INTRODUCTION

The records of the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, include births, deaths, marriages, migration certificates, and detailed monthly meeting minutes. Many of these records have been indexed or microfilmed. This guide will help genealogists interpret and locate Quaker records at the NEHGS library and some online repositories.

HOW-TO AND OTHER GUIDES AT NEHGS

Our Quaker Ancestors: Finding Them in Quaker Records by Ellen Thomas Berry and David Allen Berry
NEHGS, 5th Floor Stacks E184.F89 B47 1987

“American Quaker Records and Family History,” Series 358, by Willard Heiss, in World Conference on Records: Preserving our Heritage, 12–15 August 1980, vol. 4.
NEHGS, 1st Floor Rotunda CS2 .W65 1980 v.04

My Ancestors were Quakers: How Can I Find Out More About Them? by Edward H. Milligan and Malcolm J. Thomas
NEHGS, Vault CS432 .Q8 M55 2005

“The Society of Friends (Quakers),” in Sources for Nonconformist Genealogy and Family History by D.J. Steel, pp. 601–695 (National Index of Parish Registers, Vol. 2)
NEHGS, 7th Floor Reference CD1068.A2 N3 v.02
This chapter includes a history of the Society of Friends, as well as a detailed description of Quaker records in England.

Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States (FamilySearch Wiki)

FINDING AIDS

Monthly Meetings in North America: An Index by Thomas C. Hill
NEHGS, 7th Floor Reference E184 .F89 H49 1992
A list of all known monthly meetings in the United States and Canada, including any former names, the date that each meeting was granted and laid down (if applicable), the location of the records, and other information. This book also contains a brief history of each Yearly Meeting in the region, and a geographic index.

Monthly Meetings in North America: A Quaker Index - quakermeetings.com
This website is an update of Monthly Meetings in North America (above). In addition to the information provided by the book, the website provides a list of available records, websites, and publications for each monthly meeting.

Quaker Genealogies: A Selected List of Books by Willard Heiss and Thomas D. Hamm
NEHGS, 5th Floor Stacks E184 .F89 H45 1985

Guide to the Records of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in New England by Richard D. Stattler
NEHGS, Microtext Floor Reference F15 .F89 S738 1997
Also: www.neym.org/GuideToRecordsRSOF_1997.pdf

Quaker Records in Maryland by Phebe R. Jacobsen
NEHGS, 7th Floor Reference CD3280 .A16 no.14

Guide to the Records of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting by Jack Eckert
NEHGS, 5th Floor Stacks BX7649.P5 E24 1989

CHURCH RECORDS

Transcribed or Indexed Church Records

The books and websites listed below contain records of the monthly meetings in one or more states. Search the NEHGS library catalog for transcriptions of individual meetings.

Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, vols. 1–6 by William Wade Hinshaw
NEHGS, 7th Floor Reference E184 .F89 H5
Also on Ancestry.com.
Abstracts of records of selected monthly meetings in North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York City, Long Island, Ohio, and Virginia. Each volume has a surname index.

Index to Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy
NEHGS, 7th Floor Reference E184 .F89 H5 Index

Abstracts of the Records of the Society of Friends in Indiana edited by Willard Heiss ( Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. 7)
NEHGS, 7th Floor Reference E184 .F89 H5 v.7 pt.1-6
Also at HeritageQuest Online.

Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636–1850, Vol. 7 (Friends and ministers) by James N. Arnold
NEHGS, 7th Floor Reference F78 .A75 v.07
Also online at: AmericanAncestors.org and Ancestry.com

The William Wade Hinshaw Pennsylvania Quaker Meeting Records
NEHGS, 5th Floor Stacks F160 .F89 W55 1990

Michigan Quakers: Abstracts of Fifteen Meetings of the Society of Friends, 1831–1960 compiled by Ann and Conrad Burton
NEHGS, 5th Floor Stacks F565 .B87 1989

Quaker Records: Illinois Monthly Meetings
Available at HeritageQuest Online.

James E. Hazard Index of the Records of New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
This searchable database contains the records of every monthly meeting in the New York Yearly Meeting. The N.Y. Yearly Meeting includes meetings in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Vermont, and Quebec.

Microfilmed Church Records

Massachusetts:
Dartmouth Monthly Meetings
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection BX7780 .D37

New Bedford Monthly Meetings
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection BX7780 .N479

Westport Monthly Meetings
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection BX7780 .W47

New Hampshire:
Dover, New Hampshire, Monthly Meeting of Friends
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection F44.D7 D67

Hampton Monthly Meetings; Seabrook Monthly Meetings
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection BX7780 .H36

Sandwich Monthly Meetings
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection BX7780 .S36

Rhode Island:
Society of Friends: Newport, R.I. Monthly Meetings
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection BX7780 .N48

Vermont:
Society of Friends Starksborough Monthly Meetings
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection BX7780 .S77

England:
Friends House Library Digest Registers of Births, Marriages and Burials for England and Wales, 17th c.–1837
NEHGS, Microfilm Collection CS 432 .F89 F73
NEHGS, Microtext Floor Reference CS 432 .F89 F73 (Finding Aid)

HISTORY

The Quakers in the American Colonies by Rufus M. Jones
NEHGS, 5th Floor Stacks BX7636 .J66 1911
Also: archive.org/details/quakersinamerica00joneuoft

The History of Quakerism by Elbert Russell
Available at the HathiTrust Digital Library.

The Quakers and the American Revolution by Arthur J. Mekeel
NEHGS, 5th Floor Stacks F269 .F8 M44 1996

A History of the Society of Friends in America by Allen C. Thomas and Richard H. Thomas
Available at Internet Archive.org.

WEBSITES

Quaker Records from the Indiana Historical Society
Digital Quaker Collection created by Earlham College
On-Line Indices to Quaker Meeting Records and Other Quaker Sources
Quaker History & Genealogy from Swarthmore's Friends Historical Library
American Friend Obituary Index
Quaker Collection Haverford College
Quaker Records, Guilford College (N.C.)
The Quaker Corner
Friends Historical Association
Quaker Minute Book Transcription Project from the Quaker Library and Archives of Canada
The Canadian Quaker Genealogical Index
Quaker Family History Society (British Quakers)
Ireland Quaker Records (FamilySearch Wiki)
Quaker Necrology Database