Call Number:

MC.975.01.076

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

0.02 linear ft. (1 volume)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Isaac Stephenson diary (HC.MC.975.01.076), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1823-1824 (inclusive)

Creator:

Stephenson, Isaac

Form:

Diaries and travel literature

Abstract:

Isaac Stephenson was a British Quaker minister who went on religious visits throughout Great Britain and the United States. His diary entries describe Stephenson's travels in the Quaker ministry in New England, including descriptions of towns he visited, Friends who hosted him or with whom he visited, and Meetings attended.

Isaac Stephenson (1765-1830), the son of Isaac and Elizabeth Stephenson, was born at Burlington Quay, Yorkshire, England. In business, he was a miller and cornfactor. In 1797, he became an elder, then a recorded minister of his Quaker Meeting. In 1798, he married Hannah Masterman. He visited most parts of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. In 1823, he went to the United States for two years "owing to the peculiar nature of our society there." He continued to travel in the ministry upon his return to England, and died while visiting Ireland.

This collection is comprised mainly of a single photostatic copy of Issac Stephenson's diary. Diary entries describe Stephenson's travels in the Quaker ministry in New England, including descriptions of towns he visited, Friends who hosted him or with whom he visited, and Meetings attended.

Until 1959, the diary was thought to be that of Mary Olney. However, upon closer inspection in 1959, researchers determined that the diary was likely that of Issac Stephenson. Notes on this discovery and correspondence related to it are included in this collection.

Materials are arranged chronologically.