Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Organization Westtown Boarding School

Evans family correspondence, 1799-1801 (inclusive)

Extent:: .1 linear ft. (.1 linear feet (1 folder.))
Abstract:: This collection includes photocopies of letters from Joseph and Hannah Evans addressed to their children William, Joseph, and Mary, while they attended Westtown Boarding School. Also included are letters from William Evans to his parents, and from Joseph Evans to his brother. These letters primarily relate family news.

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

Amos Bacon Papers, 1795-1902 (inclusive)

Extent:: .1 linear ft. (.1 linear feet (3 folders.))
Abstract:: Correspondence includes letters written by Amos W. Bacon of Philadelphia to his children, to Samuel W. Bacon from his father and brother while he was at Westtown School, and a love letter from Thomas Bacon to his future wife, Elizabeth Hall. Also contains the probate copy of the will of Charles West, Elizabeth Hall's copy book, the journal of Jane Wilson Bacon, and genealogical material on the entire family.

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

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]

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]

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]

John F. Rich Photographs, 1920, undated

Extent:: 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder)
Abstract:: This collection contains two photographs of John Frederick Rich. The first photograph is of his graduation from Westtown School in 1920. The second photograph was taken by Fabian Bachrach in a later, unspecified date.

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

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]

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]

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]

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]