The Northwest Quarterly Meeting of Friends consists of
a collection of monthly meetings located in northwestern New England, specifically
from Vermont and western New Hampshire. It was formed out of the Upper Connecticut
(CT) Valley Monthly Meeting and was set off from the Connecticut Valley Quarterly
Meeting in 1959. It currently includes monthly meetings from Bennington (VT),
Burlington (VT), Hanover (NH), Plainfield (VT) and Putney (VT).
The collection
primarily includes correspondence from the start of the QM in 1959 to 1982, and is
organized by clerk, chronologically. It also includes a partial collection of
minutes, mostly handwritten from 1959-1974, and a folder of Ministry and Counsel
committee minutes from 1964 and from 1970. There are six folders of administrative
records (mailings lists and position statements) and a folder of miscellaneous
logistical information sent to the membership about preparations for various
quarterly meetings. There are also 2 additional boxes
with an almost complete set of issues of the newsletter "The Nor'wester" from 1959-2005.
Background on Northwest Quarterly Meeting of Friends
Abbie Loring in Cape Cod Quaker attire, ca.1930. Photo by Alton H.
Blackington
The Northwest Quarterly Meeting of Friends consists of a collection of monthly
meetings located in northwestern New England, specifically from Vermont and western
New Hampshire. It was formed out of the Upper Connecticut (CT) Valley Monthly
Meeting. Initially, the Upper CT Valley attracted members from both Vermont and New
Hampshire, more often-but not always-from New Hampshire towns bordering Vermont. In
1959, it was set off from the Connecticut Valley Quarterly Meeting. As it evolved,
it initially included monthly meetings from Bennington (VT), Burlington (VT), and
Hanover (NH), then eventually Plainfield (VT) and Putney (VT). According to NEYM
archivist Richard Stattler, prior to the 1990’s, “the Quarterly Meeting and its
monthly meetings provided only informal care to the independent worship groups
within its boundaries. These worship groups were often based on only a handful of
families, and were often transitory in nature. Any attempt to list them must be
somewhat imprecise.”
Scope of collection
The collection primarily includes correspondence from the start of the QM in 1959 to
1982, and was originally organized by clerk, chronologically. This organization has
been maintained in the "Correspondence" series. It also includes a partial
collection of minutes, mostly handwritten from 1959-1974. There is one folder of
Ministry and Counsel committee minutes from 1964 and from 1970. In the
Administrative Records series, there are four folders of mailing lists spanning
1957-1970 as well as 2 folders containing position statements on capital punishment
and the Vietnam War. There is one folder of miscellaneous logistical information
sent to the membership about preparations for various quarterly meetings sometimes
held at the Farm and Wilderness Camp in Vermont. There are also 2 additional boxes
with an almost complete set of issues of the newsletter "The Nor'wester". The
newsletter appears to have been published January to May or June and Sep-Dec from 1960-1964,
switching to quarterly publication at the very end of 1964 with the "Fall 1964"
issue.
Inventory
Minutes and Reports
1959-1974
Northwest Quarterly: Minutes
1959-1974
Box 1: 1
Northwest Quarterly: State of the Northwest Quarter
Report
Cite as: Northwest Quarterly Meeting of Friends Records
(MS 902 N67848). Special Collections and University Archives, University of
Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Search terms
Subjects
New England Yearly Meeting of
Friends
New Hampshire--Religious life and
customs
Quakers--New Hampshire
Quakers--Vermont
Society of Friends--New Hampshire
Society of Friends--Vermont
Vermont--Religious life and
customs
Contributors
Northwest Quarterly Meeting of
Friends [main entry]
