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Dillwyn and Emlen family correspondence, 1770-1818 (inclusive)

Extent:
7.0 containers
Abstract:
The Dillwyn and Emlen family was joined in 1795 when Susanna Dillwyn married Samuel Emlen, Jr. Both the Dillwyn and Emlen families were prominent in early America as Quakers and advocates for abolition. This collection consists of five disbound volumes of letters written to and from William Dillwyn of London and his daughter Susanna Dillwyn in America from 1770 to 1795; and thereafter until 1818, to and from Susanna and her husband Samuel Emlen, Jr. of Burlington County, New Jersey. Although Susanna lived almost her entire life apart from her father, their letters are frequent and deal primarily with family matters and kin. However, there is frequent comment concerning such topics as yellow fever; abolitionism and slavery; Native Americans; breast cancer; and American and European politics, including the Napoleonic wars and the embargo, as well as their effects upon trade and merchants in Philadelphia and London.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

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Aaron M. (Aaron Macy) Powell Papers, 1858-1915 (inclusive)

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]

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Mira Sharpless Townsend Papers, 1815-1858 (bulk) 1806-1910 (inclusive)

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]

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Johnson House Historic Site collection on the Johnson family, 1794-circa 1994

Extent:
0.5 linear feet
Abstract:
John Johnson built a house in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1768. A family of ardent Quakers, the Johnsons did not participate in the Revolutionary War and were vocal abolitionists. The Johnson House was a documented stop along the Underground Railroad for African Americans escaping North from slavery prior to the Civil War. Johnson House Historic Site collection on the Johnson family, 1794-circa 1994, includes several original manuscript volumes and photographs from the Johnson family, as well as secondary-source materials such as photocopies and genealogical information about the family.

Held at: Johnson House Historic Site [Contact Us]

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Sarah Wistar Rhoads family papers, 1824-1930 1824-1963 (inclusive) 1824-1930 (bulk)

Extent:
4.75 linear ft. (19 boxes)
Abstract:
The Sarah Wistar Rhoads family papers indicate strong relationships and family ties that spanned the 19th and 20th centuries. Sarah Wistar Rhoads (1839-1920) married William Gibbons Rhoads (1838-1880) on November 28, 1866. At that time, the Rhoads, Gibbons and Wistar families began corresponding, the result being an outstanding collection illustrating family support, friendship and love. These papers include correspondence, financial records, diaries and journals, memorabilia, classwork and notes, copied poems, prayers, sermons and verses, memorials, genealogical research, Quaker material and photographs. Researchers interested in family papers and Quaker family dynamics, social life, and customs may find this collection extremely useful.

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

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Sarah Cooper Tatum Hilles family papers, 1840-1882 1791-1930 (inclusive) 1840-1882 (bulk)

Extent:
2.75 linear ft. (11 boxes)
Abstract:
The Sarah Cooper Tatum Hilles family papers house the correspondence of a Quaker family who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Woodbury, New Jersey; Wilmington, Delaware; and other surrounding areas from approximately 1840 to 1882. A majority of the letters were written to or by Sarah Cooper Tatum Hilles; her husband, John Smith Hilles; and other Tatum or Hilles family members. There is a small sampling of assorted family papers, dating from 1825 to 1901. Included, among other items, are school report cards of William Samuel Hilles from Haverford College and an 1834 memoir of Anne Cooper Tatum, Sarah Hilles' mother. In addition, there are deeds to properties owned by the Hilles family in Delaware, New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania from 1791 to 1886.

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

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William Parker scrapbook, 1910

Extent:
0.04 linear ft. (1 volume)
Abstract:
The scrapbook is comprised of clippings of an article on the Christiana Riot, published in 1910 by the Atlantic Monthly, but originally published in 1866. The article, "The Freedman's Story," was written by William Parker, a formerly enslaved person who escaped slavery and became an abolitionist and activist in Pennsylvania. He was a key actor in the Christiana Riot, and the article describes his memory of the event. It is not known who compiled the scrapbook.

