1775–1777

George Walton played a leading role not only in the movement to persuade Friends to free their slaves but also in the confrontation with North Carolina's government that the manumissions precipitated. When he was appointed captain of one of the company of patrollers, George Walton refused to serve and counseled fellow Quakers to follow his example. The 1776 Yearly Meeting appointed a committee of eleven to help any Friends who wanted to free their slaves. Walton and other members of the committee visited fellow Quakers, encouraging them and helping them to free their slaves. In 1777, the...

George Walton played a leading role not only in the movement to persuade Friends to free their slaves but also in the confrontation with North Carolina's government that the manumissions precipitated. When he was appointed captain of one of the company of patrollers, George Walton refused to serve and counseled fellow Quakers to follow his example. The 1776 Yearly Meeting appointed a committee of eleven to help any Friends who wanted to free their slaves. Walton and other members of the committee visited fellow Quakers, encouraging them and helping them to free their slaves. In 1777, the Perquimans Monthly Meeting recommended Walton to the Quarterly Meeting of Ministers and Elders as “a minister with whom we have Unity.” By 1778, Walton had risen so high in the esteem of his co-religionists that they appointed him to the Standing Committee of the Eastern Quarter.