the invention of the art of printing, among the earliest productions of the press were Bibles, but from no

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other higher motive than prospective pecuniary gain.Gutenburg and Schaeffer not possessing sufficient means to carry on their printing business, confided their secret to John Faust, a wealthy goldsmith of Neenty (sp?), who joined them in their venture  and supplied the necessary funds. These Bibles(in the Latin vulgate) were at first sold as, and at the price of manuscripts. The first Edition being exhausted, Faust went to Paris, carrying with him a second edition, which he began selling at the usual high rate, but getting impatient to disencumber himself of the balance of the edition, he sold them at such low prices compared with those charged at first, that it caused surprise and suspicion. Different copies were compared, and found to be so exactly alike, that it was concluded they could only have been so written by aid from the Evil One, so Faust was arrested on the charge of being in league with the devil , and hence originated the phrase, “The Devil and Dr Faustus”. He obtained his liberty only by revealing the secret of the manner of printing them. The earliest Bibles could be read only by the learned, because they were in the Latin vulgate. One of these reached the Library of the convent of Erfurt, where Luther, at the age of twenty-one, found it, while he was there training to be a monk.

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But translations of parts of the Sciptures into language of the people soon began to appear, and finally there were superseded by a complete French version of the entire Bible printed at Antwerp, and issued in successive portions between the years 1512 and 1530. This translation was the work of Jaquesle Faber, of Estaples, in Picardy, and it was eagerly sought and read by the people, causing a reaction against the superstition and impiety which then generally prevailed. The Church authorities became alarmed: the Inquisition was armed with new powers, and an order was issued from Rome prohibiting printing. The Sorbonne at Paris was appealed to, and it obtained from the King (Francis the First) an ordinance for the suppression of printing, which was promulgated on the 26th of February, 1535.  Bibles and Testaments were now seized whenever found, and burned. Printers convicted of printing Bibles were burned, and next followed the burning at the stake of those who were only guilty of selling or reading them. In Paris alone, during the six months ending June 1534, there were twenty-one persons burned alive, one of them a woman. A forcible expression was given of the situation, and views of the Church, by the Vicar of Croydon, England, in

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a sermon preached at St Pauls Cross, London, in which he declared, “We must root out printing or printing will root out us.” But we have seen that “the art preservative of all arts,” could not be rooted out. The place with which we, the Sartains, have nearest interest is Meaux, situated about fifty miles north-east from Paris, and near the then Flemish frontier. It was full of working people, wool carders, fullers, cloth weavers and other artisans, and among these the reform sentiments took early and deep root. This was probably helped by the proximity of the Flemish towns, whose people were engaged in similar occupations, and who were earnest in their convictions of the value of the new religious awakening. The new Bishop of Meaux (Guillaume Briconnet [sp?], Count of Montbrun [sp?]), on taking charge of his diocese, had been shocked at the licentiousness of his clergy and their utter neglect of their ministerial duties. He was at the same time profoundly impressed by the manifest improvement in the manners and morals of the people called Gospellers. Accordingly he began the gratuitous distribution of printed Testaments among the poor people, and this was followed by still further

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improvement. But the Bishop was heavily fined by his superiors for what he had done, and from that time he shrank out of sight. Persecution was diligently applied to crush out the new heresy, and no matter what the learning or rank of the suspected heretic, he had to satisfy the tribunal before which he was summoned, or die at the stake. No wonder that those who could fled for refuge to England. Arrived there, they were welcomed and protected by the authorities, partly because they were generally skilled artisans; for the English King had long been anxious to introduce manufacturers into the country. Down to that time nearly the whole land had been used for grazing only, and wool, the great staple, was exported to Flanders and France, to again be re-imported in the form of woven fabrics. Thus was manufacturing industry transplanted to England and through the impolitic bigotry of the Church and aristocracy of France and Spain.It may be also taken into account, perhaps, that another influence operated in favour of these emigrants at the particular time. Henry Vlll, who was then King, had separated the Church of his Kingdom from

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that of Rome, had denied the authority of the Pope, and was then engaged in the suppression of all the monastic establishments throughout the land. The same favourable reception was continued to the refugees during the succeeding reign of Edward Vl.At first the broadcloth weavers settled in the West of England, largely at Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, - and among these earlier groups there can be no doubt were the Sartain family, whose record begins there in 1557, the earlier records having disappeared.  From that time to the present, west of England cloth has always been held in the highest estimation.The people continued to leave their native home until the French King, Henry lV promulgated his famous Edict, in 1598, known as the “Edict of Nantes” which established religious toleration. It would have been easy to foretell the outcome of such liberality; he was assassinated by a fanatic of the Church.  But peace reigned only until Louis XlV, revoked that Edict in 1585, and again loosed the hands of persecution.It has been estimated that in consequence of this revocation five hundred thousand of the people termed Huguenots left the country, and settled in

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England, Ireland and the American Colonies, and that the whole loss to France, from first to last, through this intolerance, was about a million of the most valuable of her population, the industrial class. When Philip ll, of Spain heard of the wholesale slaughter of Huguenots on the evening of St Bartholomew, in Paris, in 1573, he is said to have laughed for the only time in his life. By his order the notorious Duke of Alva was perpetrating atrocities throughout Flanders, similar to those the church was executing in France and with like effect.As Galileo said - after his torture and imprisonment by the Church for having taught the truth of one of God’s Laws - “ But the earth does move, for all that!”  So, too, the world of independent though(t) and conviction advances.  The idea is spreading widely and rapidly that infidelity to the is (this?) is fidelity to God.  Happily the church has been deprived of its favourite old-time implements of rack, torture and flaming faggot, through the growth of intelligence, but it will ever continue unsafe to trust any - so called - religious body of people with dominant political power, because they

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invariably use it to persecute those who differ from them in opinion.The murders of Christians by Christians for opinions sake, exceed in number and barbarity those of Christians by Pagans from the same motive.An alarm now prevails in churches of all denominations ( or rather, with the unprogressive fossilised individuals in these churches) at the rapid enlargement and progress of scientific knowledge. The cry, “ We must root out printing,” is changed to, “We must root out science, or science will root out us,”  But it needs no gift of prophetic vision to foresee the inevitable outcome of such an antagonism. Modern enlightened development substitutes facts for fables, and a grand and worthy conception of the devine Creator of the vast universe is taking the place of that imagined by a narrow, cruel, benighted and barbarous people of a past age.They created a personal God after their own Image, capricious and vindictive. But “The time cometh, and now is.” When the immortal human soul, emancipated from the obscurity of a narrow superstition, will emerge into the broad light of truth and reason, and ascend through nature

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