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Westtown School Archives collection of personal and family papers, circa 1780-2000

Extent:
20.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Westtown School in Chester County, Pennsylvania is the oldest continuously operating coeducational boarding school in the United States. It was founded by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1799 with the goal of educating Quaker children in an environment that fostered moral development consistent with their religious ideals. The Westtown School Archives collection of personal and family papers, circa 1780-2000, consists of several small collections of personal and family papers. The individuals and families represented were affiliated with Westtown School, and many papers document their time at the school although a fair amount of materials are unrelated. Documents in the collection include: correspondence, scrapbooks, writings, portfolios, ephemera, school records such as class papers and report cards, published works, and a few photographs.

Held at: Westtown School Archives [Contact Us]

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J. Bernard Haviland papers, 1929-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.25 linear feet
Abstract:
J. (John) Bernard Haviland (1915-2004) attended Westtown School and then taught English and Bible there for several decades. He was an active member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), registering as a Conscientious Objector during World War II, serving Philadelphia Yearly Meeting on their Standing Committee on Spiritual Life, and writing widely on Quaker topics. The J. Bernard Haviland papers, 1929-1998, consist of files created by Haviland while a student at Princeton (1930s), a teacher at Westtown School (1940s-1960s), a graduate student at Harvard University (1940s) and at University College, Dublin (1960s), and notes for courses he taught at Pendle Hill. Of special interest are materials relating to Haviland's status as a Conscientious Objector during World War II.

Held at: Westtown School Archives [Contact Us]

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S. Francis Nicholson papers, 1914-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.0 linear feet
Abstract:
S. Francis Nicholson (1900-2005) was a prominent Quaker investment banker, longtime officer of Provident National Bank, Philadelphia, and active in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, American Friends Service Committee, and Friends Fiduciary Corporation. He graduated from Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) in 1917. The S. Francis Nicholson papers, 1914-1998, include documents produced or collected by Nicholson in his activities as a Westtown student and as a General Committee member and investment advisor for the school. It includes one small file of student papers, report cards and notebooks; one file on his activities on the Music Committee at the school; and numerous files with financial reports, fundraising fliers, correspondence, agendas, minutes, Alumni Day materials, and drafts of articles on principles of investing and account reporting.

Held at: Westtown School Archives [Contact Us]

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John H. Foster papers, circa 1941-1999

Extent:
1.25 linear feet
Abstract:
John Henry Foster was born in 1926 and entered Westtown School, a prominent Quaker boarding school located in Chester County, Pa., in 1941. After graduating from Westtown in 1944, he received B.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Cornell and served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, teaching Agricultural Economics. The John H. Foster papers, circa 1941-1999, include materials gathered by Foster during his three student years at Westtown School, 1941-1944, and later as an active alumnus of the Class of 1944.

Held at: Westtown School Archives [Contact Us]

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Mary Larkin Thomas family papers, 1807-1981 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.0 linear feet
Abstract:
A graduate of Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.), Mary Larkin Thomas (1886-1981) was a horticulturalist who was known, along with her mother and sister, in the area of Chester County, Pennsylvania as an "herb doctor." Thomas practiced herbal medicine; in particular, she used these skills to care for the infants of local Quaker families. She was also involved in numerous organizations, particularly Quaker associations. The Mary Larkin Thomas family papers, 1807-1981, include mostly correspondence, photographs, and other personal papers of Mary Larkin Thomas as well as papers of her immediate family members, in particular her sister Rachel C. Thomas and her mother Rebecca J. (Hallowell) Thomas. There are also some financial records of Mary's father, R. Henry Thomas.

Held at: Westtown School Archives [Contact Us]

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Esther A. and Lloyd Balderston papers, 1885-1961 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.5 linear ft. (7 boxes)
Abstract:
Materials documenting the life of Esther Balderston Jones during her time as a missionary in Japan (1914-1924) and from her father, Lloyd Balderston, about family history and geneology.

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]

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Emlen Family Papers, 1740-1886 (inclusive) 1817-1849 (bulk)

Extent:
0.75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:
Contains papers relating to the Emlen family, residents of Middletown and West Chester, Pennsylvania. Chiefly correspondence (1817-1849) of Sarah Foulke Farquhar Emlen (1787-1849), Quaker minister, relating to her travels to visit Friends' meetings in England, Ireland, New England, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. Also correspondence of Quaker ministers 1740-1790, copybooks, and memorabilia. Includes material relating to Westtown School, a Quaker boarding school in Chester County, Pa., where both Emlens taught; the Hicksite-Orthodox separation; slavery, the free produce movement and other Quaker concersn. Correspondents include Moses Brown, John Churchman, Samuel Emlen (ca. 1765-1837), Josiah Forster, Samuel Fothergill, Isaac Hadwen, Thomas Kite, Thomas Shillitoe, Esther Tuke, Joseph Whitall, and John Wilbur.

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

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S. Francis Nicholson Family Papers, 1900-2005 (inclusive)

Extent:
11 linear ft. (22 boxes)
Abstract:
S. Francis Nicholson was a prominent Quaker investment banker, longtime officer of Provident National Bank, Philadelphia, and active in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, A.F.S.C., and Friends Fiduciary Corporation. The collection contains correspondence, financial records, memorabilia, and other papers reflecting his career and life with his wife, Evelyn Haworth Nicholson.

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

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Patience Hunn Jenkins Papers, 1841-1860 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.25 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:
Patience Hunn Jenkins (1805-1884) was a Quaker minister of Camden Monthly Meeting, Delaware. The collection contains journals, a letter book, and miscellaneous correspondence reflecting her life in the ministry and social concerns. Her brother, John Hunn (1818-1894) with whom she was very close, was a major participant in the Underground Railroad.

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

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Fair Hill Boarding School records, 1815-1869 (inclusive)

Extent:
.1 linear ft. (.1 linear feet (1 folder.))
Abstract:
This collection includes manuscripts relating to the establishment of Fair Hill Boarding School by the Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Included are documents concerning the purchase of land, distribution of the Fair Hill Fund, and lists of rules for Westtown and Nine Partners Boarding Schools. These materials reflect Quaker views of education and their objectives in the establishment of Quaker schools. Especially interesting is a letter from Ann King relating the efforts of Nine Partners School to maintain Quaker values. Other correspondents include John Ellicott, William Morsell, Caleb Bentley, and Whitson Canby.

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

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