The Friends of Progress (Milton, N.Y.) Records

The Friends of Progress, in Ulster County, N.Y., was founded by former members of Marlborough Monthly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite) and met in the Quaker meeting house south of Milton. The Friends of Progress were first formally organized in 1854, although the predecessor meeting had been formally laid down by Westbury Quarter in 1847 after a series of disciplinary reorganizations prompted by New York Yearly Meeting (Hicksite).

The Friends of Progress in Milton were part of a wider movement referred to as Progressive or Congregational Friends which differed with the Hicksite yearly meetings over church government and the extent to which Quakers should support and participate in contemporary reform movements. The Milton group corresponded with others at Waterloo (N.Y.), Longwood (Pa.), Green Plain (Ohio), North Collins (N.Y.) and elsewhere. In later years, the society was primarily concerned with the maintenance of the graveyard.