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Biddle family Papers, 1793-1951 (inclusive)

Extent:
4 linear ft. (8 boxes)
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of Philadelphia Quaker Owen Biddle (1737-1799), his son, Clement Biddle (1778-1856), and numerous descendants. Owen Biddle, a scientist and merchant, was a member of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting and helped in the establishment of Westtown School (1799). Owen Biddle's papers, 1772-1793, (Series 1) include correspondence, and journals, some of which relate to his Revolutionary War activities. Three of his letterbooks, 1778-1779, have been microfilmed. The collection contains correspondence, journals, letterbooks, and account books, together with other manuscript material reflecting the social and cultural life and religious activities of a prominent Quaker family of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Papers of Lucy Biddle Lewis (1861-1941) are important for association with the women's suffrage movement and for early activities of the American Friends Service Committee. Other names represented in the collection are Jane Addams, Emily Greene Balch, Clement...(see more)

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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Rebecca Timbres Clark Papers, 1853-1999 [bulk 1920-1990] (inclusive)

Extent:
18 linear ft. (35 boxes)
Abstract:
Rebecca Timbres Clark (1896-2000) was a Quaker nurse and social worker. She and her first husband, Harry Garland Timbres (1899-1937), performed relief work under the auspices of the AFSC in Eastern Europe in 1921-22 and worked with Rabindranath Tagore in Bengal, India, in 1931-34. In 1936-1937, the couple worked in the malaria unit in Soviet Russia. After Harry Timbres' death, Rebecca returned to the U.S. She married Edgar Sydenham Clark (1885-1961) on July 2, 1943, and the couple moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1947, where Rebecca worked as a medical social worker. The collection contains extensive correspondence, journals (1913-1989), biographical data, articles, speeches, reviews, poetry, pictures, and memorabilia. Correspondents include Charles Freer Andrews, Rabindranath Tagore, and Horace Alexander.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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O. Edward Janney (Oliver Edward) Papers, 1874-1945 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.25 linear ft. (5 boxes)
Abstract:
Dr. O. Edward Janney was a prominent Quaker doctor from Baltimore who was active in many of the social reform movements of his time. He worked with the Society for the Suppression of Vice in Baltimore and labored in the causes of temperance, woman suffrage, inter-racial relations, peace, and other reforms. In 1907, Dr. Janney gave up the practice of medicine to devote his energies full time to reform activities. The collection contains correspondence (1874-1945), diary (1914), memoirs, speeches, writings, memorabilia and photos of Dr. O.E. Janney and his wife, Anne B. (Webb) Janney, of Baltimore, Maryland. The papers include his work with various organizations including the Advancement Committee of Friends General Conference, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, American Friends Service Committee, and Woolman School. Anna B. Janney's correspondence primarily concerns women's suffrage issues and correspondents include Anna Howard Shaw.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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Nelson Fuson Family Papers, 1909-1996 (inclusive)

Extent:
5 linear ft. (10 boxes (includes 9 boxes manuscript, 1 box pictures))
Abstract:
Nelson Fuson was a physicist and educator, active in Quaker concerns. The collection contains extensive correspondence and papers concerning his service as a conscientious objector in Civilian Public Service during World War II. As the child of missionaries to China, his hope was to do relief service in China, and many of the papers deal with CPS China Units. However, the China Units were never activated and Fuson was assigned to camps in Maryland, Indiana, New York, and North Dakota. He also attended a seminar in international administration at Columbia University as part of a detached CPS unit, training intended to prepare military and civilians for post-war occupation. In addition to the CPS material, Nelson, a long time professor of physics at Fisk University, and his wife, Marian, were active in Quaker concerns including participation in international student seminars sponsored by the AFSC.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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Ernest Votaw Family Papers, 1913-1929 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:
Ernest Votaw (1894-1988) was the Quaker administrator of a child feeding program in Germany in 1919-1922. The collection contains reports and related materials (some in German) of the Friends Feeding Mission, 1910-1923, other activities of the American Friends Service Committee, and reference material collected by Ernest Votaw in post-war Germany concerning jail conditions and other social problems. The collection also includes a small amount of correspondence and four articles written by Ernest Votaw's father, Albert H. Votaw, presumably for publication in a Quaker periodical. Included is his account of Yearly Meetings in Richmond, Indiana, reminiscences of Indiana Friends, and a discussion on the subject of singing in meeting.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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American Friends Service Committee lantern slides of World War I relief work, 1914-1922 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.4 cubic ft. (29 lantern slide boxes (2 boxes of pa 193 - france set d; and 3 boxes of each other pa))
Abstract:
English and American Quakers were involved in relief efforts in Europe during and after WWI. These efforts were begun by English Quakers of London Yearly Meeting, and later joined by the American Friends Service Committee. They expanded the scope of their aid from France to also include Russia, Serbia, Poland, Austria, and Germany. The lantern slides in this collection were taken during these relief efforts and, along with lecture notes, sent back home to Friends groups who would use the slides in presentations, usually for fundraising purposes.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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Wilbur K. (Wilbur Kelsey) Thomas Papers, 1914-1933 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:
Wilbur K. Thomas (1882-1953), a Quaker born in Indiana, was executive secretary of the American Friends Service Committee from 1918 to 1929. He graduated from Friends University in 1904, served as pastor of various Quaker churches, graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1907, earned a Ph.D. from Boston University in 1914, and was a member of Boston Friends Meeting after 1909. He was director of the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation in Philadelphia from 1930 to 1946. The collection contains biographical material, correspondence (1918-1933), speeches and writings relating to his work with the AFSC and as a pastor in Quaker communities. Topics covered include peace, civil liberties, social service, prisons, and relief activities in Russia in 1922, as well as his Ph.D. dissertation, "the Social Service of Quakerism."

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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American Friends Service Committee photographs, circa 1918-1975 (inclusive)

Extent:
.2 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:
This collection consists of miscellaneous photographs, collected over time from various sources, documenting the American Friends Service Committee and its projects. Post-World War I and post-World War II and Vietnam War relief work are well documented, and there are also photographs of AFSC work in the United States, Africa, other parts of Asia, and the Middle East.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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American Friends Service Committee Reference Files, 1916-1944 (inclusive)

Extent:
7.5 linear ft. (15 boxes)
Abstract:
Contains the reference files collected and assembled by American Friends Service Committee over many years to keep it informed of parallel service work by British and Irish Friends. Includes minutes, reports, and related papers of Friends' War Victims' Relief Committee, Friends' Council for International Service, Friends Service Council, and other Quaker relief agencies, mostly under the direction of London and Dublin Yearly Meetings.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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American Friends Service Committee Collected Records, 1917- (inclusive)

Extent:
1.6 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Abstract:
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) was set up in June 1917 as an outgrowth of and coordination point for the anti-war and relief activities of various bodies of the Religious Society of Friends in the United States.

Held at: Swarthmore College Peace Collection [Contact Us]

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