welcome to the ancestral findings podcast this is episode 248 do you have Quaker ancestors if
so your genealogical research will be much easier let's talk today about the story of
the origins of the Quakers as well as how to research your early Quaker ancestors
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Quakers call themselves the religious Society of Friends they were given the moniker of Quaker by
other Christian denominations who derided the riving and dancing in religious ecstasy that
was common in the early days of the group while there are several different Quaker denominations
today they all come from the same first group and share the same values the original Quakers taught
these values can be summed up in the belief that each human has the ability to access the Spirit
of God that is within every person because Quakers believe that God is in every person
and each person can access God within them without the intercession of priests or pastors they have a
general priesthood of all believers each member of the Quaker Church is a priest within that church
and can teach others and give testimony even women and children which is quite unlike most
other denominations of Christianity Quakers also avoid creeds and hierarchal structures
the different Quaker denominations that exists today include evangelical Holiness liberal and
traditional original Quakers had meetings with no planned services most of the meetings were held in
silence until and if someone felt moved by God to say something there are Quaker denominations who
still worship this way today while others have a prepared message given by a designated pastor and
sometimes singing as well George Fox was one of these people he had his own religious revelation
that there is one Jesus Christ who can speak to thy command afterward believed it was possible
to have a direct experience of Jesus without the involvement of any ordained clergy George
Fox began traveling around England preaching this new religious testimony then brought
it to the Netherlands and Barbados because Fox taught that Jesus came to earth to teach people
personally that he expected others to continue this individual personal teaching Quakers came to
consider themselves the restoration of the true original Christian Church the Quaker religion
caught on with great popularity in England and Wales though the dominant Protestant establishment
viewed them as blasphemous and an unacceptable challenge to the nation's social and political
order they were persecuted through various acts beginning in 1662 but this persecution ended with
an act of toleration in 1689 meanwhile George Fox's followers made their way to North America
and began preaching their testimony to the English colonists there many of the missionaries who
went were women as women were equal priests and teachers to men in the Quaker Church the Puritans
in New England proved less than receptive to any Quakers within their borders and even stopped a
few would be missionaries from getting off their ships before sending them back to England the
authorities did not want the Quaker religion to corrupt their pure Puritan citizens however word
got out through a few missionaries who managed to get through and via handing out Quaker pamphlets
to the colonists there were Puritan converts to the Quaker religion and the Puritan persecution
of the Quakers began in North America many colonial Quakers were imprisoned fined whipped
mutilated set in the stalks tortured and banished from Puritan controlled colonies those who were
forced to leave or who wanted to leave for more tolerant pastures usually went to Rhode Island
which was set up as a colony where any Christian denomination was welcomed though the Puritans
enacted a death penalty for any Quaker caught on their third entry to a Puritan colony after
being banished only four were ever executed and these were three men and one woman the woman Mary
Dyer has a statue erected in her honor in Salem Massachusetts eventually the Puritan authorities
were ordered by the English King to stop their persecution of Quakers and members of the group
became tolerated and even accepted in most of the colonies one colony Pennsylvania was even
established by a Quaker William Penn and governed on Quaker principles over the centuries Quakers
have come to be known for many things that make them stand out from other religious denominations
some of these defining characteristics include the following using thee as an everyday pronoun
refusing to participate in Wars wearing plain clothing refusing to swear oaths opposing slavery
opposing the consumption of alcohol belief in trial by jury belief in equal rights for men and
women advocating for free public education the early Quakers advocated boisterous and unruly
behavior in order to get attention to point out the fallacy of the regular Protestant Church
and to get converts by 1700 this behavior was no longer encouraged though the use of
spontaneity of expression during meetings was still a part of their worship later in the 18th
century the Quakers began what is known as the quietest period where they became a more inward
looking religious order and left off most of their conversion efforts they also outlawed
marrying outside the faith those who did would be excommunicated their numbers dwindled in America
and Great Britain but reached a point where they remained steady though they were lower than they
had been in the beginning the formal name of the Quakers the religious Society of Friends
was adopted during this period and has been used ever since if you have Quaker ancestors you are in
luck because Quakers are well known for keeping excellent records there are detailed records of
births deaths and marriages of Quakers going back to the early 1700s most have been microfilmed by
the Mormons and are available their regional family history centers these records can also
be found on numerous genealogy websites or even at Quaker churches themselves Quaker cemeteries
abound in New England though the early members of the church did not believe in headstones you
may not find any stones until the mid 1700s and after there are also many ancient Quaker
churches going back to the early 18th century that are still in use Quakers are one of the
easier religious denominations to research even if someone left the religion either by choice or
excommunication because those events are recorded - as the movements of early Quakers from one
church to another you shouldn't have any trouble finding information on your early Quaker ancestors
[Music] Martha Washington was the very first First Lady of the United States
we all know this about her and that she married George Washington but what about
her life before him and after him do you really know Martha Washington tune in
next time for her story thanks for joining me today I'll see you next time on the ancestral
findings podcast and for further info you can visit us at ancestral findings dot-com