Daily AncestorMarried out of unity
Married out of unity, mou in abstracts, means a Quaker married someone who was not a Friend, or was in another branch of Friends, which could lead to disownment.
Quaker discipline expected members to marry other Friends in a meeting for worship. Marrying outside the Society was reported to the monthly meeting, which might accept an acknowledgment or disown the member.
An mou entry tells you the spouse was probably not a Quaker. Look for the marriage in county records or another church, since the meeting will not hold it.
As seen in a recordQuaker monthly meeting minutes or a published abstract, 1700s to 1800s
Rachel Cope (now Ellis) dis mou
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Married out of unity." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/church/married-out-of-unity. Last checked 2026-10-03.