Genealogy Chat

Kaz, What area of the country were they from? (on the offchance that I have any resources!) Sarah

Hi Sarah, I would just like to say thank you for your post about the Quakers and all the infomation you included, i am just about to start on a branch of our family who were Quakers and i was a bit daunted by it , but thanks to your info i am not anymore. thanks kaz

If you have found Quaker ancestors - CONGRATULATIONS - and welcome to a wealth of family history information!! Quakers (or more correctly, members of the Religious Society of Friends) have kept excellent records regarding their membership since the movement was set up in the 1650's. Records of births (Quakers don't baptise their children), marriages and deaths were recorded at Quaker Meetings (their form of worship) from the very start. These BMD records are generally MUCH more detailed that C of E records. For instance, until 1850 almost all marriages were to another member of the society and were with parental consent, however old the bride or groom!! In most cases the names of all four parents were recorded at the marriage, plus occupation of the fathers and whether each parent was alive or dec'd. Burial records tend to state the age at death from the early 1700's and there's none of this 'buried widow Smith's child' to contend with! When Quakers moved from one area to another they would take a Removal and Settlement certificate to their new monthly meeting in order to be accepted there. A record would be made at the Friends' Meeting. If they were punished for a misdeamenor they might be 'disowned' by the Society and again this would be recorded at the Meeting. The Quarterly Meetings for any given area involved (amongst other things) gathering all the information recorded at local Meetings and compiling two copies of BMD's. These days one copy of the BMD records is held at the local County Record Office for the area and the other by the Quakers in London. Some information can be purchased in various formats in many cases from the local Family History Society. The bigest source of information is held at the Quaker Library at Euston Road in London. They do not provide a research service and I cannot speak from first-hand experience, as I have never been there: however, I know that it is a fantastic resource: Quakers were keen on writing biographies/obits of their members (esp during the 1800's). I have several long obits (three or four pages) for some ancestors and all were only 'ordinary' people! Any questions please ask here and I will reply on list, so others can read too. Happy Hunting Sarah

Hello All, Have you discovered Quaker ancestors? Don't know how to research them?? Maybe I can help point you in the right direction!! For the absolute basics please read the first reply below and then ask me anything - I will endeavor to answer. Happy Hunting.....Sarah