Nicholas Waln was born at Fair Hill, near Philadelphia, Pa. , the son of Nicholas and Mary (Shoemaker) Waln and a cousin of Robert Waln, 1765-1836. His great-grandfather, Nicholas Waln, born in the West Riding of Yorkshire, emigrated in the Welcome and arrived at New Castle, Del. , in 1682.
Education
Waln was educated in the William Penn Charter School, and became both a good Latin and German scholar.
Career
He was admitted to the bar, October 8, 1762, and had eight cases as a minor in a single term of court. He quickly became a successful lawyer. In 1763-64 he spent a year as a student in the Inns of Court in London. On his return to Philadelphia his fees for a year, on his own testimony, reached the mark of £2000. In February 1772 he experienced a remarkable religious conversion which culminated in a unique public prayer. He immediately withdrew from the practice of law and gave himself completely to the service of the Society of Friends, of which he was a lifelong member. In 1783 Waln went on an extensive religious visit of two years to England, visiting the families of the members of the Society of Friends as well as the public meetings in that country. His preaching was marked by unusual power, and he was recognized at home and abroad as one of the most impressive Quaker preachers of that period. In 1795 he paid a similar visit to the Quaker meetings and families in Ireland. He possessed an almost uncanny gift for feeling out the states of mind and conditions of life of persons in his audiences, and acquired, especially during the visit in Ireland, the reputation of being a "prophet. " During the period between 1772 and 1813 he exercised a notable influence upon the Society of Friends in Philadelphia, and in his travels he reached most of the centers of Quaker life and thought in America. In 1789 he was appointed clerk (chief official) of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, which included the Friends of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. From the year 1777 until 1789 he was clerk of meeting of ministers and elders.
Achievements
Personality
Notwithstanding the weight and solemnity of Waln's preaching, he was inclined to humor and was noted for his wit and repartee.
Connections
He was married, May 22, 1771, to Sarah Richardson. They had seven children, only three of whom reached maturity.