Main content

"Some Account of Joshua Sharpless"

Notifications

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

Joshua Sharpless (1746-1826) was born December 28, 1746, the son of Benjamin and Martha (Mendenhall) Sharpless. Sharpless married Edith Yarnall at Middletown Meeting, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 1768. Sharpless had five sons and three daughters. Sharpless later removed to New Garden, Pennsylvania, where he worked towards the abolition of slave holding among Friends. In 1784, the family bought a farm in East Bradford and Westtown townships. Sharpless's first wife died in 1787, and he married Anne Trimble on May 20, 1789. The couple had a son and daughter. In 1798, Sharpless traveled to Cornplanter's village to visit younger Friends who were living there. In 1800, Sharpless and his wife became the first superintendents at Westtown School. Joshua Sharpless died on September 21, 1826.

This collection is comprised of the single volume biographical manuscript of Joshua Sharpless. The front cover includes the signature of Aaron Sharpless, who may have authored the biography. The volume describes Sharpless's early life, the influence of Quakerism in his life, his travels as a missionary to Indigenous nations in 1798, and a biographical description of his first wife, Edith Yarnall Sharpless.

"Some Account of Joshua Sharpless" was donated to Special Collections, Haverford College in 1948 by the estate of Dr. William Sharpless.

Processed by Kara Flynn; completed October, 2015.

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

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

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

Collection Inventory

Archival Resource Key. Manuscript, Undated.
Volume 1

Print, Suggest