U.S. and Canada, Quaker Yearly Meeting Annual Reports, 1808-1930

This database contains hundreds of volumes of minutes from Yearly Meetings, which is the highest administrative level of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The records span more than a century and come from more than 20 different Yearly Meetings including the following: Baltimore, California, Canada, Genesee, Central, Green Plain, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, London, Nebraska, New England, New York, New Zealand, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, South Africa, Western (Indiana), Wilmington.

The minutes contain names of representatives and committee members, memorials and obituary notices, along with business news.

This collection is available for browsing only and contains no indexed records.

What Is a Yearly Meeting?

The Quaker religion was organized into geographical regions. At the top of the organization chart was the Yearly Meeting, typically named for a state, a large city, or even a country around which congregations were clustered: i.e., Philadelphia Yearly Meeting or Canada Yearly Meeting.

Belonging to these Yearly Meetings were Quarterly Meetings located within the geographical jurisdiction of the Yearly Meeting, like several dioceses belonging to an archdiocese. Below the Quarterly Meetings were Monthly Meetings which met every month for business. Monthly Meeting minutes are considered to have the records with the most genealogical value. Below the Monthly Meetings were Preparative meetings. Representatives from each meeting in its jurisdiction attended the Yearly Meeting.