Westport Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends)
Westport Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends) Records
1766-2004
MS 902 W4787
18 vols., 1 box
2.25 linear feet
Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries
In 1699, Quaker meeting for worship began in Acoaxet, Mass., a coastal village within the boundaries of what would become the town of Westport. The worship group was set off from Dartmouth Monthly as a monthly meeting of its own in 1766, the Acoaxet Monthly Meeting, and became affiliated with Rhode Island Quarter. Between 1803 and 1812 the name Acoaxet was gradually replaced with Westport.
Westport Monthly Meeting of Friends is well documented, with nearly continuous minutes of business meetings stretching from 1766 to 1989, a collection of vital statistics from the establishment of the meeting through 1887, and over fifty years of newsletters (1961-2004).
English
Abbie Loring in Cape Cod Quaker attire, ca.1930.
Photo by Alton H. Blackington
In 1699, Quaker meeting for worship began in Acoaxet, Mass., a coastal village within the boundaries of what would become the town of Westport. The worship group was set off from Dartmouth Monthly as a monthly meeting of its own in 1766, the Acoaxet Monthly Meeting, and became affiliated with Rhode Island Quarter. Between 1803 and 1812 the name Acoaxet was gradually replaced with Westport.
Over the years, Westport has cared for worship groups at Centre (1766-1789, 1853-1870, 1760-1880), Little Compton, R.I. (1777-ca.1882), and Tiverton, R.I. (1777-1780), as well as the Centre Preparative Meeting (1789-1853), which became the Westport Preparative.
Westport Monthly Meeting of Friends is well documented, with nearly continuous minutes of business meetings stretching from 1766 to 1989, a collection of vital statistics from the establishment of the meeting through 1887, and over fifty years of newsletters (1961-2004).
The collection is open for research.
Cite as: Westport Monthly Meeting (Society of Friends) Records (MS 902 W4787). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Gift of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends Records, March 2016.
This collection is part of the New England Yearly Meeting Records.
Current contact for the meeting
Westport Friends Meeting website
Quakers
Religion
Massachusetts
Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, October 2018.
New England Yearly Meeting of Friends
Quakers--Massachusetts
Society of Friends--Massachusetts
Central Village (Mass.)--Religious life and customs
Westport Monthly Meeting: Minutes1766-1989
Minutes: Men's meeting1766-1886
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Men's meeting1766 June-1787 Dec.Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Men's meeting1788 Jan.-1797 MayBound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Men's meeting1797 June-1836 Mar.Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Men's meeting1836 Apr.-1886 Dec.Bound vol.
Minutes, Women's meeting1783-1884
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Women's meeting (formerly Acoaxet)1783 Sept.-1839 JuneBound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Women's meeting1839 July-1884 Oct.Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Women's meeting (rough)1850 Apr.-1870 Feb.Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes, Women's meeting (rough)1870 Jan.-1884 Nov.Bound vol.
Minutes: Joint1887-1989
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes1887-1935Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes1936-1959Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes1959-1983Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes (rough)1983 Apr. 10-1985 Dec. Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes (rough)1984 June-1987 MayBound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Minutes1986 Jan.-1987 JuneBound vol.
11Westport Monthly Meeting: Minutes1987-1989
Westport Monthly Meeting: Worship and ministry1949-1994
09:E3Westport Monthly: Ministers and Elders1949-1984Bound vol.
17Westport Monthly Meeting: State of the Society reports [lacking 1989]1988-1994
Westport Monthly Meeting: Vital records1766-1887
09:E3Westport Monthly: Vital records: Births, deaths, and marriages (formerly Acoaxet)1766-1882Bound vol.
09:E3Westport Monthly: Vital records: Epistles and removals1786-1887Bound vol.
Westport Monthly Meeting: Financial and property1807-1903
09:E3Westport Monthly: Treasurer (Acoaxet Monthly)1807-1903Bound vol.
12Westport Monthly Meeting: Building costs for meetinghouse1813
18Westport Monthly Meeting: Valuation of property1852
Westport Monthly Meeting: Other records1827-1916
13Westport Monthly Meeting: Epistle from New England Yearly Meeting1827
14Westport Monthly Meeting: Meeting history: "The two-hundredth anniversary of Friends Meeting, Westport, Massachusetts," by Khalil A. Totah and Edward L. Macomber1916
15Westport Monthly Meeting: Miscellaneous1871-1886
16Westport Monthly Meeting: Removals1828-1886
Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters1961-2004
19Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters1961-1978
110Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters1979-1981
111Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters1982-1986
112Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters1987-1990
113Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters1998-1999
114Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters2000-2001
115Westport Monthly Meeting: Newsletters2002-2004
Little Compton Worship Group
1784
FramedLittle Compton Worship Group: (John Ward and John Griffith deed to Monthly Meeting)1784 Sept. 28