Project: Religious Society of Friends

Categories: Quaker Movement | Quakers Project | Religion Project | William Penn and Early Pennsylvania Settlers Project | Pre-1700 Projects

Welcome to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Project

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The purpose of the Quaker Project is to make profiles for members of the Religious Society of Friends - the Quakers - the best that they can be.

Project participants need to be full members of WikiTree (the Wiki Genealogist level of membership). If you are not yet a WikiTree member, see Help: How to Use WikiTree to get started.

See our Quaker Resources Page if you are working on Quaker Profiles.

Check out the Quaker Category Help Page on how to categorize Quakers.

Our Goals

  • Identify and work on notable Quaker profiles
  • Work on profiles of British Quakers
  • Work on profiles of American Quakers
  • Work on Quakers from the rest of the world
  • Provide resources for people researching Quakers
  • Provide oversight for Quaker categories
For Project
  • Provide a collaborative environment for wikitree members researching their Quaker ancestors.
  • Identify and link to repositories and other sources for Quaker records
  • Establish guidelines for consistent use of Quaker related Categories on wikitree
For Meetings
For Individual Profiles
  • Locate or create profiles for historically significant Quakers, identify them for the project and project protect profiles that meet current WikiTree guidelines for Project Protection
  • Add Category tags to profile for each Monthly Meeting with which the person was associated.
For all members working on the Quakers project/profiles, if you do not currently have pre-1700 Certification, please read this: Wikitree Pre-1700 Profiles and take the Self-Certification questionnaire !
Any improvements you can make to the profiles in the Quaker Project are welcome. As with other projects we encourage members to look for duplicates and merge them into the final lowest profile ID number; clean up existing biographies by removing GEDCOM junk, links to unsourced user submitted family trees (Ancestry.com, etc); and ideally include a written biography consistent with WikiTree guidelines. The Project has maintenance Categories for profiles that could use some extra attention.

Ready to Help?

Want to help, but don't know where to start? How about:
  • Find sources and write biographies for profiles which fall under the purview of the project, first for profiles you manage, and then orphaned profiles; add categories for their Monthly Meeting(s)
... was a Friend (Quaker)
  • Add the {{Quakers Sticker}} template below the ==Biography== heading on Quaker profiles you manage to show they were members of the Religious Society of Friends. Example:
  • For the different uses of the Quaker Sticker (living, minister, descendant, for example) please see Quakers Sticker Template.
  • Sponsor or Help with a Quarterly or Monthly Meeting - Sponsors oversee the categorization of a Meeting, working with other Sponsors to ensure consistency and accuracy across the board, work towards having all profiles in their right place. They maintain the Meeting Category pages for their Meeting; Helpers assist with this
  • Create free-space pages for each meeting / location (ex. Evesham Friends Meeting House by Carrie Lippincott).
    • Add the Meeting Category to the free space page.
    • Add a link to the free space page on the Category page.
    • Move resources currently located on the Category page to the free-space page.
    • Locate record repositories and references and add links to those resources on the free space page for the Meetings.
      • Another easy way to add free spaces.
        • Look at the icons on the upper right of a page.
        • Use the pull-down menu under the Add icon.
        • At the bottom you see "New Thing" so click it and add your title.
        • Add Quakers as a tag, and click add.
        • Then edit the free space.
        • Add the project as a manager it helps the project- directions on how.
        • Adding the Project Image will also assist with collaboration.
  • Many of our 17th and 18th century Quakers are very well documented. Do you like to write? Take a look at the Quakers Project Needs Biography category, these profiles have documentation available, but need some polish. Or see if you can find sources for any of Unsourced Profiles in one of the common sources (see the resource page, or the Category for the Monthly Meeting).
  • Research profiles in the Category:Quakers and re-categorize them under their Monthly Meeting(s) instead.
  • Add Categories and Stickers to profiles as appropriate
  • Suggest profiles for project management and/or project protection
    • If you believe a profile may need protection by the Quakers Project, please either send a message to Michael Cayley or Todd Stanton or (if you are a member of the Group) post a message in the Project's Google Group
    • For profiles which do not need Project protection, the Project will not normally become a manager unless they are of someone who is especially notable, and the profile would otherwise be orphaned.

Irish Quakers

There is an Ireland Quakers Team which comes under the umbrella of the Irish Roots Topics Team and co-operates closely with the Quakers Project. Please see this free space page.

Project guidance for working on profiles

There is a page of guidance for working on Quaker profiles at Quakers Project Guidance for working on profiles.

Profile Comments

The Comments section on Quakers Project-managed profiles is meant to be used for collaboration on sourcing, discussion of the details of the person's life and/or disputed facts, and other things that contribute to the development of a profile. These comments are forwarded to all of the Project's Google Group members for review. We ask that you please do not use profile comments to add information about your personal relationship to these individuals. These comments will be removed from project-managed profiles. By all means celebrate your connection with Quakers of the past - but you can do this on your own personal profile page, or on a free space page.

