Editor's Note: Several of the works mentioned in this article have been compiled into online databases at Ancestry.com. Be sure to view the list of Quaker records databases housed at Ancestry as you begin your Quaker research.
Founded in England in 1652 by George Fox, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) did not (and do not) believe in organized religion as was practiced in the Church of England and other churches. Quakers believed that individuals could worship God directly and that members had an “inner light” (an inner capacity to understand God); they rejected a formal clergy or creed.
Known for their plainness in dress, large numbers of Quakers followed William Penn and settled in Pennsylvania. Many Quakers also settled in Rhode Island and other New England states, but also in New Jersey, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, New York (especially New York City and Long Island), Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and elsewhere. Many Quakers also immigrated to the Philadelphia area beginning in the 1660s to the 1680s and formed the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. They separated into the Orthodox and Hicksite (followers of Elias Hicks) branches beginning in Philadelphia in 1828.
Quaker Record Groups
Quakers kept some of the best church records of any church in England or America. Of particular interest to genealogists are the records of monthly meetings (MM), at which births, marriages, and deaths were recorded. Also important are minutes, marriage intentions, letters of transfer, and actions regarding church members. (It is interesting to note for genealogists that marriage certificates were often signed by all persons present at the marriage ceremony.) One should remember that many Quakers refused to serve in the military, so it is less likely to find military service or pension records for them. But Quakers did keep records of transfers and removals of individuals from one meeting to another. Quarterly and yearly minutes of meetings were also kept, but they are not as valuable genealogically as the monthly meetings.
Printed Sources
The most valuable printed source for researchers—and the first place to begin research—is William Wade Hinshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy (Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore). Hinshaw’s reference is arranged by monthly meeting, and the work is separately indexed. The volumes and index may be found in many large libraries. Descriptions of Quaker meetings are included, and there are several supplements to this multi-volume work.
Another valuable source, compiled by employees at Haverford College Library in Haverford, Pennsylvania, is Quaker Necrology (G.K. Hall, Boston). This two-volume work is an index to approximately 59,000 death notice entries taken from four major Quaker periodicals from the necrology card index of the Quaker collection at Haverford College Library. Many Quakers who died in America between 1828 and 1960 are recorded in this card file.
Repositories
The two major repositories of Quaker records in America are:
Friends Historical Library
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA 19081
Haverford College Library
Haverford, PA 19041-1392
The major repository for New England Quaker records is the Rhode Island Historical Society in Providence. Records may also be found at Quaker colleges in North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, and elsewhere. Especially valuable are Quaker records housed at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.
Many Quaker records have been microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. See the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC) for details. An example of filmed records is Goshen Monthly Meetings, Pennsylvania, 1722-1938, which contains births, marriages, deaths, minutes of meetings, memberships, certificates, and miscellaneous records. Original Quaker church records are generally not indexed. See your locality of interest under the heading “Church Records,” as well as author entries under “Society of Friends” and “Quaker.”
Selected Internet Sites
Selected Bibliography
Berry, Ellen Thomas and David A. Berry. Our Quaker Ancestors: Finding Them in Quaker Records. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987.
Cope, Gilbert. “Cope Manuscript Collection.” Microfilm (Family History Library).
Heiss, Willard and Thomas D. Hamm. Quaker Genealogies: A Selected List of Books. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1985.
McVetty, Suzanne. “Records of the Society of Friends (Quakers), New York Yearly Meeting.” NYG&B Newsletter 8 (Fall 1997): 27-31.
Milligan, Edward H. and Malcolm J. Thomas. My Ancestors Were Quakers: How Can I Find More About Them? London: Society of Genealogists, 1983.
Myers, Albert Cook. Quaker Arrivals at Philadelphia, 1682-1750. 1902. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978.
Remington, Gordon L. “Quaker Preparation for the 1752 Calendar Change.” National Genealogical Society Quarterly 87 (June 1999): 146-50.
Remington, Gordon L. “Quaker Records for Genealogists.” 1994 National Genealogical Society Conference in the States, Houston, Texas, pp. 497-500.
Stattler, Richard D., comp. Guide to the Records of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in New England. Providence: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1997.
Thomas, Allen C. and Richard H. Thomas. A History of the Society of Friends in America. Philadelphia: Winston & Co., 1895.
Wilds, Mary. “Finding Quaker Ancestors.” Ancestry (November/December 1995): 29-31.
Worrall, Arthur J. Quakers in the Colonial Northeast. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1980.
Kip Sperry is an associate professor of family history at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
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