Our Quaker Ancestors - Finding Them in Quaker Records by Ellen Thomas Berry & David Allen Berry

Item No. 3091 - publ. - Softbound - 6 x 9 - 1lb. - 261 pgs. - ISBN: 0-8063-1524-5  - price  $19.95

In 1675, when George Fox devised the system of record-keeping which is so integral to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), he could hardly have foreseen the uses to which these meticulous and extensive records would one day be put. Friends "meetings" records are a mine of undreamed of genealogical riches, and anyone conducting a search for his Quaker ancestor can expect to uncover a wealth of information in thee records, provided he knows how to use them - and they can be difficult to use, for they have characteristics and a language all their own. Quaker genealogy, the researcher soon learns, is a subject in its own right and demands special research procedures. Taking this as its premise, this book sets out to acquaint the researcher with the types of records that are available, the location of the records, and the proper and effective use of those records, guiding him through the pyramidal "meeting" structure to the records of birth, marriage, death, disownment, and removal awaiting him in record repositories across the country.

The book begins with a short but essential history of the Quaker movement and a discussion of its organization and structure, particularly as it affects genealogical research. Later chapters describe Quaker migrations to and within America, the special types of records available for research, and the Berry's very own methods for locating and using these records. In addition, there are chapters on record repositories and libraries with Quaker source material, non-Quaker repositories, and Quaker sources and repositories outside the U.S., together with a bibliography, maps of selected meeting locations, and a glossary of terms peculiar to the Society of Friends.