Portrait of Benjamin Lay (1682-1759), Anglo-American Quaker abolitionist owned by US Founding father Benjamin Franklin's wife Sarah. Born in Copford, England to Quakers, Lay worked as farmhand and shepherd before later becoming an apprentice glove maker. At the age of 21, he ran away to become a sailor. Lay moved to Barbados where he saw the slave trade. When Lay later moved to Philadelphia, USA, in 1731 and he protested against slavery during Quaker meetings. He also wrote one of the first anti-slavery tracts 'All Slave-keepers that Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates'. This tract was published in 1730 by Benjamin Franklin, despite owning two slaves.