Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting Records (including Woodbridge)
Scope and Contents
Records of the current Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting (and its Hicksite predecessor), 1685-present. Includes minutes 1686-1992, vital records 1705-1979, miscellaneous 1773-1989, and newsletters 1937-2007.
Significant bodies of records beyond business minutes include a comprehensive recording of property (title, disputes, legal opinions, etc.) related to the 1828 Separation and the eventual 1911 sale of some of the meeting property to the United States for a post office expansion, as well as the Religious Education Committee's curriculum and spiritual focus in the 1950s and 1960s.
While some pre-Separation records retained by the Hicksite branch are described here, the bulk of Pre-Separation and Orthodox records are described in QM-Ph-R338.
Dates
- Creation: 1686 - 2007
Creator
- Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (1828- : Plainfield, N.J.) (Organization)
- Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1827-1910 : Rahway, N.J.) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Where available, access is through microfilm.
Conditions Governing Use
Information on reproduction policies available in the library.
Biographical / Historical
A monthly meeting at Amboy was established in 1686 as part of Shrewsbury Quarterly Meeting. It began to circulate to Woodbridge in 1689; from 1689 to 1704 this meeting was discontinued due to the Keithian Separation; in 1706 a monthly meeting was reestablished at Woodbridge. In 1763, Woodbridge Monthly Meeting began to circulate between Plainfield, Rahway, and Woodbridge. In 1769, the monthly meeting moved from Woodbridge and alternated between Plainfield and Rahway; its name was changed to Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting. In 1827 it divided into Orthodox and Hicksite branches. The Orthodox branch stayed within Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and was laid down in 1910; its members were attached to Chesterfield. The Hicksite branch affiliated with New York Yearly Meeting (Hicksite) in 1833 along with the rest of Shrewsbury Quarterly Meeting (Hicksite). Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting has continued to the present day.
Extent
9.5 linear ft.
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Records on New York Yearly Meeting's Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting, 1685-present, including Pre-Separation, Hicksite, and United records. Includes minutes 1723-1988, vital records 1705-1979, property records 1780s-1940s, miscellaneous 1773-1989, and newsletters 1937-ongoing.
Arrangement
Divided into series: Minutes; Women's minutes; Vital Records; Ministers' and Elders' Minutes; Miscellaneous; Newsletters.
Physical Location
This collection is stored at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.
Custodial History
The Hicksite records at Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College, formerly catalogued as RG2/Ph/R337, were transferred to RG2/NY/R431 in 2011.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Pre-Separation, Hicksite, and United records deposited by New York Yearly Meeting in 1997. Pre-Separation and Orthodox records deposited by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Additional accruals of pre-1750 minutes and property and financial records made by the monthly meeting.
General
Volume 3.5 also has Ministers' and Elders' minutes, 1966-71.
Subject
- Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends : 1763-1828 : Plainfield, N.J.) (Organization)
- Woodbridge Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends : 1686-1763 : Woodbridge, N.J.) (Organization)
- Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends : 1763-1828 : Plainfield, N.J.) (Organization)
- Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (1828- : Plainfield, N.J.) (Organization)
- Woodbridge Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends : 1686-1763 : Woodbridge, N.J.) (Organization)
- Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1827-1910 : Rahway, N.J.) (Organization)
- Title
- Rahway and Plainfield Monthly Meeting Records (including Woodbridge)
- Author
- Inventory prepared by: FHL Staff
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- 2016: This electronic finding aid was updated in Summer 2016 by Abdulrezak Kemal in preparation for importing into ArchivesSpace, to conform to current markup standards and the ArchivesSpace data model.
- 2023: Additional 2020 and 2022 accruals processed, loose folders boxed, instances added
- 2024: Some new files added as part of a student backlog project summer 2024 for NYYM Found in Collection materials
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 repoductions from Quaker Meeting Records at Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections and Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library
