Malone University Archives: Friends Archives

The Friends Archive contains the records of different communities within the EFC-ER.  These are organized by Quarterly Meeting/regional district and by Monthly Meeting/Church according to EFC-ER practice, and also include broader scopes, such as the Yearly Meeting records and publications for the EFC-ER as a whole. The collection also features historical records and photographs of EFC-ER missions and missionaries.

Handwritten record books in these collections date back to the early 1800s, but the Friends Archive holdings extend all the way to the current year.

Photographs, art, and beautiful textiles, both originals and replicas, have been donated to Malone University by various communities.  Many are too fragile to be handled, but most can be viewed (carefully!!).

Currently, the collections in the Friends Archives are largely unprocessed.  This means that they have been organized by region as they have come to us and generally labeled, but no folder indexes have been made as of yet.  Because of this, there are no browsable finding aids to let you know what resources we have.

Do not be dismayed!  Our always-growing collection of records, photographs, books, clothing, artifacts and more is still available for use.  A little more preparation will be required than would usually be the case.  If you have a question or a request, don't hesitate to contact the archivist detailing your research needs.  When you use an unprocessed collection, there is always a chance that you will find something amazing that no one has seen for two hundred years!

The Everett L. Cattell Library has two different collections: the Friends Archive and the Friends Library.

What is the difference?

Friends Library materials can be accessed at will and checked out of the library, except for some rare and fragile materials that are stored separately.  These are published materials written by or about Quakers, including autobiographies and reference materials.

Friends Archive materials, on the other hand, are unpublished, raw materials, although many pieces, such as meeting minutes, also exist in published form.