Background on Providence Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite)
Abbie Loring in Cape Cod Quaker attire, ca.1930.
Photo by Alton H. Blackington
Formed in the Separation of 1844-1845, the Providence Monthly Meeting (Wilburite) was, for a time, a significant presence in the Wilburite community. As part of the Rhode Island Quarterly, Providence oversaw worship groups or preparative meetings in Fall River, Greenwich, Newport, North Providence, Pawtucket, and Warwick. During the challenging years of the Civil War, Providence absorbed the smaller Swansea Monthly (1863) and Rhode Island Monthly (1864), but it persisted only until 1881.
After being laid down, the remaining members at Providence joined the South Kingstown Monthly Meeting (Wilburite) as a Pawtucket Worship Group, which gathered until 1892. In 1865, a portion of the Warwick worship group broke away to join the Otisite New England Quarterly Meeting.
