Sarah Fell

Sarah Fell (1642–1714) was an English Quaker accountant and writer at Swarthmore Hall. She was the daughter of Margaret Fell and Thomas Fell, and the eventual stepdaughter of George Fox.

Personal

Sarah Fell or Sarah Meade was born in 1642 in Lancashire, England in Swarthmore Hall. She was the fourth daughter of Judge Thomas Fell and Margaret Fell, who was also known as the "Mother of Quakerism." She was subsequently the stepdaughter of George Fox, whom Margaret Fell remarried after Thomas Fell's death in 1658. She was the sister of Margaret Rous, Bridget Fell, George Fell, Isabel Yeamans, Mary Lower, Susannah Ingram, and Rachel Abraham. She married William Meade in June 1681 and together they had a son, Nathaniel Meade.

Career Fell worked as a Swarthmore farm accountant and clerk of the Lancashire Women Quarterly Meeting. She wrote the household account book of Swarthmore Hall between 1672 and 1678. When the account book was first opened in March 1672, the residents of Swarthmore were Margaret Fell, George Fox, three unmarried daughters (Sarah, Susannah, and Rachel), a recently widowed daughter, Isabel, and Isabel's two children. Fell's account book showed the expenditures for her family and the Swarthmore Minutes (SWMM), which reflected the Quaker philanthropic thoughts and practices. In this century, women were very much involved in their husbands' business affairs; as a result, account books kept by women also had detailed information of their husbands' income. The names of 198 women who had social or business relationships with Fells appeared at least once in her account book during the six years she recorded. One third of that total appeared in the Swarthmore Minutes. From 1658 to 1681, Sarah invested in iron bloomery with her mother and three sisters, She also wrote the epistle directed to Quaker women's meetings everywhere.

Death Fell died on 9 June 1714 in Gooseyes, Essex, England.