Creator: Westtown Boarding School - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 27 linear ft. (52 boxes (plus oversized items and photograhs))
Abstract:: Contains the papers of the Foster Family, a Wilburite New England Quaker family of Rhode Island, and the Meyers Family, conservative Orthodox Quakers of the Midwest. The families were united in 1924 by the marriage of Henry Cope Foster (1895-1987) of Warwick, Rhode Island, and Thyra Jane Meyers (1898-1984), born in West Branch, Iowa. The collection contains extensive personal correspondence of five generations of the Foster and Meyers families, school materials, diaries, writings, reminiscences and biographies which offer insight into conservative Quaker life in Iowa, Ohio, and New England in the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Also includes extensive records of the Foster family farm in Warwick, Rhode Island, memorabilia, pictures, and correspondence and related papers of John Henry Foster concerning his AFSC service at Friends Rural Center, Rasulia, India.

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

Extent:: 2 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Abstract:: Contains the papers of the Allen Family, a Quaker family of Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, which traced its ancestry back to one of William Penn's commissioners. Includes papers relating to the Allen and related Breidenhart, Casdorp, Gibbons, Hubley, Jacobs, Matlack, and Samuel families. The Allen family papers contain extensive genealogical material, family correspondence, journals and memorials which provide excellent source material on Quaker family life in the 19th century in the Philadelphia area. Of particular interest are letters from Charles and Rebecca Allen to their children, several of whom were educated at Westtown School.

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

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]

Extent:: 5 linear ft. (10 boxes)
Abstract:: William Baxter (1824-1886) was a Quaker businessman who lived in Wayne County, Indiana, and was active in social reform, particularly in the temperance movement. The collection includes correspondence of William and his wife, Mary Baxter (1830-1918), business papers, essays and speeches on temperance and other social reforms, family memorabilia, and miscellaneous materials.

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

Extent:: 1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Lydia Jones Sharpless Hunn (1818-1911) was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Orthodox Quaker. The collection contains diaries (1881-1908), reminiscences (1893), and other family papers.

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

Extent:: 600.0 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 records, 1682-2013 (bulk 1799-2013), include records created by Westtown Boarding School, including its various administrative offices, Board of Trustees, faculty, and students. It is organized into nine series: "19th century records," "20th century records," "Board of Trustees," "Farm and Orchard," "Student papers," "Westtown Old Scholars Association and Westtown Alumni Association," "Subject files," "Special formats," and "Publications." Inventories for some sections of the collection are available on site.

Held at: Westtown School Archives [Contact Us]

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