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

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Samuel M. Janney Papers, 1815-1880 (inclusive)

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]

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Rush family papers, 1748-1876 (inclusive)

Extent:
34.5 linear feet
Abstract:
The Rush Family papers includes material from Benjamin Rush, physician, social activist, educator, writer and patriot; his brother Jacob Rush, lawyer, Supreme Court judge, and patriot; and Benjamin’s son James Rush, physician and Treasurer of the United States Mint. These American men were “strong characters, zealous patriots during the stirring period in which they lived, tenacious of their convictions and of the high standard of individual duty which they set for others, and typified in themselves,” (Richards, page 53). The bulk of the collection is the papers of Dr. Benjamin Rush and his son Dr. James Rush. Judge Jacob, John, Richard and William are represented, but to a much lesser degree. The other Rush family members are represented in a very limited manner. The collection contains correspondence; financial records; medical notes, lectures, and case histories; writings regarding medicine, politics, and the judicial system; and observations on colonial Philadelphia, the...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

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Ezekiel Cleaver family papers, 1729-1895 (inclusive)

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]

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Benjamin Coates African Colonization collection, 1848-1880 (inclusive) 1858-1869 (bulk)

Extent:
1 linear ft. (2 document boxes)
Abstract:
Letters relating to the emigration of free Blacks to the West African colony of Liberia and establishment of Liberian institutions written to American Quaker reformer, Benjamin Coates (1808-1887) whose work toward the abolition of slavery led to a relationship with many well-known people connected to Liberia, a colony established to offer a new home and a fresh start away from slavery to free Blacks in the mid-19th century.

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

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Cope-Evans Family papers, 1732-1911 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.25 linear ft. (9 boxes, 3 volumes)
Abstract:
Letters (with accompanying poetry, acrostics, drawings, clippings, etc.), marriage certificates, photographs, friendship book, estate related papers, account books, and computer disks. Primarily letters of the closely related Quaker families of Cope and Evans of Germantown (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); other families include Brown, Drinker, and Haines.

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

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Reinhardt, Hawley and Hewes family papers, 1762-1955 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.5 linear ft. (9 boxes)
Abstract:
The Reinhardt, Hawley, Hewes and Meredith families are tied together through marriage and their Quaker faith across multiple generations. William Dell Reinhardt, a University of Pennsylvania graduate and doctor, married Rebecca Hawley, a teacher. They had six children: Jesse Hawley Reinhardt, Mary Bailey Reinhardt, Esther Meredith Reinhardt, Lydia Ludwig Reinhardt, Elizabeth Christina Reinhardt, and David Jones Reinhardt. David Jones Reinhardt married Anna Margaret Hewes in 1896. These individuals created the bulk of the material contained within this collection. This collection consists of correspondence; account books; certificates; diaries and household information lists; friendship books; land and insurance records; marriage certificates; miscellaneous family records; wills and estates; genealogical research; photographs; Quaker tracts and poetry; newspaper clippings; and Acts of the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania. Before looking into the collection, a researcher...(see more)

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

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McNeil Center for Early American Studies Records, 1959-2006 (inclusive)

Extent:
18.5 cubic feet
Abstract:
The McNeil Center for Early American Studies was founded in 1978 as the Philadelphia Center for Early American Studies with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Center's mission is to "promote basic research in all areas of early American history and culture" through fellowships, seminars, assistance with publication of research, and other special projects. The records of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies document the efforts of a consortium of local archival and educational institutions to "promote basic research in all areas of early American history and culture" through fellowships, seminars, assistance with publications, and other special projects.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: University Archives and Records Center [Contact Us]

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Pennsylvania Hall Association Records, 1837-1899 (bulk 1837-1849) (inclusive)

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]

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Sarah Hopper Palmer Papers, 1705-1883 (inclusive)

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]

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Wood Family Papers, 1784-1874 (inclusive)

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]

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