Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Subject Slavery and the church -- Society of Friends Year 1800 to 1849

Winston-Clark Family papers, 1814-1900 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.25 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Approximately 500 letters (also a few clippings, poems and other items) of the related Clark and Winston families of Virginia and Indiana. Letters discuss family and friends, the small schools that many members of these families began in the Midwest, as well as comments on politics, slavery, religion, education, the Civil War and friends/family fighting in the Confederate army, and other topics.

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

John Parrish diaries, 1796-1805 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.14 linear ft. (7 volumes)
Abstract:: John Parrish was a member and minister of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. His diaries describe his travels to Quaker families, including those disowned by their Meeting, throughout Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania.

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

George Bacon diaries, 1813-1829 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.89 linear ft. (17 volumes)
Abstract:: George Bacon's entries largely focus on descriptions of the weather, Quaker meetings attended, Yearly Meetings attended, births, deaths, and marriages in the Quaker community, social calls, and news of his family and business. In addition to the 17 original volumes of diaries, the collection includes a folder of partial transcripts of Bacon's diaries, some typed, some handwritten, as well as an index of journal entries by topic.

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

John Greenleaf Whittier letterbook, 1842-1873 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.08 linear ft. (1 volume)
Abstract:: John Greenleaf Whittier was an American Quaker poet and editor, as well as an involved abolitionist. He was a delegate to the Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, a member of the State Legislature in 1835, founded the antislavery Liberty party in 1840, and ran for Congress in 1842. Topics covered in Whittier's letterbook include news of health and family, as well as discussions of contributions to "The Non-Slaveholder" and discussions of English Friends.

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

"Thoughts on Slavery", 1800 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.02 linear ft. (1 volume)
Abstract:: In his essay, "Thoughts on Slavery," John Parrish discusses the religious and moral reasons in favor of abolishing slavery in the United States, as well as a short history of slavery in the United States, and the responsibilities of the United States government to those they are oppressing through slavery.

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

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]

Emlen Family Papers, 1740-1886 (inclusive) 1817-1849 (bulk)

Extent:: 0.75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:: Contains papers relating to the Emlen family, residents of Middletown and West Chester, Pennsylvania. Chiefly correspondence (1817-1849) of Sarah Foulke Farquhar Emlen (1787-1849), Quaker minister, relating to her travels to visit Friends' meetings in England, Ireland, New England, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. Also correspondence of Quaker ministers 1740-1790, copybooks, and memorabilia. Includes material relating to Westtown School, a Quaker boarding school in Chester County, Pa., where both Emlens taught; the Hicksite-Orthodox separation; slavery, the free produce movement and other Quaker concersn. Correspondents include Moses Brown, John Churchman, Samuel Emlen (ca. 1765-1837), Josiah Forster, Samuel Fothergill, Isaac Hadwen, Thomas Kite, Thomas Shillitoe, Esther Tuke, Joseph Whitall, and John Wilbur.

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

The New York Association of Friends for the Relief of Those Held in Slavery and the Improvement of the Free People of Color, 1839-1844 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.1 linear ft. (1 vol. 1 folder)
Abstract:: The New York Association of Friends for the Relief of Those Held in Slavery and the Improvement of Free People of Color was a Quaker society in New York City, organized in 1839. Its purpose was to support the abolition of slavery and educational charities for Black people. This small collection contains a minute book (6/1839-5/1843) and loose minutes (1844).

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

Fussell-Lewis Family Papers, 1836-1938-bulk 1836-1866 (inclusive)

Extent:: .1 linear ft. (.1 linear feet (6 folders.))
Abstract:: This collection includes the papers and correspondence of the Fussell and Lewis famlies. The latter relate primarily family and local news. Of particular interest are several letters by Graceanna Lewis denouncing slavery, an account of the response in New York Yearly Meeting to the disownment of Isaac T. Hopper, and correspondence relating an encounter with the Seneca Indians. Other letters include those written to Mariann Lewis by friends from Kimberton Boarding School, some of which relate to the antislavery movement, and letters from Linnaeus Fussell to his family.

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

Longshore-Williams family correspondence, 1840-1965-bulk 1840-1861 (inclusive)

Extent:: .1 linear ft. (.1 linear feet (1 folder.))
Abstract:: This collection includes letters written to Mary W. Longshore from the family of her sister, Martha Williams, after the Williams moved from Pennsylvania to Warsaw, Ohio. Included are letters from her sister, brother-in-law, Isaac B. Williams, and nephews, Jonathon and Jeremiah. These letters relate family and local news, and news about the temperance and anti-slavery movements. A letter from Isaac B. Williams, dated 1861, relates his thoughts on the prospect of civil war. A letter from Dr. Joseph S. Longshore relates news of an 1840 anti-slavery society meeting in Bucks Co. Also included is an unsigned copy book that contains thoughts on the Bible, spirituality, and accounts of Quaker ministry, including that of Deborah Wharton.

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