The fortunes of the Berwick (Maine) Monthly Meeting
reflect the rise and decline of Quakerism in southern Maine more generally. Worship
began in North Berwick in about 1750 and the Berwick Monthly Meeting was formally
set off from its parent, Dover, in 1802. Following the Wilburite split, however, the
meeting gradually declined. Regular meetings were suspended in 1919 and the meeting
was formally laid down in 1952.
The surviving records of the Friends Monthly
Meeting in North Berwick, Maine, contain the minutes of men's, women's, and joint
meetings from throughout 1802, when it was set off from Dover Monthly Meeting, until
it was laid down in 1952. The collection also contains records of births, deaths,
and marriages under auspices of the meeting from the first worship in North Berwick
in 1750 into the mid-nineteenth century.
Abbie Loring in Cape Cod Quaker attire, ca.1930. Photo by Alton H.
Blackington
Friends in North Berwick, Maine, organized worship under the Dover Monthly Meeting by
about 1750 at a time when Quakerism was thriving in the region, and by 1802, they
had grown enough to be set off formally as their own monthly meeting. Part of Salem
Quarterly Meeting until 1815, and then Dover Quarterly thereafter, Berwick supported
worship grounds in Eliot and Oakwoods (also North Berwick) between about 1805 and
1850.
Divided during the split of 1845, with the Wilburite meeting remaining active until
1881, Quakerism entered a period of slow decline. Regular meetings in Berwick ended
in 1919, although the meetinghouse was used sporadically for a number of years. The
meeting was officially laid down in 1952.
Scope of collection
The surviving records of the Friends Monthly Meeting in North Berwick, Maine, contain
the minutes of men's, women's, and joint meetings from throughout 1802, when it was
set off from Dover Monthly Meeting, until it was laid down in 1952. The collection
also contains records of births, deaths, and marriages under auspices of the meeting
from the first worship in North Berwick in 1750 into the mid-nineteenth century.
Cite as: Berwick Monthly Meeting of Friends Records (MS
902 b479). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts
Amherst Libraries.
