Biography:

Henry Drinker was a member of the Society of Friends and the clerk of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. He was also co-owner, along with Abel James, of the shipping firm James and Drinker. Devoted to his religion and its commitment to pacifism, Drinker was later a victim of anti-Quaker sentiment during the Revolutionary War when he refused to participate in the military. Unfairly accused of treason, Drinker and a number of other Quakers were exiled to Winchester, Virginia for many months. While imprisoned, Drinker signed the Quaker Exile Remonstrance in 1777 which demonstrated his belief in the personal freedoms which had been breached by the government.