South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite) Records
1755-1944 (Bulk: 1845-1903)
10 vols. (1 linear foot)
Call no.: MS 902 W553-S556
As the home of John Wilbur, South Kingstown Monthly Meeting was at the epicenter of the Separation of 1845 within the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends. The South Kingstown Monthly Meeting (Wilburite) was formed in 1845 from members of South Kingstown and Greenwich Monthly Meetings and placed under the care of Rhode Island Quarterly Meeting. It was one of only three Wilburite monthly meetings to survive through the unification of 1945, when it became Westerly Monthly Meeting.
The relative success of South Kingstown Monthly Meeting (Wilburite) did not parlay into a large body of records. The collection contains one volume each of official minutes from the men's and women's meetings, two slender volumes from the Select Preparative Meeting, a letterbook, and a slender volume of vital records.
Background on South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite)
Abbie Loring in Cape Cod Quaker attire, ca.1930. Photo by Alton H. Blackington
As the home of John Wilbur, South Kingstown Monthly Meeting was at the epicenter of the Separation of 1845 within the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends. The South Kingstown Monthly Meeting (Wilburite) was formed in 1845 from members of South Kingstown and Greenwich Monthly Meetings and placed under the care of Rhode Island Quarterly Meeting.
The small size of most Wilburite meetings made survival a challenge, and by the turn of the twentieth century, many were laid down. South Kingstown absorbed members of the Wilburite Providence Monthly Meeting when it was laid down in 1881, and it was the parent of several worship groups and preparative meetings. It was one of only three Wilburite monthly meetings to survive through the unification of 1945, when it became Westerly Monthly Meeting.
South Kingstown worship groups and preparative meetings
Block Island Worship Group (1981- )
Newport Worship Group (1883-1885)
Pawtucket Worship Group (1881-1892)
South Kingstown Worship Group (ca.1945-1948)
Westerly Worship Group (1929- )
Hopkinton Preparative Meeting (1845-1889)
South Kingstown Preparative Meeting (1845-1932: at Westerly)
Westerly Preparative Meeting (1854-1929)
Scope of collection
The relative success of South Kingstown Monthly Meeting (Wilburite) did not parlay into a large body of records. The collection contains one volume each of official minutes from the men's and women's meetings, two slender volumes from the Select Preparative Meeting, a letterbook, and a slender volume of vital records.
Inventory
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite) Minutes
1845-1922
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite) Minutes, Men's meeting
1845-1887
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Minutes, Men
1845 Sept.-1879 Sept.
Bound vol.
09:D5
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Minutes, Men's meeting (rough)
1869 Sept.-1871 Aug.
Bound vol.
09:D5
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Minutes, Men's meeting (rough)
1871 Sept.-1877 Sept.
Bound vol.
09:D5
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Minutes, Men's meeting (rough)
1879 Oct.-1887 Nov.
Bound vol.
09:D5
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Minutes, Men's meeting
1887-1905
Presumed missing as of 1996
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite) Minutes, Women's and Joint meetings
1845-1977
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Minutes, Women's meeting (1896-1905) and Joint Sessions (1905-1922)
1896-1922
Bound vol.
09:D5
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Minutes
1923/1977
Bound vol.
09:D5
Volume contains records from the South Kingstown Monthly (Wilburite) through to the present-day Westerly Monthly.
Ministry and Worship
1845-1903
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Select Preparative Meeting
1845 Oct.-1871 July
Bound vol.
09:D5
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Select Preparative Meeting
1871 Oct.-1903 Oct.
Bound vol.
09:D5
Other Records
1755-1944
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Letterbook
1831-1897
Bound vol.
09:D5
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite): Vital records: Births, deaths, burials, marriages
1755-1944
Bound vol.
09:D5
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Gift of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends Records, March 2016.
Cite as: South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite) Records (MS 902 W553 S556). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Search terms
Subjects
New England Yearly Meeting of Friends
Quakers--Rhode Island
Society of Friends--Rhode Island
Westerly (R.I.)--Religious life and customs
Wilburites
Contributors
South Kingstown Monthly Meeting of Friends (Wilburite: 1845-1945) [main entry]