WikiTree Resources

An index of the main pages associated with the project can be found here.
Quaker Resources
WikiTree help
Remember a lot of questions can be answered by referring to the help pages link at the top right of pages.

External Links

See also:

Useful Pages

  • Dates: Two things to be aware of - Quakers didn't use the names of months, just the numbers (7 8m 1742 for example), and until 1752, "8m" would have been October, not August, since the year started in March (1m).

Participants

For a full list of participants, see the Quakers Project badge feed
Add your name with any special areas of interest below:
  • Kelly Kersey Particularly interested in exploring Quaker ancestry in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and possibly Ohio
  • Jennifer Jordan Moving Profiles from general Quakers Category to specific MM Categories. Also replacing misused Quakers Project with Quakers Sticker. While in any profile trying to reformat to Current Standards and Add Sources.
  • Michelle Spalding Researching Quaker families of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. Also interested in the Underground Railroad and families connected to Levi Coffin.
  • Butch Smith Interested in early Pa Quakers especially those that emigrated to and passed through Columbia Co and lower Luzerne Co,Pa in the late 1700s.
  • Andrea Powell - Early Pennsylvania Quakers
    liaison to the William Penn and Early Pennsylvania Settlers Project and Categorization Project
  • Paula J Interested in early SC and NC Quakers who fled near the time of the Revolutionary War
  • Carol Lillevang - researching the wives of Captain William Crispin, William Penn's original commissioner to Pennsylvania.
  • Chase Ashley - early Brookhaven and Oyster Bay, Long Island; Exeter meeting in Pennsylvania
  • Warren Ayer - Early Greene, Slocum, and Mott Quakers. Also tracing Quakers in the Fish family line for clues to parents of Eliphus Fish.
  • Lynden Raber Castle Rodriguez - I have discovered numerous Quaker ancestors, including the Vernons of Pennsylvania; and I want to learn more.
  • Nancy Alexander - My Quakers are from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Have traced back to William Penn.
  • Carol Keeling - My Quaker ancestors were based in the English counties of Surrey and Sussex. Many of the Quaker families were inter related, and I'd like to research these families and explore how they link into mine. My main Quaker families are Sayers, Stedman, Smith, Humphrey and Bax.
  • Carrie Quackenbush - New England, New Jersey, Virginia...
  • Allison Mackler - Rodmans from Ireland to Barbados to Rhode Island as well as the Pitman family in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
  • Annie Blanchard - A convinced Friend in 1993, I just found Quakers in my lineage - I am related to one of my best f/Friends! Moon, Bowen, Carter, Humphrey, possibly Reece (Rees) and Lucas. Our Quakers stopped being Quakers just prior to the Revolutionary War.
  • Roland Henry Baker III - My areas of focus is Massachusetts, especially Marblehead, York County, Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
  • Daniel Postellon I am interested in the Chamberlain or Chamberlin Quakers of Massachusetts and New Hamphire. I also have some interest in the Providence, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Quakers (near Perryopolis). This cemetery has a complex history, and its own Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_Quaker_Cemetery_and_Chapel
  • Dan Stevens Gaunt/Guntt-My maternal grandfather's line goes back to Quakers who came to this country in the 1600's.
  • Summer Orman - my line of focus is on the Shotwell family of New Jersey; Abraham Shotwell was the patriarch and the immigrant to New York from England. His origins remain unknown, but the Shotwell family is very well documented after him. Hugh O'Neill is the patriarch of my O'Neill line in the USA; his origins are also unknown but suspected to be a son or grandson of Brian McPhelim O'Neill, one of the last of this line to be a noble in Ireland.
  • Corinne Kuhlmann - my Quakers, the Dorlands, started out in Beekman Patent, Long Island, New York, New Netherlands. During the Revolutionary War they moved to Upper Canada and started the Canadian Quaker branch in Adolphustown, Lennox County, Ontario. They were responsible for building the the meeting house and cemetery on John Dorland"s land.
  • Jimmy M. Sisson COGGESHALL and FISH family of Rhode Island, DAKIN family of New York, Ohio and Indiana. My sister-in-law's ancestors are the HUMPHREY family of Wales and Pennsylvania, and the JEFFERIS family of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
  • Anne Rees My ancestor James Perrot was a Quaker. His widow Mary (nee Stafford) established a Quaker Burial Ground and Meeting House at Laugharne, Carmarthenshire in 1723. (Society of Friends Records - Glamorgan Archives)
  • Cheryl Irwin My Quaker ancestors Rich from North Carolina. After researching the Quakers, all of the beliefs my Great Grandmother taught were straight up Quaker.
