Call Number:

MC.975.07.083

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

0.08 linear ft. (1 volume)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

"Some Account of Joshua Sharpless" (HC.MC.975.07.083), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

Undated.

Form:

manuscripts (documents) and biographies (documents)

Abstract:

The biographical manuscript of Joshua Sharpless 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.

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.