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Henry Hale G. Sharpless 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
Henry Hale Graham Sharpless (1823-1870) was born in 1823, the son of Townsend Sharpless and Mary B. Jones Sharpless. In 1855, Sharpless married Mary Van Buren, and she was disowned by her Meeting for marrying a non-member. Sharpless ran a dry goods business in Philadelphia, which was started by his grandfather. Sharpless died in 1870, at the age of 46.
This collection is comprised of eight handwritten volumes of the diaries of Henry Hale G. Sharpless. Four of the diaries are travel diaries that describe Sharpless's travels throughout the eastern United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The remaining three diaries describe Sharpless's daily life at home in Pennsylvania, and on his farm outside Philadelphia.
The Henry Hale G. Sharpless diaries were donated to Special Collections, Haverford College in 1972 by Mrs. Nigel Cholmeley-Jones.
Processed by Kara Flynn; completed July, 2015.
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- Kara Flynn
- Finding Aid Date
- July, 2015
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
-
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Collection Inventory
This volume is entitled "Randoms from Philadelphia," and describes Sharpless's various travels throughout the Eastern coast of the United States, including a sailing trip from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, as well as trips by rail to New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. At the back of the volume are five political cartoons.
Entries in this volume describe travels to Mt. Carbon, West Virginia, Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, and the Delaware Water Gap.
Entries in this volume describe Sharpless's travels throughout eastern Europe and the Middle East, including such destinations as; Prussia, Cyprus, Smyrna, Beirut, Damascus, Rhodes, and Constantinople. In addition to his daily entries which describe his travel between each destination, cultural differences he observes, and sights he visited in each place, his diary also contains many sketches, particularly focused on the various styles of dress in the places he visits.
Entries in this volume describes travel destinations in Europe, sites visited, social calls, and correspondence with friends and family at home.
Entries in this volume detail travels in Rome, Florence, Genoa, Turino, Lyons, Paris, london, Liverpool, and his return home to Pennsylvania. Daily entires describe weather, sightseeing, correspondence, and social calls.
Entries in this volume describe Sharpless's life at home in Pennsylvania, including descriptions of social calls, celebrating Thanksgiving, and attendance at church services (denomination not identified). Entries also describe trips to the Delaware Water Gap, West Chester, Long Beach, and New York.
This diary describes Sharpless's life at home, including descriptions of weather and social calls and business-related news.
This volume is a farm diary of Henry Sharpless. Entries describe the weather, social calls, and farmwork such as building, harvesting crops, and tending farm animals.