Abstracts of the Records of The Society of Friends, Vol. 1 Edited by Ruth Dorrel and Thomas Hamm; Cloth.; 318 pp; 8.5X11; Published: 1996; Every-name index; Item # IHS004

A valuable resource for those exploring Indiana family history, the book features Wayne County records of two monthly meetings of the Society of Friends (Quakers) through 1899. First edited by Willard Heiss and published by the IHS in 1962, this volume features an every-name index.

The introduction by Heiss provides a telling summary of the origin of the Society of Friends and its growth in America. The introduction covers a lot of historical detail, containing the following sections:

• Origin of the Society of Friends and Its Spread to America
• The Society of Friends in Indiana
• Indiana Yearly Meeting
• Western Yearly Meeting
• Indiana Yearly Meeting (Hicksite)
• Indiana Yearly Meeting (Anti-Slavery)
• Western Yearling Meeting (Conservative)
• Later Divisions of Yearly Meetings
• Organizational Structure
• Yearly Meetings
• Quarterly Meetings
• Monthly Meetings
• Preparative Meetings
• Meetings for Worship
• Indulged Meetings for Worship
• The Friends Meeting House
• Types of Records
• Monthly Meeting Minutes
• Removals
• Disownments
• Received in membership
• Birthright membership
• Conclusion
• Marriage Records
• Birth and Death Records
• Removal Certificate Record
• Friends Burying Grounds and Funerals
• Reference Material
• Locations of Original Records
• Orthodox Monthly Meetings in Indiana Prior to 1850
• Hicksite Meetings in Indiana After Separation in 1829
• Anti-Slavery Friends Monthly Meetings in Indiana After Separation in 1843
• Conservative Monthly Meetings in Indiana After Separation in 1877

Meeting minutes and records were critical to the Society of Friends. Monthly meeting minutes were transcribed twice a year into permanent record books. As noted above, meeting minutes include removals (when families moved from one area to another), disownments (disciplinary act to remove membership), additions or requests for new memberships, and the inclusion of minor children of new members. The society also maintained birth, marriage, and death records. Abstracts of the Records of The Society of Friends in Indiana contains information from both the meetings and the other vital records kept by the Society in Indiana. Records cover 1809 through 1902, from the time the first "meeting" was established in the Indiana Territory.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Abbreviations
• Whitewater Monthly Meeting
• Springfield Monthly Meeting
• Index