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Subject: [PACHESTE] What's Useful in Quaker Minutes? LONG
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:37:16 EST

Dear List:

I was recently asked by a researcher if Quaker records were really as
useful as some people said. If any of you are unfamiliar with their content,
perhaps the answer I sent that person will also help you, so I am posting it here:



I'm biased, being a Quaker, but I think it depends what you're looking
for. If you're just looking for verification of a wedding, death or birth date,
then the records can do that but will often say little else. What you will see
in summaries like the Hinshaw indices or Peden's summaries is just this
statistical material, and you need go no further.

If you have time (and luck) getting into the individual Meeting's monthly
business minutes (that's why they're called Monthly Meetings - meet 2-3 times
a week for worship, but once a month to transact congregation-related
business), you can often learn interesting tidbits. But BEWARE - it's a lot of reading!

Examples:

1. Friends transferring from one Meeting to another had to produce
"certificates in" (e.g. to the Meeting they wished to join) proving that they were
members in good standing, owed no outstanding debts, and were capable of
self-support, often listing a trade or equipment as proof. Thus, you can get
occupations, previous residences. relative affluence and names of wives and minor
children on the certificate. Same for "certificates out" (given by the Meeting they
were leaving). In the business Meeting approving these, there is sometimes
special notation made of a person's standing in the community, acts of charity,
character pluses (and minuses!), roles and responsibilities in that Meeting from
which they are "removing" etc.

2. The Monthly meeting business minutes also record an individual's service
in and to the Meeting - Quaker committees being very important, as they carried
out pastoral and community care and were a sign of trust and eminence among
one's peers.

These minutes also refer to a person's actions, if they cause concern to
the congregation, the view being that one's personal conduct reflects the
condition of one's inward spiritual development. And the spiritual maturity of the
individual reflected directly upon the Meeting as a whole. So, the minutes
will often mention who is thought to be fornicating with whom, who was seen
drunk at market day, who is consorting with "idle company," who doesn't mend his
fences so that his livestock gets loose and eats a neighbor's crops, as well as
who is a deserving person who needs help in establishing a trade, who has
enough tact to be helpful in relief to the poor, etc.

These documents often read like gossip sheets! And, if the person's
conduct is truly bad ("contrary to the good order of Friends"), other Friends will
be appointed to call on the wayward one and "elder" or counsel him to better
behavior. (Remember that scene in the movie Friendly persuasion where Gary
Cooper is eldered for racing his buggy to Meeting?) These elders make their report
to business meeting, and the outcomes are usually reported. So, if we want to
know what our ancestors were REALLY like.....

3. If you can get your hands on an original, or full copy, of a Friends'
marriage certificate, it can be quite helpful for genealogists. As there is no
minister in a Friends Meeting, the couple marry each other in the sight of God
and the congregation, all of whom sign the certificate as proof. The first two
signatures are the bridge's and groom's, then the Committee of Oversight
(Quakers appointed by the congregation to assist the couple in prenuptial counseling
and to see that the marriage takes place in accordance to Friends' practice),
then the bride's immediate family, then the groom's immediate family, then
family, neighbors, etc. You get a full picture of their circle, famous and
local.

My marriage certificate is more than three 17x20" pages long (318
signatures), with all 38 of my first cousins signing (some in baby writing, who now
have grandchildren!). People usually sign in family groups, which can help
sort out a gaggle of similar last names in the same town or vicinity. On my
certificate, over 120 people with the same last name signed, in family groups, so
you can really see how we all relate. The marriage certificates also tell you
who was literate and who was not.

4. If your ancestor was dropped from membership ("disowned"), the reason(s)
why will be in the monthly business minutes. It can range, depending upon the
time period and the strictness of the Meeting, from marrying a non-Friend, to
military service, to sexual misbehavior, to debt, to continued non-attendance.
An 1870s Midwest Friend was even disowned for having an unkempt beard! One
wonders if it featured livestock within.

5. Upon a Friend's death, the next Monthly Meeting minutes will usually
include a "Memorial Minute," that is a brief outline of that person's character
(Friends call it "weightiness" as other faiths refer to "pillar of the church")
and services to the Meeting and to the community. These often make great
reading, especially as they are personalized, not standard one-size-fits-all. They
usually include expressions of faith said by the deceased, so one can get a
flavor of the person's beliefs.



All this said, I think the main reasons why people love Quaker records is
that they are reliable, accurate, consistent (in that they have few gaps over
the years), are easily findable and are not sealed to outsiders.

In fact, the originals are getting used to death and this is of concern to
Friends who know the religious reasons why these records are important and
therefore why our denomination spent/spends so much money, time and effort to
preserve them. We always hope that outsiders will realize that they are
RELIGIOUS records kept for Quaker purposes, and so use them gently and respectfully.
Please use microfilms and not originals, if you can.

Thy friend in research,

Nancy Webster, Swarthmore Meeting, PA

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