Guilford Monthly Meeting Records
Friends began to meet informally for worship in Guilford, Connecticut, in September 1951, and gained approval from the Connecticut Valley Quarterly Meeting to form a preparative meeting a year and a half later under the care of New Haven Monthly. Although they were accorded status as a monthly meeting in 1957, Guilford never truly thrived, and by 1966, they were officially laid down with the remaining members transferred to New Haven.
The collection is a relatively complete record of Guilford Monthly Meeting from its establishment as a preparative meeting in 1953 through its elevation to a monthly and ultimate dissolution. In addition to well-kept minutes, the collection includes some financial records, information on membership, and a small quantity of correspondence.
Background on Guilford Monthly Meeting of Friends
Friends began to meet informally for worship in Guilford, Connecticut, in September 1951, and gained approval from the Connecticut Valley Quarterly Meeting to form a preparative meeting in April 1953 under the care of New Haven Monthly. Never a large group, they bolstered their numbers by joining with the equally small worship ground at Old Saybrook in 1955, and were active and stable enough to be set off as a monthly meeting in 1957.
Maintaining their vitality, however, proved to be a challenge. After reaching a peak in 1963 with 31 members, including those from out of town, Guilford reported only twenty members little more than a year later, with many having moved away. Reluctantly, the meeting was laid down in May 1966, with the remaining members transferring to New Haven.
Scope of collection
The collection is a relatively complete record of Guilford Monthly Meeting from its establishment as a preparative meeting in 1953 through its elevation to a monthly and ultimate dissolution. In addition to well-kept minutes, the collection includes some financial records, information on membership, and a small quantity of correspondence.
Inventory
Administrative information
Access
The collection is open for research.
Provenance
Gift of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends Records, March 2016.
Related Material
This collection is part of the New England Yearly Meeting Records.
Processing Information
Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, October 2018.
Language:
English
Copyright and Use (More information )
Cite as: Guilford Monthly Meeting of Friends Records (MS 902 g855). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
Search terms
Subjects
- Guilford (Conn.)–Religious life and customs
- Quakers–Connecticut
- Society of Friends–Connecticut
Names
- New England Yearly Meeting of Friends
Genre terms
- Minutes (Administrative records)