Allen Jay was one of the most remarkable Friends of the nineteenth century, indeed, perhaps one of the most remarkable Friends who ever lived. His life was full of paradoxes. Born with a cleft palate, he became one of the most admired and success¬ful Quaker preachers of his time. A native of the Ohio frontier, he became widely traveled and admired around the globe. A peacemaker by nature, he nevertheless did not shrink from controversy when he saw a principle involved. Firmly committed to what he understood as historic Quakerism, he nevertheless helped lead perhaps the most dramatic, even revolutionary, change that it has ever experienced. And in the midst of controversy, he managed to retain the respect, even love, of almost everyone with whom he came into contact. – From the Introduction, by Thomas D. Hamm