This resource index is invaluable for those researching their American ancestry before 1850, particularly as nearly half of these ancestors were Quakers. The documents cover about 455,000 Quakers who lived across New Jersey, New York, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The National Genealogical Society Quarterly notes that these volumes are considered “one of the indisputably great milestones in genealogical research of the twentieth century” (Volume XXXVIII, Number 2, June 1950).
This collection is crucial because Quakers often did not register vital statistics with civil authorities before 1850. Instead, records maintained by Friends Monthly Meetings during this period typically included births, deaths, marriages, and certificates of removal, which are vital for tracking the movements of Society of Friends members who moved from one meeting to another.