The Religious Society of
Friends, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers, was founded in 1647 by Englishman,
George Fox. “Quakers
believe that there is something of God in everybody. They do not have clergy or rituals, and their meetings for worship are often held
in silence.” (Source: www.bbc.co.uk – see below.)
Their views did not come from a strict reading of the Bible, a book they
considered a guideline but not binding. They are known today for their
dedication to social reform. For a further discussion of the Society of
Friends beliefs as understood by the British, go to the BBC website, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/quakers_1.shtml
Quakers were persecuted for
their faith for many years, until the Act of Toleration of 1689 gave some
relief. “For example, they were often fined, imprisoned or even transported for
refusing to take oaths, serve in the armed forces, attend Anglican church
services, or pay tithes to their parish clergyman.” (Source: Herber, p. 255.) The
group had a large following despite the troubles, especially in Northwest
England. In 1682, William Penn led 23,000 Friends to the new world, founding
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Practices and Beliefs that Affected Record Keeping
Friends used numbers
for days and months to avoid using words derived from the
names of pagan gods. The "first day" of a week was Sunday, the "second day" was Monday and so on. Prior to the
calendar change in 1752, the first day of second month of 1730 was known to the
Friends’ Anglican neighbors as 1 April 1730 because the year started on Lady
Day, March 25. After 1752, January first began the New Year and the second month
became February. This threw off the names of the last four months of the year.
Before 1752, September might be abbreviated 7ber, and October as 8ber, etc. Not
anymore.
Friends understood the
need for good record keeping and have reliable records from 1668 forward. Since
there were no baptisms, they kept records of births. Marriages needed the
permission of the society which was recorded, and all present at the ceremony
often signed the certificate. It wasn’t uncommon to have fifty witnesses, both
Quakers and non-member guests. During the years of Hardwicke’s Marriage Act
between 1754 and 1837, only Anglican marriages and those of Quakers and Jews
were considered valid. Burials were recorded as well. Quakers did not want to
be buried in consecrated ground and provided for their own cemeteries.
Accessing the Records
As mentioned in a
previous blog post, after civil registration in 1837, there was a call for
religious groups to deposit their registers. The National Archives received
over 1500 from the Firends and summaries called digests were made. A copy was sent to the local
meeting and the Friends House Library in London. The CRO might now have the
local copy. The records show 250,000 births, 40,000 marriages and 300,000
burials.
The library is at
Friends’ House, 173-177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. Besides the digests, they
hold the names of representatives to “Yearly Meeting” from 1668 and minutes
from meetings. The library catalog is online at www.quaker.org.uk. While some restrictions
apply to records not yet fifty years old, the library is open for public use
Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
The Public Record Office
holds the originals in Record Group 6 and 8 (RG 6 and RG 8). The LDS has the
originals and the indexes on microfilm. Online at www.familysearch.org. scroll down on the
home page to “Browse by Location” and click “United Kingdom and Ireland.” From
the next list pick “England and Wales, Non-Conformist Records Index (RG 4 – 8)”
No images are available free. You are directed to www.thegenealogist.co.uk
Ancestry.com has two
records groups that show up when you do a keyword search for ”Quaker records England”.
One is ‘Liverpool, England Quaker Records 1635 -1958’ with 39,000 entries. The
other is Non-Conformist records for London, England with about 120,000 entries.
Sources: Christensen, Dr.
Penelope. Researching English
Non-Anglican Records. Toronto, Canada: Heritage Productions 2003.
Herber, Mark. Ancestral Trails. Baltimore, Maryland:
Genealogical Publishing Company 2006.
©2012, Susan Lewis Well
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