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Thomas Pim Cope diaries

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Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Thomas Pim Cope (1768­-1854) was born on August 26, 1768, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the son of Caleb and Mary (Mendenhall) Cope. He married Mary Drinker (1766­-1825) in 1792, and the couple had at least four children, two sons and two daughters.

Cope was a Quaker merchant, founder of Cope family shipping business, and member of Philadelphia City Council and Pennsylvania legislature. In 1821, Cope established his first packet line to Liverpool, England. Cope was very involved in local politics; in 1837, he was a member of the convention to amend the Constitution of Pennsylvania, he was the president of the Board of Trade and of the Mercantile Library, as well as a member of the first board of Haverford College. Cope also helped create Fairmount Park by securing Lemon Hill.

Thomas Pim Cope died November 22, 1854, at the age of 86.

This collection is composed of 11 volumes of the handwritten journals of Thomas Pim Cope, as well as ten typed transcriptions of all but the first diary. Entries cover a variety of topics including weather, religious and personal reflection, business interests, family news, and discussions of international politics.

The contents of the Related Correspondence folder came from J. Morris Evans in 1999.

The Thomas Pim Cope diaries were donated to Special Collections, Haverford College in 1945 by Edward W. Evans.

Processed by Kara Flynn; completed July, 2015.

Publisher
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
Finding Aid Author
Kara Flynn
Finding Aid Date
August, 2015
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Collection Inventory

Physical Description

11 items

Archival Resource Key. Vol 1, 1800.
Box 1
Scope and Content note

This volume is entitled, "Notes taken on a journey to Soho & New York," and describes Cope's travel to New York and visits to business interests and associates there.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 2, 1800-1801.
Volume 2
Scope and Content note

This volume includes discussion of international politics, such as wars in Europe and news of "Consul Bonaparte," as well as discussions of slave ships, particularly the Ganges Captain's capture of two illegal slave ships.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 3, 1801-1803.
Volume 3
Scope and Content note

This volume discusses American politics and elections, and provides a description of many of Cope's friends and business associates, including; Henry Drinker Jr., William Young, Jacob Chrystlar, Thomas Parker, William Dawson, Samuel M. Fox, and John Miller Jr. Entries in this volume also describe Cope's trip to Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 4, 1803-1807.
Volume 4
Scope and Content note

This volume describes an outbreak of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia, business concerns, and areas in which Cope believes the Society of Friends could improve.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 5, 1807-1813.
Volume 5
Archival Resource Key. Vol 6, 1813-1820.
Volume 6
Scope and Content note

Entries in this volume largely focus on the events and repercussions of the War of 1812. A number of entries focus on the death of Cope's son Francis, who drowned at Cape May. Elias Hicks mentioned on the back cover.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 7, 1820-1844.
Volume 7
Scope and Content note

The majority of entries in this volume describe Cope's trip to Niagra Falls with his son Alfred, during the summer of 1820. Entries resume in 1843 with a description of the Great Comet of 1843 and the centennial meeting of the American Philosophical Society.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 8, 1844-1845.
Volume 8
Scope and Content note

Entries discuss international politics.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 9, 1845-1847.
Volume 9
Archival Resource Key. Vol 10, 1847-1848.
Volume 10
Archival Resource Key. Vol 11, 1848-1850.
Volume 11
Scope and Content note

Entries discuss international politics, particularly France, and an outbreak cholera.

Archival Resource Key. Vol 12, 1850-1851.
Volume 12
Scope and Content note

Entries discuss U.S. politics. Obituary notice for Jasper Cope, Thomas Cope's brother, taped to last page.

Physical Description

10 items

Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 1, 1800-1801.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 2, 1801-1803.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 3, 1803-1807.
Box 1
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 4, 1807-1813.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 5, 1813-1820.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 6, 1820-1844.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 7, 1844-1845.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 8, 1845-1847.
Box 2
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 9, 1847-1848.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Transcript vol. 10, 1848-1851.
Box 3
Archival Resource Key. Related Correspondence, 1874, 1999. 1 folders.
Box 3
Scope and Content note

This collection includes a handwritten letter from Alfred Cope (1806-1875) to his nephews Francis R. and Thomas P. Cope, transferring the diaries of their grandfather Thomas Pim Cope (1764-1854) in 1874. Correspondence transferring this letter from J. Morris Evans to Haverford Collection dating to 1999 is also included.

Physical Description

1 folders

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