Form: letters (correspondence) - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 2 linear ft.
Abstract:: Nathalie Gookin was a student at Bryn Mawr from 1916-1920. Her collection consists of daily letters written to her parents and aunt during her time in college, as well as some letters from before she matriculated and some from after she graduated. She was admitted to Bryn Mawr with a $100 Western States Scholarship at the age of sixteen and she was the youngest person in the college. She lived in Rockefeller dorm all four years, majored in English and Latin, and graduated 5th in her class, magna cum laude. She was a member of the English and French clubs. Nathalie's letters to her parents are detailed and frank. Frequent subjects include frustrations with the workload, classes, professors, social life in the dorms, and larger campus-wide events. During her freshman and part of her sophomore year, she writes frequently about her admiration of Helen Harris, class of 1917. The collection also includes some letters from her mother, Marie Gookin, while she was visiting Nathalie at Bryn...(see more)

Held at: Bryn Mawr College [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:: The collection is composed of correspondence of the family of David Sands Shearman and his wife, Hepsa Hathaway Howland Shearman of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Poughkeepsie, New York. The Shearman and Howlands were prominent New England Quaker merchant and whaling families, intertwined by business and marriage. Much of the correspondence is directed to Hepsa, largely from her children who pursued a range of careers. Early correspondence is with her husband Captain David Sands Shearman, her siblings, and his relations and contains business and family information from New Bedford, MA, and Poughkeepsie, NY.

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

Extent:: .5 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:: Cornelia Hancock (1840-1927) was a Civil War nurse, Reconstruction-era teacher in South Carolina, and, later, Philadelphia social worker. The papers consist primarily of her letters written in the post-Civil War years, 1865-1879, when she was teaching the children of formerly enslaved people in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The collection includes reference material used by the donor, Henrietta Stratton Jaquette, in preparation for her book South after Gettysburg which was based on Hancock's letters. The letters provide insight into the conditions and attitudes of formerly enslaved people and their former enslavers.

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

Extent:: 4 linear ft. (9 boxes)
Abstract:: Louis N. Robinson, Swarthmore College Class of 1905, was a prominent Quaker economist and penologist. On June 17, 1908, he married Caroline Hadley (1885-1946) under the care of Swarthmore Monthly Meeting. She was the daughter of Walter Hadley and Alice Paxson Hadley and a graduate of Swarthmore College, Class of 1906. The collection contains Louis Robinson's letters 1901-1908, Caroline Hadley's letters 1895-1908, and transcripts with annotations by their granddaughter, Christine Erb. The letter vividly describe student life at Swarthmore College and during Louis's graduate study in Germany as well as family, Quaker, and social concerns. Also included are photographs of the Paxson branch of the family.

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