Place: Chester County (Pa.) / Year: <span class="from" data-blrl-begin="1900">1900</span> to <span class="to" data-blrl-end="1949">1949</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet
Abstract:: Caroline Lucile Nicholson Jacob (1891-1991) was a teacher at Westtown School, a prominent Quaker boarding school in Chester County, Pa. She taught from 1916-1939 in the subjects of German, Bible, French, and History; from 1926-1939 she served as Assistant Principal. Jacob was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), working in Europe after World War I with the American Friends Service Committee, active with the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and authoring several books about Quakerism and individual Quakers. The Caroline Nicholson Jacob papers, 1920s-1982, document Jacob's travels, interests, and religious and social activities. Topics include her trips to Africa, Europe, the Western U.S., and to the Fourth Friends World Conference; her engagement to be married and her birthdays (including her 90th); and her time at Westtown School. The collection includes correspondence, a published transcript of an oral history interview by American Friends Service Committee in 1989,...(see more)

Held at: Westtown School Archives [Contact Us]

Extent:: 24.5 linear feet
Abstract:: Everett G. Rodebaugh (1902-1983), a nationally prominent court reporter and founder of a court-reporting service in Philadelphia, Pa. married Grace M. Haspel (1905-1999) in 1925. A wealthy couple who never had children, the Rodebaughs were socialites, travelled extensively, and were active as philanthropists and conservationists. In 1935, they purchased "Welkinweir," a 162-acre farm estate in East Nantmeal Township, Chester County, Pa., and converted part of the grounds into an arboretum. Welkinweir, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, as of 2013 is owned and administered by Green Valleys Association (an organization the Rodebaughs helped found in 1964). The Everett and Grace Rodebaugh papers, circa 1890-1985, consist of Everett Rodebaugh's professional papers, which include correspondence and legal/court records and transcripts; the personal papers of Everett and Grace, which largely include photographs, travel slides, and letters between the two; and...(see more)

Held at: Welkinweir [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1.0 linear feet
Abstract:: Richard Thomas (1744-1832) was a Revolutionary War colonel and a politician. He served in the Revolutionary War in the 5th Battalion Association despite his Quaker faith and served as an Assembly man from 1796 to 1790, as Pennsylvania Senator from 1790 to 1794, and as Congressman from 1794 to 1798. The collection dates from 1741 to 1919 with the bulk of materials dating from 1741 to 1857. The materials in the collection document the history of Chester County and the United States as well as the personal side of the Thomas family.

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 4.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Joseph B. Smith and Sons Funeral Home in West Chester, Pennsylvania was established in 1870, when Joseph B. Smith purchased the existing Hoffman Undertaking and Furniture Business. Smith’s firm, which was in business until 1994, was owned and operated by four successive generations of Smith men: Joseph B. Smith; his son, William B. Smith; his grandson, Ashton B.T. Smith; and his great-grandson, Ashton B.T. Smith, Jr. It ranked as one of the oldest funeral home businesses in Chester County. The Joseph B. Smith and Son Funeral Directors records houses the records produced by that funeral home from 1876 to 1946. In addition, there is a small cache of Smith family papers dating from 1883 to 1975. The bulk of the collection is made up of funeral home records. Included in the funeral home records are account books, funeral registries, bills, funeral home ephemera, and undertaker and coroner licenses. The Smith family papers section of the collection has very little to do with the...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 5.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Nursery in Chester County was one of the oldest and longest running horticultural enterprises in the state of Pennsylvania. It operated from 1853 to 1990, and was owned by three successive generations of the Thomas family. The Thomas nursery actually began in 1828 as a small farm and orchard called “Maple Farm,” which was owned by Charles and Ruth Thomas. It was their son, Joseph Williams Thomas, who formally established the nursery on a small portion of the farm around 1853. He named his burgeoning business, Chester Valley Nursery. Later, he changed the company’s name to Joseph W. Thomas and Company. Around 1888, Joseph’s sons, Edwin and Charles Lincoln, joined him in business and the name of the firm was changed once more to Joseph W. Thomas and Sons, reflecting the new partnership. The Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Nursery records contains documents created by that business from 1884 to 1993. Researchers will find financial records; general business...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]