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West River Quaker Burial Ground Records

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG4-114

Scope and Contents

Records of the West River Quaker Burial Ground, 1862-1994. Consists of Minutes of the Trustees, General Records, Correspondence, Financial Records, and Miscellaneous. Financial materials include records of lot owners and sale of lots. Historical information is found in Miscellaneous.

Organized into five series:

  1. Minutes
  2. Correspondence
  3. General
  4. Legal & Financial Records
  5. Miscellaneous

Dates

  • Creation: 1862-1994

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.

Biographical / Historical

In 1656, Elizabeth Harris, an English Friend, visited Maryland and converted a number of early residents; George Fox and William Edmundson attended a meeting at West River in 1672. Minutes of the monthly meeting which included West River survive from 1677.

Although Thomas Hooker devised a small plot of land to Friends in 1684 and Ann Pemberton deeded adjacent ground in 1833, the State of Maryland confirmed a 1867 deed when it incorporated Trustees for the "Quaker Burial Ground" in Galesville in 1888. This latter group of Trustees was made up of individuals whose families were interred in the ground, not necessarily all Quakers. However, in 1994, their successors petitioned Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting to take responsibility for the site; the Quarterly Meeting approved and appointed three Friends and one of the previous Trustees to a new Board.

Extent

1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Although Thomas Hooker devised a small plot of land to Friends in 1684 and Ann Pemberton deeded adjacent ground in 1833, the State of Maryland confirmed a 1867 deed when it incorporated Trustees for the "Quaker Burial Ground" in Galesville in 1888. This latter group of Trustees was made up of individuals whose families were interred in the ground, not necessarily all Quakers. However, in 1994, their successors petitioned Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting to take responsibility for the site; the Quarterly Meeting approved and appointed three Friends and one of the previous Trustees to a new Board. Collection includes records of the West River Quaker Burial Ground, 1862-1994. Consists of Minutes of the Trustees, General Records, Correspondence, Financial Records, and Miscellaneous. Financial materials include records of lot owners and sale of lots. Historical information is found in Miscellaneous

Physical Location

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donor: West River Quaker Burial Ground

Date: 1995

Accruals: 1996

Separated Materials

(10) folders with photocopies of correspondence and related materials on the family genealogies of Cathell, Coale-Thurston, Franklin, Johns, Lazenby, Murray, Orrick, Richardson, Thomas, and Taylor, 1935-1995, transferred to the appropriate PG7 folders.

Processing Information

Original order preserved. Refoldered and labeled and deposited in Record Group 4.

Title
Finding aid for West River Quaker Burial Ground Records, 1862-1994
Author
FHL staff
Date
2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

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 Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library

Contact:
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Swarthmore Pennsylvania 19081 USA