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Quaker (Society of Friends) church records in Pennsylvania
Quaker births, deaths, and marriages were recorded by the monthly meeting, not the local meeting house. Find the monthly meeting first.
Where the records are
Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College
McCabe Library, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081 · friends@swarthmore.edu
Access: Original records and microfilm, described in a catalog shared with Haverford. Holds most Hicksite meeting records. Microfilm is not available by interlibrary loan.
Cost: Contact the library
Source: Swarthmore FHL – Quaker Meeting Records, Swarthmore FHL – Genealogy + Names Research, TriCollege joint Quaker meeting catalog
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Haverford, PA · hc-special@haverford.edu
Access: Holds most Orthodox meeting records for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Cost: Contact the library
Ancestry: U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935
Online (subscription)
Access: Scans of the Swarthmore and Haverford records. Search by name, or browse by state, county, meeting, and record type. Swarthmore warns that some volumes are mislabeled.
Cost: Ancestry subscription (free on site at Swarthmore)
Source: Ancestry – U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, Swarthmore FHL – Genealogy + Names Research
Statewide sources for every denomination
Pennsylvania State Archives – Church Records (MG-262) and WPA Inventory of Church Archives
Access: Church records on microfilm, plus the 1937–40 WPA survey that recorded where each congregation's records were kept at the time.
Cost: Contact the State Archives
Historical Society of Pennsylvania via Ancestry
Access: Church and town records for PA and NJ, 1669–2013, all denominations.
Cost: Ancestry subscription
Source: Ancestry – PA and NJ Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 (HSP), HSP LibGuide – Ancestry
County guides
Philadelphia County Bucks County Montgomery County Chester County
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Placeholder: not connected to any service.Sources (checked 2026-10-16)
- Swarthmore FHL – Quaker Meeting Records
- Swarthmore FHL – Genealogy + Names Research
- TriCollege joint Quaker meeting catalog
- Ancestry – U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935
- PA State Archives – MG-262 Church Records (PDF)
- Ancestry – PA and NJ Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 (HSP)
- HSP LibGuide – Ancestry