robert barker, jr. 1650 - 1729
Another prominent Friend who shared a leadership role in the Scituate and Pembroke sect with both Edward and Michael Wanton, was Robert Barker Jr. A partner with the Wantons in the iron furnace and a shipbuilding enterprise, he also owned several early sawmills. It was likely Edward who first introduced Robert to the Society of Friends. In 1675, during the King Philip's War, Barker was a lieutenant in the local militia under the command of General James Cudworth, he "broke away from the army, when they were on the march, in a mutinous way, and by his example, allured others to come away." This action was prompted by Quaker principles, and Barker was deprived of his commission. Of the other 15 men he lured away, most were fined from one to eight pounds, according to their respective offenses.
By 1703, the Quakers who had spread out from Scituate to Duxbury and Marshfield began discussions regarding the need to move to a more convenient location. In 1704, the quarterly meeting of area Quakers held in Sandwich discussed hiring Robert Barker Jr. to build a new meetinghouse and agreed to pay him one hundred and eleven pounds to do so. Barker was the father-in-law of Michael Wanton. In 1706, the second meetinghouse was erected in Pembroke. Contrary to several earlier accounts, the Pembroke meetinghouse was built in Pembroke, where it sits today. In 1709, the deed for the Pembroke meetinghouse was recorded at the Plymouth Registry of Deeds. Prior to the incorporation of Pembroke, the meetinghouse was referred to as the house of Robert Barker to distinguish it from the old meetinghouse in Scituate which was referred to as the house of Michael Wanton. The first reference to the "Pembroke" meetinghouse occurred in 1712, the year of the town's incorporation. The Scituate meetinghouse continued to be used until 1730. In 1737, the Pembroke Monthly Meeting appointed Michael Wanton, Abraham Booth and Thomas Rogers to "dispose" of the old meetinghouse in Scituate.
By 1703, the Quakers who had spread out from Scituate to Duxbury and Marshfield began discussions regarding the need to move to a more convenient location. In 1704, the quarterly meeting of area Quakers held in Sandwich discussed hiring Robert Barker Jr. to build a new meetinghouse and agreed to pay him one hundred and eleven pounds to do so. Barker was the father-in-law of Michael Wanton. In 1706, the second meetinghouse was erected in Pembroke. Contrary to several earlier accounts, the Pembroke meetinghouse was built in Pembroke, where it sits today. In 1709, the deed for the Pembroke meetinghouse was recorded at the Plymouth Registry of Deeds. Prior to the incorporation of Pembroke, the meetinghouse was referred to as the house of Robert Barker to distinguish it from the old meetinghouse in Scituate which was referred to as the house of Michael Wanton. The first reference to the "Pembroke" meetinghouse occurred in 1712, the year of the town's incorporation. The Scituate meetinghouse continued to be used until 1730. In 1737, the Pembroke Monthly Meeting appointed Michael Wanton, Abraham Booth and Thomas Rogers to "dispose" of the old meetinghouse in Scituate.
