Virginia Yearly Meeting Records
Scope and Contents
Records of Virginia Yearly Meeting, 1674-1887. Includes men's minutes 1702-1844, women's minutes 1763-1838, Worship & Ministry and its Predecessors 1758-1853, vital records 1674-1885, committee records 1811-1840, and miscellaneous 1740-1887. Most records after Virginia Yearly Meeting was laid down and assumed as a Half-Years Meeting by Baltimore Yearly Meeting are described in QM-B-V574.
Dates
- Creation: 1674-1887
Creator
- Yearly Meeting of Friends, held in Virginia (Organization)
Limitations on Accessing the Collection
Collection is open for research. Access may be provided via digital or microfilm copy, per repository policy.
Copyright and Rights Information
Information on reproduction policies available in the Library.
Biographical / Historical
Virginia Yearly Meeting was established in 1672 and at various times included thirteen Monthly Meetings. In 1777, Friends in Virginia made the decision to disown members who enslaved people. By 1784 Friends persuaded the Virginia legislature to pass a law permitting manumission and within six years nearly all Quaker enslavers had freed the people they enslaved. Life in states where slavery was legal became difficult and many Quakers from Virginia and surrounding states migrated west.
There was no Hicksite Separation in this area. Virginia Yearly Meeting was laid down in 1843. At this time the Meeting was assumed as a Half-Years Meeting under Baltimore Yearly Meeting (Orthodox).
In 1912, because the group wished to meet four times per year rather than two, they established themselves as the Virginia Quarterly Meeting. But in 1976, they opted again to meet only twice per year and the name changed once again to Virginia Half-Year's Meeting.
Extent
4.25 Linear Feet
Language
English
Arrangement
Divided into series: 1.Men's Minutes; 2.Women's Minutes; 3.Worship & Ministry and its Predecessors; 4.Vital Records; 5.Commtittee Records; 6.Miscellaneous.
Physical Location
This collection is mostly stored at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections, with the exception of "Minutes, 1737-1758" which is stored at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Deposit, Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
Subject
- Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1828-1868). Virginia Half-Years Meeting (Organization)
- Yearly Meeting of Friends, held in Virginia (Organization)
- Virginia Half-Years Meeting (Society of Friends : 1843-1912 : Somerton, Va.) (Organization)
- Virginia Half-Years Meeting (Society of Friends : 1843-1912 : Richmond, Va.) (Organization)
- Virginia Half-Years Meeting (Society of Friends : 1843-1912 : Black Creek, Va.) (Organization)
- Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1828-1868). Virginia Quarterly Meeting (Organization)
- Title
- Virginia Yearly Meeting Records
- Date
- 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- 2020: Updated outdated, harmful terminology related to enslavement, except where it appears in a title, quotation, or subject heading.
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Quaker Meeting Records at Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections and Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library
