Great Britain & Ireland, Society of Friends (quaker) Periodicals

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Were your ancestors Quakers in Great Britain or Ireland? Discover details about their death in this collection of the Annual Monitor from 1813-1918. You may be able to learn your ancestor’s death date, age at the time of death, and residence.

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What can these records tell me?

This collection is one series of the Annual Monitor of the Quakers for Great Britain & Ireland. It’s a complete run from 1813-1918 with obituaries for all dead Quakers in Great Britain and Ireland. There are 65 publications in total, broken up by years.

You may be able to learn the following about your Quaker ancestor:

  • Full name
  • Age at death
  • Death year
  • Death date (months are recorded as numbers, therefore, 3 mo., or simply 3, refers to the third month of the year, March)
  • Residence
  • Notes (occasionally including an occupation and a spouse’s or parents’ names)

For some listed in these periodicals, a lengthy obituary is printed, which provides significant details and valuable insight into your ancestor’s character, life, and family. This may include details about the cause of death and your ancestor’s final days. For example, in the Annual Monitor, 1846-48, we read the following in Sarah Biglands obituary:

‘By the decease of her mother, she was introduced into a large share of domestic cares; and amidst her numerous engagements, there is reason to fear, that she did not pay due attention to the symptoms of a cancerous complaint, which ultimately, with great suffering, wore away her strength. […] As her illness increased, it was comforting to observe the peaceful expression of her countenance, all anxiety appearing to be removed from her mind’.

Later volumes, such as those from the early 1900s, include some photographs of certain individuals included in the periodical.

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Quakerism had its birth in England during the mid-1600s. George Fox, dissatisfied with the religious beliefs prominent in England at this time, went to establish the Quaker faith based on the belief that he came to hold that every person can have personal experiences with God, which he referred to as inner light. When he began proselytising, Fox called those who joined him ‘Friends of the Light’.

Quakerism did not stay confined to England for long. In 1653 England, William Edmundson converted to the faith before moving to Ireland. He established the first Quaker meetinghouse in Ireland in 1654 in County Armagh. Ireland grew to have a significant Quaker community, and Edmundson became known as the father of Irish Quakers.

A substantial number of Irish Quakers later migrated to the United States. As such, Quakers are well represented in North America.

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