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Start Over Subject Quakers -- Social life and customs Subject Quakers -- Social service Year 1800 to 1849

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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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Emily Howland Family Papers, 1763-1929 (inclusive)

Extent:
7 linear ft. (17 boxes (plus photographs))
Abstract:
Emily Howland (1827-1929) was a Quaker humanitarian and educator who is particularly known for her work with formerly-enslaved African Americans in Virginia during and after the American Civil War. A birthright Friend, Emily Howland was the only daughter of Slocum and Hannah (Tallcot) Howland of Sherwood, N.Y. She was educated locally and for a brief period in Philadelphia, and then moved to Washington, D.C. in 1857 to teach at the Miner School for Freedmen. During the war she worked at a contraband camp in Virginia, establishing a school and coordinating relief activities. She returned to Sherwood after her father's death in 1881 and contributed time and money toward the maintenance of the Sherwood School. She continued her interest in the education of African-Americans in the south, and was also involved in woman suffrage and temperance. Emily Howland never married, and died in Sherwood at the age of 102. The collection contains correspondence, journals, other manuscripts,...(see more)

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

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Biddle family Papers, 1793-1951 (inclusive)

Extent:
4 linear ft. (8 boxes)
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of Philadelphia Quaker Owen Biddle (1737-1799), his son, Clement Biddle (1778-1856), and numerous descendants. Owen Biddle, a scientist and merchant, was a member of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting and helped in the establishment of Westtown School (1799). Owen Biddle's papers, 1772-1793, (Series 1) include correspondence, and journals, some of which relate to his Revolutionary War activities. Three of his letterbooks, 1778-1779, have been microfilmed. The collection contains correspondence, journals, letterbooks, and account books, together with other manuscript material reflecting the social and cultural life and religious activities of a prominent Quaker family of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Papers of Lucy Biddle Lewis (1861-1941) are important for association with the women's suffrage movement and for early activities of the American Friends Service Committee. Other names represented in the collection are Jane Addams, Emily Greene Balch, Clement...(see more)

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

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Samuel Walton Family Papers, 1813-1890 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.75 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Abstract:
The Waltons were prominent Quakers in Philadelphia, Pa., and Belmont County, Ohio. Joseph Walton (1817-1898) taught at Westtown School, edited the Quaker periodical, The Friend, and served as Clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Orthodox). His brother, Samuel Walton (1827-1899), moved to Ohio in 1847 and in 1854 married Sarah James Edgerton at Stillwater Monthly Meeting, the center of Wilburite Quakerism in Ohio. The family was deeply involved in matters relating to the Society of Friends. This collection contains primarily family correspondence, particularly of Samuel and Sarah Walton of Stillwater Monthly Meeting and Joseph Walton of the Westtown School, Haverford College, and Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Other correspondents include Rebecca Walton, Lydia L. Walton, and Mary and Nathan Kite. Topics include family and religious concerns, the Wilburite - Gurneyite controversy in Ohio, and related issues in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. There are lengthy descriptions of the yearly...(see more)

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

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Edward F. Stratton Collected Papers on Ohio Quakers, 1770-1967 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.75 linear ft. (5 boxes)
Abstract:
Edward F. Stratton (1876-1968) was a Quaker from Salem and Barnesville, Ohio. He served as Curator of the Salem Quarterly Meeting records and was Librarian of the Friends Society, Salem, Ohio. The collection contains historical and biographical information compiled by Edward F. Stratton about the Maule, Stratton, Williams, and related Ohio Quaker families, especially those involved in separations in Ohio Yearly Meeting. Of particular interest are Joshua's Maule's diaries and correspondence concerning the Wilburite-Gurneyite and Maulite separations in the Society of Friends and the Williams family correspondence and diaries written while teaching at schools for freed blacks in Mississippi and Texas (1867-1876).

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

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Holmes-Webb Family Papers, 1839-1972 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Abstract:
William B. Webb was a druggist and member of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite). He married Rebecca Turner in 1853. Their youngest daughter, Rebecca St. Claire Webb, married Jessie Herman Holmes in 1892. Holmes was a prominent Quaker, taught philosophy and religion at Swarthmore College, and was active in AFSC relief in Europe after World War I. He also served as President of the National Federation of Religious Liberals and was an active member of the Socialist Party. The collection includes correspondence of the Webb and Holmes families, journals of Jesse Herman and Rebecca W. Holmes, and other miscellaneous materials. Of particular interest is the correspondence between the Holmes during his trip overseas and several letters from S. R. Sharma concerning the early Indian self-determination movement and the work of Mahatma Gandhi from 1930 to 1934.

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

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Joseph Wharton Family Papers, 1691-1955 (inclusive)

Extent:
21.81 linear ft. (71 boxes)
Abstract:
Joseph Wharton (1826-1909) was a prominent Philadelphia Quaker merchant, industrialist, scientist, and philanthropist who was active in 19th century Delaware Valley manufacturing, business, and education development. The papers cover in depth his business activities as well as his career as Manager of Swarthmore College for over 35 years and as founder of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. The collection includes business correspondence, 1855-1908, of the Joseph Wharton Gap Establishment, the Lehigh Zinc Company, Bethlehem Iron company, the Hibernia Mine Railroad Company, as well as more than fifty articles prepared by Wharton dealing with the mineral ore industry including iron, zinc, and nickel, tariff questions, political issues on a national and regional level, and Wharton's special concerns in education. Joseph Wharton (1826-1909) was descended from two of the oldest families in Pennsylvania. His father, William Wharton, was in the...(see more)

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

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Benjamin F. Whitson Family Papers, 1835-1957 (inclusive)

Extent:
7 linear ft. (14 boxes)
Abstract:
Benjamin F. Whitson (1867-1957) of Moylan, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was a Quaker businessman. Whitson was active in Quaker affairs such as Friends World Conference in 1937 and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and in Quaker concerns such as peace, temperance, and education. He was the son of Thomas H. and Phebe (Cooper) Whitson, and his family and extended family has deep Quaker associations. Both Benjamin Whitson and his father, were recognized as Quaker ministers and made visits to Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative). Benjamin Whitson lived in California from 1905-1907 and was active in Pasadena Meeting of Friends. In later life, he collected letters and genealogical information on the many Quaker branches of his family. Papers consist of correspondence, 10 journals (1893-1957), account of trips to Quaker conferences, essays, speeches, and genealogical notes and correspondence of Included in the papers are a 1936 diary of his wife, Jane T. Whitson; Thomas H. Whitson's...(see more)

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

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