The precepts of the denomination called for honesty, nonviolence, justice, simple living, and toleration. Members would sit quietly in meeting and reflect upon God. They set themselves apart by dressing simply, speaking to each other in respectful terms like "thee" and "thou," and refusing to acknowledge titles and church tithes. In practice, they rejected military service and forts, the bearing of arms, formal oaths, capital punishment, and the slave trade.

Quakers suffered persecution for their beliefs both in England and in most of the American colonies. This was because their tracts called for political and legal rights for all men–a belief that society was not yet ready to accept.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, large communities of Friends settled in Pennsylvania, which was founded by famous Quaker William Penn, and in Rhode Island, which offered people a safe haven from persecution. As Quakers spread westward and to other colonies, they developed new opportunities and struggles. Evangelical revivals spread the Quaker faith, but by the early nineteenth century, internal disagreements caused factions within the membership. Under the leadership of Elias Hicks (Hicksite) in 1827—28, and then under the Wilburites and Gurneyites in 1846, meetings formed that departed from the conservative model of unprogrammed worship. Today, Quakerism is a minority religion known for nonviolent activism and social policy.

At first, a researcher may be confused and frustrated by the unique terminology, the overabundance of records, and the unusual method of recording dates. However, once he or she becomes familiar with definitions and the sources to consult, Quaker research is both interesting and rewarding, as well as challenging.

The organizational structure of the meeting provides a family historian with many genealogical treasures, depending upon the type of record he or she is seeking. Monthly meetings focus on events, including births, marriages, burials, and aid to indigent prisoners, widows, and other Friends. Also mentioned at meeting are "removals" (Friends seeking permission to move to another meeting).

Separate men’s and women’s business meetings began in 1670 and continued until 1890. Monthly meetings for suffering focused on Quakers imprisoned for their beliefs or disowned for breaking ministry rules, such as not attending meeting, drinking, serving in the military, or marrying outside the faith. Quakers also held quarterly meetings by county and yearly meetings by state or region. Regional boundaries for the yearly meeting do not necessarily follow geographic or political lines. For instance, today the New England Yearly includes meetings from Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Vermont and western Connecticut are part of the New York meeting.

Births. New members often record all the birth information for individuals in their family at one time, usually upon joining a meeting. Thus, Quaker records can be incomplete and are arranged by family name, not by date of birth.

Birthright. Children born to members of a monthly meeting are considered birthright members.

Death and Burial Practices. Death records are not always recorded, especially in the case of members who had no issue. Early Friends thought gravestones were an expression of vanity and thus used unmarked stones to signify a burial site. Later meetings suggested that simple monuments should identify only the name, age, and birth and death dates of the deceased.

Disownment (Denial). This is the termination of membership due to actions such as military service, attending services of other denominations, marrying individuals who are not Friends, intemperance, failure to attend meeting regularly, and owning slaves.

First Day. This term is used instead of Sunday.

Calendar. Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar (1752), the first month on the calendar was March; afterward, it became January.

Marriages. Usually recorded in the bride’s meeting, these records include the entire marriage certificate along with a list of witnesses. Marriages had to be approved by the meeting.

Minutes. These are official records of the monthly meeting that contain disownments, removals, marriages, the creation of meetings, the dissolution of meetings, and other business proceedings. Women’s and men’s monthly meetings were separate until about 1890, but their records covered the same types of information.

Removal. Members of the meeting in good standing could request a transfer, called a removal, to another monthly meeting.

Successful searches in Quaker records result from using published and manuscript sources. Locate material by consulting published Quaker genealogies and compilations. William Wade Hinshaw’s six-volume An Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy (1936—50. Reprint. Baltimore: GPC, 1994) covers several Midwestern and Southern states. Learn from other researchers by following case studies in genealogical periodicals.

Abundant manuscript resources exist for researchers. Large collections are maintained by the Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College; Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Meeting); and the Rhode Island Historical Society (New England Yearly Meeting). Published guides exist for the latter.

Even if researchers don’t immediately find the ancestor they thought was Quaker, they may still uncover a rich and interesting cache of potential leads and fascinating lives as an additional benefit of research. Either way, they should keep reading and following the methods of more experienced researchers until they discover that missing Friend.

Haverford College Library
Magill Library, The Quaker Collection
370 Lancaster Avenue
Haverford, PA 19041-1392

Rhode Island Historical Society Library
121 Hope St.
Providence, RI 02906

Quaker Resources
Consult this Web site for research guidance when you are unsure of where to look.

Quaker Terminology and Abbreviations
Provides a list of definitions and abbreviations commonly found in Quaker records.

Hamm, Thomas D. and Heiss, Willard C. Quaker Genealogies: A Selected List of Books. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1986.

Hinshaw, William Wade. An Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, 1936—1950. 6 vols. Reprint. Baltimore: GPC, 1994.

Jones, Rufus, Isaac Sharpless and Amelia M. Gummere. The Quakers in the American Colonies. London: Macmillan, 1911.

Quaker Necrology. 2 vols. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1961.

Return to the Ancestry Magazine March/April 2001 Table of Contents.