Yearly Meeting Extracts from their Minutes

This collection consists of Yearly Meeting extracts, or proceedings, primarily from the mid 18th through the mid 19th centuries, in manuscript (handwritten) or printed form. Prior to the 19th century, clerks created an abstracted report of the events at Yearly Meeting in the form of extracts from the minutes. They then copied and re-copied the extracts to be distributed to Quarterly Meetings and other constituents.

A collection of contemporary copies of extracts of the minutes of various meetings within the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, devoted to the promotion of church unity and discipline, and presenting a picture of the growth and progress of Quakerism. These papers contain the names of the prominent Quaker leaders of the time, and incidentally reflect the political and social issues of the American colonies, such as slavery, Native Americans, temperance, education, religious doctrines, and other subjects. Of interest are the minutes of 1778, which shed light on Quaker attitude against complying with the law of declaration of allegiance and abjuration and the paying of taxes for war purposes.

This collection also includes extracts from Baltimore, London, Dublin, and Central America Yearly Meetings