Robyn Lebron Today, Quaker marriages still have a special marriage license, and in many cases are conducted without an official They continue to believe that God marries individuals, not man, and they have no special respect for titles or hierarchy, religious or otherwise However, Quakers will get a license in the normal way in the states that require it.15 In the seventeenth century the number of Quakers grew very rapidly, and some Quakers believed that everyone would see the light and become a Quaker Within a few years the movement ceased to grow, and it became clear that they would always be a minority With the exception of a few large towns such as York, England Quaker meetings were quite small, most of them 30 people or less, so it was difficult to find marriage partners Generally marriages occurred within the extended social network Each month the Friends from each Monthly Meeting (an area about as large as a county) met together, often staying in each other’s houses for a few days, and people from a wider area attended quarterly meetings Once a year many people went to London, officially to take part in business meetings, but so me of them went to seek marriage partners Quakers created an elaborate network of families, businesses and social relationships Even so, most people had little choice of other Quakers to marry, and so many “married out.” It is not surprising that there was pressure to allow the marriage of first cousins, as this was permitted in the Anglican Church The Quakers decided in the 1650s not to allow marriage between first cousins, but marriage between first cousins was eventually permitted toward the end of the nineteenth century out of necessity There is a specific process to get married in the Friends’ community The couple sends a letter to the meeting requesting that they consider the marriage The letter will be read at the next business meeting and approved This committee will meet with the couple and talk about feelings, how they met, and make sure that the decision to marry is thoughtful and well-considered and that the marriage has a good chance of succeeding Most of the time, the marriage must be approved of by the elders If either one of the couple is not a Quaker or divorced, they must have written permission from two adult members of the Society before the marriage can take place 20