Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Year 1790 to 1794

Library Company of Philadelphia Shareholders records, 1732-2007 (inclusive)

Extent:: 12.0 volumes
Abstract:: In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a number of his fellow members of the Junto founded the Library Company of Philadelphia, in order to provide its members access to books that they could not afford to purchase individually, but could afford to purchase collectively. Fifty subscribers invested forty shillings each and promised to pay ten shillings a year thereafter to buy books and maintain a shareholder's library. Thus "the Mother of all American Subscription Libraries" was established. Over the years, the Library Company continues to be supported by its members who participate in a centuries-old tradition by becoming shareholders and therefore allowing the Library Company of Philadelphia to continue serving the public, free of charge. This collection consists of twelve volumes of shareholders records dating from 1742 to 2007. The volumes, Record Books A to L, document share purchases and transfers of shares. Entries include date, name of member, and occasionally brief notes on...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Miscellaneous Manuscript Collection, 1771-1992 (inclusive) 1872-1944 (bulk)

Extent:: 2.6 linear feet
Abstract:: The Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection is a fluid one, consisting of manuscripts that are unidentified or too small for their own collection. Each sub-collection within the group is given a Miscellaneous Manuscript Number which corresponds to the collection.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Archives at the Library of the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies [Contact Us]

German Society of Pennsylvania institutional records, 1764-1968 (bulk) 1764-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:: 27.4 linear feet
Abstract:: The German Society of Pennsylvania, founded in Philadelphia in 1764, directed its early efforts to assisting new German immigrants, especially those forced into indentured servitude when they were unable to pay their sea fare. Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Society was very visible in the thriving German-American community in Philadelphia, boasting just over one thousand members at the peak of its growth, in the late 1870s. In the 20th century, the Society’s scope and prominence was affected by the two World Wars, which created suspicion and criticism of Germanic culture. That suspicion and government scrutiny played a role in the dwindling membership of the Society. In the post-World War II era the Society channeled its overseas relief activities through a Quaker-based aid society. In the second half of the century, the neighborhood was also changing, as it became predominantly African-American, rather than German, and more impoverished. But the Society pressed...(see more)

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [Contact Us]

Allen Family Papers, 1700-1954 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Abstract:: Contains the papers of the Allen Family, a Quaker family of Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, which traced its ancestry back to one of William Penn's commissioners. Includes papers relating to the Allen and related Breidenhart, Casdorp, Gibbons, Hubley, Jacobs, Matlack, and Samuel families. The Allen family papers contain extensive genealogical material, family correspondence, journals and memorials which provide excellent source material on Quaker family life in the 19th century in the Philadelphia area. Of particular interest are letters from Charles and Rebecca Allen to their children, several of whom were educated at Westtown School.

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

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]

Ferris Family Papers, 1737-1940 (inclusive)

Extent:: 15 linear ft. (36 boxes)
Abstract:: The collection contains correspondence, journals and other writings, business and legal papers, and miscellaneous items of the Ferris family of Wilmington, Delaware, a prominent Quaker family. Of particular note are the correspondence and writings of Benjamin Ferris concerning the Separation in the Society of Friends, as well as the journals and diaries of Anna M. Ferris, David Ferris, Matilda Ferris, Benjamin Ferris, and Henry Ferris. Correspondents include William Lloyd Garrison, William Gibbons, Isaac T. Hopper, Joseph Bringhurst, Mary Gibbons, William Poole, Mary Biddle, Joseph Rakestraw, Halliday Jackson, and John Jackson. This collection includes a great variety of family correspondence that reveals much about the life of a Quaker family in Wilmington and of the reform activities of members of the Society of Friends.

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

Griffith Family Papers, 1754-1890 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:: The Griffith family were Quakers involved in the textile industry in the area of Winchester, Virginia before the Civil War. Aaron H. Griffith was active in the Orthodox branch of Hopewell Monthly Meeting and was an Elder and Clerk of that Meeting. The collection includes family correspondence and miscellaneous manuscripts of the Griffith family, as assembled by Sylvia Dannett who was writing a novel about Aaron H. Griffith's daughter, Harriet Griffith Ellis. Of particular interest are the letters and journal of the latter while she was attending Westtown School in the mid-1850's. Also includes some typescript copies of the same.

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

Haviland Family Papers, 1754-1931 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:: James S. Haviland, a birthright Quaker, was born in 1849, the son of William F. and Sarah Ann (Carpenter) Haviland of Purchase Monthly Meeting (N.Y.). The collection contains correspondence, financial, and legal papers, and miscellaneous manuscripts of the families of James S. and Elizabeth (Griffen) Haviland. Includes materials of the related Griffen, Field, and Parry families, especially the correspondence of Seneca Ely and Priscilla Stubbs Parry of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1826-67, and of his sister, Rachel Parry Brosius.

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

John Family Papers, 1775-1951 (inclusive)

Extent:: 4 linear ft. (8 boxes)
Abstract:: The John family was a Quaker family of Uwchlan and Shamokin Valley in Pennsylvania. The collection contains family correspondence, diaries, business and legal documents, memorabilia, pictures, and miscellaneous papers of the Reuben John family. Correspondents include Joanna Griffith, Phebe John, Ann Haines, Sarah H. Janney, Reuben John, Abia and Patty John, Pamela Brenholts, and their descendents. Also contains genealogical files of Don D. John which includes original family correspondence, transcriptions, legal documents, as well as extensive genealogical correspondence. Of particular note is the 1863 Civil War diary of Kimber L. John (Co. M, 8th Regiment, Ill. Cavalry) and a transcript of the Eliza John diary from 1839 to 1863.

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

Kent-Barnard Family Papers, 1785/1928 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3 linear ft. (6 boxes)
Abstract:: Daniel Kent, emigrated to Chester County, Pa. from Ireland, in 1785. He joined the Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1790, and married Esther Hawley in 1791. Their great-grandson Henry Simmons Kent (1833-1906) was active in the establishment of Swarthmore Monthly Meeting and the Borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. The collection includes material used by Daniels' great-granddaughter Ella Kent Barnard in preparation for the writing of three books. Among these materials are genealogical charts and data, research correspondence, and original letters and documents. Notable among the latter is the correspondence between Daniel Kent and his parents, William and Ann Kent. Collection also includes diaries and journals. A manuscript entitled "The Rise of Swarthmore," by Isabella Tyson, describes the meeting of Friends in the home of her parents to discuss plans for the establishment of the College.

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

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