  • Zoiya Holland-Tate I have many Quaker ancestors from England, S.Carolina, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts. The last birthrite Quaker was My Great grandmother Edith Sprague. She converted to her husband's religion when they got married. Some of my Quaker lines include: Sprague, Greene, Jessop, Beals, Bowman, Pease, Small, Ballard, Pearson, Harvey, Plummer, Burgess, Fisher.
  • J. Salsbery I have many Quaker ancestors, including Starbuck, Slocum, Mosher, Southwick, Allen and Mott Quakers.
  • Patricia Prickett Hickin. One of my ancestors, John Prickett, was a "persecuted Friend." He may have migrated to New Jersey; his sons, Josiah (b1672) and Zachariah (b1674) certainly did.
  • Seely Foley. My Quaker ancestors are among a large group of Puritans who converted to the Quaker faith after a visit by Elizabeth Harris in 1655.
  • April (Dellinger) Dauenhauer [Updated 28 May 2018] Added Quaker star to my Quaker ancestors. They lived in New Jersey, in Salem county or near Burlington township. Stretch, Ware, Denn, Hancock, Gleaves, Bacon, Blanchard, Bradway
  • Doris (Conkright) Miller My Quaker ancestors have been popping up everywhere lately! My maternal line has New Hampshire and Maine Quaker ancestors, while my paternal line has New Jersey, Pennsylvania Quakers with some moving into Ohio.
  • Bennet George I had Quaker ancestors in Perquimans County, North Carolina; Orange County, North Carolina; and probably Henrico County, Virginia.
  • Patt Roche Working on profiles for Quaker ancestors and their relations in Pasquotank and Perquimans NC.
  • Kathy Jo Bryant Working on profiles for Quaker ancestors and their families in Perquimans, Chowan, and Northampton Counties, North Carolina. Surnames: Parker, Jackson, Newsome, Brown, Hollowell, Burgess, Farlee/Farlow.
  • Cassidy Cloer I'm a birthright Quaker from North Carolina. I've been active many years in North Carolina Yearly Meeting and enjoyed learning about our history. I am knowledgeable about the archives of our Yearly Meeting and the history of many member meetings. I can recommend books about our history. I can also speak to present information on meetings and members. I am most familiar with our Western Quarter, especially Cane Creek, Spring, Chatham, Edward Hill, and South Fork (my meeting). I know a good deal about the Quaker history in Chatham and Alamance Counties, especially in Snow Camp where Cane Creek and South Fork are, as that is my hometown. I'd be happy to help with NC research! Surnames: Lindley, Hadley.
  • Linda Barnett
  • Heather is interested in early Philadelphia and New Jersey Quakers.
  • Pip Sheppard Cane Creek Monthly Meeting in North Carolina
  • Maggie N Quakers of Northwest New Jersey
  • Lori Harlan. My Harlan ancestors resided in Chester County, PA. Michael Harlan was the first Harlan to arrive in 1687. He was a member of the Society of Friends in Ireland. He attended several diferent meetings while living in PA. Ezekiel Webb Harlan was the first Harlan in my tree to leave Chester County. I need to work on these profiles to improve their bios and add sources.
  • Patricia Prickett Hickin.I am interested in London, England, and early New Jersey (Burlington County) Quakers.
  • Michael Cayley. Particularly interested in early Quakers - and his own Quaker connections, mainly from a Ford/Forde family of Staffordshire and Cheshire in the 17th to 18th centuries
  • Porter Fann: Two areas of current interest are I) a brick wall to break on the Porter line that oddly enough intersects with other generations on both sides: John Porter is a highly probable direct descendant or other near relative of the John Porter named in George Fox's letter and the later John Porter married Elizabeth Betty Denson, whose direct ancestor (Benjamin Hollowell) was also named in the George Fox letter. A more recent development: II), pieces together different sources helped identify the Levy Neck, Isle of Wight, Virginia Monthly Meeting House for WikiTree presumably which was soon absorbed into the Chuckatuck/Nansemond meetings. Chuckatuck authorities perhaps took issue with the validity of the Levy Neck location with which Thomas Tooke was affiliated, as can be noted in Chuckatuck meeting notes that discuss Joan Tooke's marriage to John Scott. Additional work including appropriate categorization and leveraging of sources for the identified core individuals who were early American Quaker pioneers is needed, and any review would be appreciated.
  • Terri Swift I am currently researching the Coats or Coates of White River, Randolph County, Indiana.
  • Todd Gilbert, with focus on early Quaker Merchant Venturers' families Coysgarne (Bristol/Cornwall/London/overseas) and Jones (Bristol)
  • Leigh Anne Dear 2 prong focus, 1st on early Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New Jersey Quakers from mostly Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire, England ; 2nd 'early' Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) Quaker arrivals who stayed in the area for at 2 least or 3 generations. Some overlap in these two very distant family lines in the Burlington, New Jersey area.
  • Carrie LIppincott focus on New Jersey and Pennsylvania Quakers. I love connecting lines.
  • Alan Watson focus on Irish Quakers.


This page was last modified 12:20, 13 August 2024. This page has been accessed 21,593 times.