George Hulme Jr.

     George Hulme was baptized on 16 January 1683/84 in Didsbury, Lancashire, England.² He was the son of George Hulme and Ellen (—?—) (Hulme).¹ He married first Naomi Palmer, daughter of John Palmer and Christian (—?—) (Palmer), 2 10m 1708 (2 December 1708) in Falls Meeting House, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.^3,4 Naomi died circa 1709, and he married second her sister Ruth Palmer on 7 January 1711/12.^5,3,6 He died in 1729 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.⁷ His will was proved on 8 January 1730/31 in Bucks County.⁷
     
     George was probably a boy when in about 1700 he came from Tilston, Cheshire, England, to Pennsylvania with his parents, and of age in 1705 when he and his father bought land together in Middletown township in Bucks County. The Hulmes probably became Quakers in Pennsylvania, and there is only indirect evidence of membership found in the Middletown and Falls meeting records. A reasonable guess is that George's parents attended meetings, but were not members, because George Sr. is referred to only once, and not by name, as consenting to the marriage of George Jr. and his first wife Naomi. George Jr.'s membership is only evidenced by the records of Falls and Middletown meetings in regard to his marriages.

     Naomi survived her marriage only a short time, for less than two years later George announced his intention at Middletown Monthly Meeting of marrying Naomi's younger sister Ruth. His intention was rejected, and the decision was sustained at Quarterly Meeting. Marriage to a deceased wife's sister was at that time considered incest by the Society of Friends, but they married anyway. Subsequently, Ruth was disowned by Falls Monthly Meeting for marrying her brother-in-law contrary to discipline, and her father acknowledged to Middletown Monthly Meeting that he gave his consent, and condemned that decision at Falls Monthly Meeting. Strangely, neither the Falls or Middletown records reveal George's fate, but he was surely disowned for the same offense providing he had not already resigned his membership.

     The birthdates of George Hulme's children are not known, and it's possible that one of those named below, or one not yet found, was a child by Naomi. It seems unlikely, however, because during their brief marriage George and Naomi were apparently Friends in good standing, yet there is no record of a child born to them. The birth order shown here is from Davis' History of Bucks County, but it should be kept in mind that old county histories often contain many errors. Also, there may have been other children.

     UPDATE: According to at least one source, George and Naomi had a child who died in 1709, at or about the time of his mother's death.⁸