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Start Over Subject Prison reformers Subject Quaker women Year 1823

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Collection of Bringhurst Family Correspondence, 1780-1811 (bulk) 1780-1941 (inclusive)

Extent:
6 linear ft.
Abstract:
Contains the collected correspondence of the Bringhurst family, largely compiled by C. Marshall Taylor. It includes correspondence, 1780-1806, of Philadelphia Quaker businessman James Bringhurst and his letters received from John Murray of New York City. Bringhurst corresponded with family and prominent friends including John Dickinson, Job Scott, Nathan Hunt, James Pemberton, Jesse Kersey, Lindley Murray and Moses Brown. Of particular interest are descriptions of life in Philadelphia and the conditions of free blacks, as well as Quaker religious and social concerns and visits from traveling ministers. A second group of letters contains primarily letters from Joseph Bringhurst, the brother of James, to his niece, Elizabeth Foulke while she was traveling in the ministry.

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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Branson-Jackson Family Papers, 1794-1962 (inclusive)

Extent:
4 linear ft. (8 boxes)
Abstract:
Anna M. Jackson and her daughter, Anna M. (Jackson Branson) Theiss, were Quaker activists in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Anna M. Jackson was very involved in reform activities in New York City. She served as Chairman of the Women's Prison Reform Committee, and was also involved in the Women's Municipal League and the Political Study Club. Her daughter, Anna Morris Jackson ("Pansy"), attended Swarthmore College for two years, and in 1909 earned a B.S. in Education from Columbia University. Anna was involved in Green Street Monthly Meeting, Friends General Conference, and helped to organize the Inter-Racial Committee of Philadelphia. The collection contains correspondence, journals, and memorabilia. It also includes related materials of the Davis, Price, Jackson, and Fox families, as well as some correspondence. There are significant materials relating to prison reform, women's suffrage, peace, and equal rights for African-Americans in New York City in the late 19th century,...(see more)

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