Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States

United States   Church Records   Society of Friends (Quaker) Church Records

Online Records

 * '''A "meeting" is the Quaker term for a congregation.

Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com collections be searched free-of-charge at any Family History Center.
 * U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, index and images, at Ancestry.com ($).
 * U.S., Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol I–VI, 1607-1943
 * U.S., Hinshaw Index to Selected Quaker Records, 1680-1940, index and images, at Ancestry.com ($).
 * U.S., Published Quaker Family Histories, 1845-1920, index and images, at Ancestry.com ($).
 * U.S., Quaker Genealogies, 1893-2003, index and images, at Ancestry.com ($).
 * U.S., Index to Quaker Obituary Notices, 1822-2012, index and images, at Ancestry.com ($).
 * U.S. and Canada, Quaker Yearly Meeting Annual Reports, 1808-1930, index and images, at Ancestry.com ($).

Information in the Records
Records are found in "monthly meeting" records. Most Quaker meeting records include births, marriages and deaths as well as certificates of removal when a member moved from one congregation (meeting) to another.
 * Birth records (found in monthly meeting records) include child's name, date of birth, place of residence, father's occupation, witnesses.
 * Marriage records include names of the bride and groom (including maiden name), parents' names, everyone's place of residence, witnesses
 * Death records might include parent's names, life sketches
 * New Member entries may include birth and marriage information for every family member.
 * Removals: tells the new monthly meeting where they move
 * Disciplinary actions

For Further Reading

 * U.S. Quaker Research (Society of Friends).

Finding Aid

 * Quakermeetings.com is a website devoted to recording information concerning all Quaker congregations (meetings)which have existed in America, including the date of the first and last meeting, where records are kept and subordinate congregations.
 * Berry, Ellen Thomas and David Allen. Our Quaker Ancestors : finding them in Quaker records. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., c1987. Book 973 D27bq Worldcat entry Free to view at books.google.com
 * lists both old meetings and existing meetings, and how long they have existed
 * lists records that exist and where they are


 * Hill, Thomas C. Monthly Meetings in North America: An Index. Second Edition. Cincinnati, Ohio: N.p., 1993. Book 973 K22h 1998;  film 1698282 item 11. Alphabetical by monthly meeting. Gives address and sometimes location of records. '''WorldCat entry

Writing to Local Churches

 * Friends General Conference Directory
 * '''Friends United Meeting Directory"
 * Evangelical Friends Church-Eastern Region
 * Evangelical Friends Church-Mid-America Region Find a Church
 * Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Directory
 * Evangelical Friends Church Southwest Find a Church
 * Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting Churches Directory
 * Alaska Yearly Meeting Churches
 * Conservative Friends "How to Find Us"

Archives

 * Haverford College Library Haverford, PA 19041 Telephone: 610-896-1175 Fax: 610-896-1102
 * Website


 * Swarthmore College Friends Historical Library 500 College Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081 Telephone: 610-328-8496
 * Website
 * Covers New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia


 * HEGE Library and Learning Technologies Guilford College 5800 West Friendly Ave Greensboro, NC 27410
 * E-mail: archives@guilford.edu
 * Website
 * Covers North Carolina and the southeastern U.S., Baltimore, Philadelphia


 * Friends Collection Earlham College Lilly Library 801 National Road West Richmond, Indiana 47374-4095 Phone: 765 983-1743 Email: tomh@earlham.edu
 * Website
 * Quaker Information Center: A Gateway to Quakerism: A service of Earlham School of Religion
 * Covers Indiana and Western and Northern Yearly Meetings


 * The Rhode Island Historical Society 110 Benevolent Street Providence, RI 02906 Phone: Phone:401-273-8107 x410. E-mail: reference@rihs.org (For all distance patrons they provide a 15-minute free look-up service)
 * Website
 * Keeps archives of New England Yearly Meeting. It is extremely helpful to be able to provide in which Meeting in New England an ancestor was a member.


 * Center for Archival Collections William T. Jerome Library, 5th Floor Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43403 Phone:419-372-2411 E-mail: archive@bgsu.edu
 * Archives of Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative branch)