Above: The ca. 1790 Wharton House in Philadelphia. Birthplace of Joseph Wharton, founder of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His mother, Quaker minister Deborah Fisher Wharton, lived here as a young bride. She was a cofounder of Swarthmore College. Image source: Lee J. Stoltzfus.

Question: Who are you, and why did you create this website? Answer: I am a retiree with lots of free time. So I do all this as a hobby instead of playing golf or watching grass grow. This project gives me a good excuse to wander around photographing historic buildings. I recently downsized from a big, old farmhouse near Lititz to a modern apartment near Lancaster.
‍ ‍Question: Are you a Quaker, or just a Quaker wannabe? Answer: My DNA is Amish, and my cultural identity is Mennonite. My surname Stoltzfus is the most typical Amish name here in Lancaster County. My parents were Amish until they were teenagers, when they became Mennonite. For decades I have celebrated my Pennsylvania German heritage by researching and writing about that history.
So no, I am definitely not a birthright Quaker. But Quakers have always felt like theological cousins to me. I do not attend a Quaker meeting; I seldom attend a Mennonite church service anymore. But Mennonites and Quakers are Peace Church people, and their ideals of peace and justice are hugely important to me. Plus historic Quaker houses are among the earliest and most peaceable houses in Southeast Pennsylvania. Hence this website.

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