DEEP RIVER MONTHLY MEETING
Guilford County, North Carolina

     The minute of Western Quarterly Meeting 1778, 8, 8, authorizing the establishment of Deep River Monthly Meeting, is as follows: "The Friends appointed last meeting to inspect the capacity of friends at Deep River respecting their request of holding a monthly meeting amongst themselves report as follows: - We the committee appointed at last meeting to take under sollid consideration the request of friends of Deep River respecting their holding monthly meetings agree to report: - we had an opportunity with them, as also a number of our women friends who united with us, and after a time of waiting and sollidly confering thereon, Give it as our best sence & judgement that the granting of their request will be consistant with best wisdom. All which we submit to the meeting; with which judgement this meeting unites and establishes accordingly and orders the said meeting to be on the first second day of the week in each month. And directs the Clerk to transmit a copy of the above minute to the aforesaid meeting & report his care to next meeting."

  The first setting of the new meeting was held 1778, 9, 7. John Talbot and Mary Talbot were appointed first clerks and John Rudduck, Jr., recorder of births, deaths and marriages.

    The preparative meeting at Deep River Monthly Meeting had been under the jurisdiction of New Garden Monthly Meeting previous to the setting up of Deep River Monthly Meeting. The original membership of the new monthly meeting included Jemima Baldwin, John Baldwin, Catharine Barnard, Francis Barnard, Margaret Barnard, Tristram Barnard, Levinah Beard. Phebe Beeson, Ann Bond, Edward Bond, Sarah Brazelton, Sarah Brooks, Ann Clasby, Charles Clasby, Barnabas Coffin, Hannah Coffin, Libni Coffin, Lydia Coffin, Mary Coffin, Samuel Coffin, Seth Coffin, Mary Cook, Thomas Cook, Sarah Crues, Thomas Elmore, Latham Folger, Matilda Folger, Jonathan Gifford, Unice Gifford, Philip Ham, Priscilla Ham, Obadiah Harris, Rebekah Harris, Jonathan Harrold, Mary Haworth, Micajah Haworth, Phebe Haworth, Phebe Healy, John Hiatt, Sr., Mary Hiatt, Ruth Hinshaw, John Hoggatt, Joseph Hoggatt, Phebe Hoggatt, Ruth Hoggatt, Elizabeth Howell, Jonathan Howell, Ann Huff, Abner Hunt, Judith Macy, John Macy, Sr., Matthew Macy, Phebe Marshall, Charity Mendenhall, Dinah Mendenhall, Jane Mendenhall, John Mendenhall, Mary Mendenhall, Moses Mendenhall, Stephen Mendenhall, Aaron Mills, Amos Mills, Henry Mills, Reuben Mills, Joseph Pattison, Elizabeth Pike, Nathan Pike, Jane Rudduck, John Rudduck, Jr., Sarah Rudduck, Hezekiah Sanders, Joel Sanders, John Sanders, John Sanders, Jr., Martha Sanders, Susanna Sanders, George Stalker, Sarah Stalker, Archelaus Stanly, Jehu Stuart, Sarah Stuart, John Sweet, John Talbot, Mary Talbot, Henry Thornbrugh. Joseph Thornbrugh, Rachel Thornbrugh, John Unthank,Manlove Wheeler, Isaac Williams

    Deep River Meeting is located in the western part of Guilford County, about 12 miles from Greensboro. A midweek meeting was set up in 1753, and a preparative meeting established in 1758. Located in the same section and having its beginning only two years later, the history of Deep River is similar to that of New Garden. Both meeting enjoyed large growth through immigration from the North during the latter half of the eighteenth century, and both suffered great losses by migration to the Northwest during the first half of the nineteenth century. Writing of the latter movement, Dr. Weeks in "Southern Quakers and Slavery," page 264, says: "Deep River is, and has been, one of the strongest monthly meetings. Its record of migration begins with 1811 and extends to 1860. As usual, they are all to Indiana except ten, which are divided between Tennessee, Ohio and Illinois. Between 1811 and 1845 the movement was quite uniform. The favorite objective point was the White Water Meeting, Ind. Deep River, like New Garden, has had sufficient vitality to withstand this constant drain on its strength."

    Preparative meetings under Deep River Monthly Meeting included Deep River, Springfield, Muddy Creek, Deep Creek, Belews Creek, Gum Swamp and Hitchcock.

   William Wade Hinshaw