https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/HAVERFORD_HC.MC.1136
Robinson Family papers
- Creator
- Morton, Mary Robinson, 1757-1829
- Date
- 1723 - circa 1980 (inclusive)
- Extent
- 3.25 linear ft. (6 boxes, 3 volumes)
- Call Number
- MC.1136
Description
Where the collection came from, what's inside, and how you can use it.
Biography/History
Mary Robinson Morton (1757-1829) was a minister in the Society of Friends. Born in Rhode Island, she moved to Philadelphia with her husband, John Morton, whom she married in 1793.
Scope and Content
Papers consist of approximately 500 letters written by Mary Robinson Morton (1757-1829) in the period 1790-1829 and transcripts of these letters. She wrote most often to her parents, Thomas Robinson and Sarah Richardson Robinson, sisters Abigail Robinson and Amy Robinson Bowne (who married Robert Bowne of New York), and brothers Thomas and Rowland. The letters are primarily of a personal and family nature, reflecting the social and cultural attitudes of the day, touching occasionally on the Hicksite controversy within the Society of Friends, the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia and its continued ravages in 1798, as well as on the dreaded effects of smallpox.
In addition, there are transcripts of other Robinson family correspondence, including that written by the French officer Vicomte de Noailles to Mary Robinson while he was stationed in Newport, which are currently housed elsewhere; abstracts of selected letters; genealogical information; poetry of Mary Morton and Amy Bowne and other miscellany; [The Robinson Family Letters], in typescript, edited by Deborah Smith Lutman, a direct descendant, ca. 1980.
Processing Information
Original processing history is unknown. Reboxed and finding aid revised March, 2022 by Sakina Gulamhusein.
Related Materials
An extensive Robinson collection is located at the Rokeby Museum in Ferrisburgh, VT. Silhouettes of Mary and John Morton, Amy and Robert Bowne at American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia; Deborah Smith Lutman has a silhouette of Abigail Robinson. A similar collection of materials is to be found at the Newport Historical Society in Newport, R.I.
Rights and citation
- Use
-
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
- Preferred Citation
- Robinson Family papers (HC.MC.1136) Quaker and Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA
- Publisher
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Subjects and headings
- Creator
- Morton, Mary Robinson, 1757-1829
- Subject
- Epidemics -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Quaker women -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Society of Friends -- Hicksite Separation
- Yellow fever -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- People
- Bowne, Amy Robinson
- Morton, John, active 1790-1800
- Morton, Mary Robinson, 1757-1829
- Noailles, Louis Marie, vicomte de, 1756-1804
- Robinson, Abigail, -1835
- Robinson, Rowland
- Robinson, Sarah Richardson
- Robinson, Thomas, 1731-1817
- Robinson family
- Place
- Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Social life and customs
- United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Participation, French
- Language
- English
Inventory
Everything in this collection, in the order the archivist chose to help you understand it.
Letters
Miscellaneous
Transcripts
Typescripts
Contact
These materials are held by Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Contact them to schedule a visit or ask about your research.
- Address
- 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041
- hc-special@haverford.edu
- Website
- https://resolver.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/ark:/37966/h1223bfc8f-df0b-478d-8e10-52c8c234db85