Repository: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College / Subject: Abolitionists - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:: Aaron M. (Aaron Macy) Powell, 1832-1899, was a Quaker social reformer. The collection contains correspondence, much of it letters of condolence following the death (1867) of Powell's daughter Elizabeth, biographical materials and tributes, and mss. of his biographies of George Fox and Wendell Phillips.

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

Extent:: 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:: The collection contains papers of Mira Sharpless Townsend, a major Quaker social activist and reformer in Philadelphia. Mira Sharpless Townsend (1798-1859) was born in Philadelphia, attended Friends Select School, and in 1828 married Samuel Townsend (1800-1887). He was a member of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting by whom she had six children, only two surviving to adulthood: Emily Sharpless Townsend who married Powell Stackhouse and Clara Gordon Townsend, married William Penn Troth. During the 1840's, Mira Townsend became an active and vocal social activist who wrote and published a variety of poetry and articles which reflected her strong views regarding women, slavery, temperance and capital punishment. She also was the driving force behind the founding of the Rosine Association. In January 1847, at a meeting of the Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment, she announced her desire to form a society "to open a house for the reformation, employment and instruction of...(see more)

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

Extent:: 0.25 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:: The Pennsylvania Hall Association was a stockholders association formed in 1837 to erect a building in Philadelphia dedicated "to Liberty and the Rights of Man." Many of the primary movers behind the Association were Quakers involved in the anti-slavery movement. The building was opened on May 14, 1838, and, as a symbol of the abolitionist movement, was destroyed by an angry mob on May 17, 1838. This collection contains minutes of the Board of Managers of the Association, 1838-1847, financial and other related materials concerning the financing and opening of the Hall and the events and litigation which followed. Individuals active in the Association included Daniel Neall, Samuel Webb, and Joseph M. Truman.

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

Extent:: 3 linear ft. (6 boxes)
Abstract:: Sarah Hopper Palmer (1796-1885) was the eldest child of Isaac T. Hopper (1771-1852), noted Hicksite Quaker abolitionist and social reformer. The collection was apparently compiled as a basis for Lydia Maria Child's Life of Isaac T. Hopper, which was first published in 1853. The original manuscript of the published book is included in the collection. The collection contains material on the Palmer, Hunn and Jenkins families, family correspondence, legal and financial papers, and memorabilia. Of particular interest is the correspondence of Isaac T. Hopper which includes references to his work with Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, the Anti-slavery Society of New York, and the New York Prison Association.

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

Extent:: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:: The Wood Family Papers contains papers from a Quaker family active in 19th century New York City Friends affairs, compiled by M. S. (Mary Sutton) Wood. Included are business correspondence concerning the printing house founded by Samuel Wood and his sons, correspondence from prominent Friends concerning work for social causes including abolition, freedmen, prisoners, First Day schools, and peace, and genealogical material, writings, and reminiscences by Mary S. Wood.

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

Extent:: .1 linear ft. (.1 linear feet (20 items.))
Abstract:: This collection includes the correspondence and miscellaneous papers of a Quaker family concerning the Hicksite/Orthodox controversy in Ohio, conditions of everyday life in Virginia and the Midwest, and observations on slavery and the use of tobacco. Also included is an account of Cleaver family births and deaths, 1729-1895.

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

Extent:: 4 linear ft. (8 boxes)
Abstract:: Samuel McPherson Janney was a Virginia Quaker minister, author, educator, and reformer. In 1839 he opened a boarding school for girls in Loudoun County. He traveled widely in the ministry, meeting with other denominations as well as being immersed in the contemporary issues facing the Society of Friends. Among his activities were establishing schools for African Americans and women, creating public schools in Virginia, and the abolition of slavery. In 1869 he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Nebraska. The collection contains primarily correspondence of Samuel M. Janney with family and with friends such as John Comly, Joseph Dugdale, Benjamin Ferris, William Dudley Foulke, Isaac T. Hopper, Halliday Jackson, Dillwyn Parrish, Edward Parrish, Moses Sheppard, John Jackson, Deborah Wharton, Halliday Jackson, Barclay White, William Dorsey, and George M. Truman. Also letters of members of his family to one another, his manuscript journal (published 1881 as Memoirs),...(see more)

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

Extent:: 1 linear ft. (2 document boxes and 1 oversized flat box)
Abstract:: Paul Cuffe (1759-1817) was an African American Quaker, Pan-Africanist, and entrepreneur who was a leader in the Back-to-Africa movement — a political effort advocating a return of African Americans to the continent of Africa. The bulk of the collection consists of material from 1811-1817, the height of Cuffe's international fame as he worked across Sierra Leone, England, and the United States to gather support, resources, and funds for the settlement in West Africa. The collection includes memoirs, newspaper notices, and articles detailing his travels, political motivations, and overall comittment to Pan-Africanism.

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

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