Call Number:

DG.122

Repository:

Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Extent:

1.25 linear ft. (1.25 linear ft.)

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Identification of item], in the Edward W. Evans Papers (DG 122), Swarthmore College Peace Collection.

Date:

1916-1922 (inclusive)

Creator:

Evans, Edward W. (Edward Wyatt), 1882-1976, Baldwin, Roger N. (Roger Nash), 1884-1981, Beaver, Gilbert A., -1952, Biddle, William Canby, 1864-1942, Cadbury, Henry J. (Henry Joel), 1883-1974, Elderkin, Noble S. (Noble Strong), 1878-1966, Fuller, Walter G., Hardin, Floyd, 1890-1974, Hodgkin, Henry T. (Henry Theodore), 1877-1933, Jones, Paul, 1880-1941, Jones, Rufus M. (Rufus Matthew), 1863-1948, Kelsey, Mary, Nearing, Scott, 1883-1983, Nicholson, Vincent D. (Vincent De Witt), 1890-1945, Thomas, Norman, 1884-1968, Thomas, Wilbur K. (Wilbur Kelsey), 1882-1953, Pennell, Anne Walton, and Whitaker, Robert, 1863-1944

Abstract:

Edward Wyatt Evans (1882-1976) was a lifelong member of the Germantown (Pennsylvania) Monthly Meeting and was active in the Friends Peace Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Evans was instrumental in the founding of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (Fellowship of Reconcilation), and was the executive secretary from 1916-1919. During the 1920s, he was also active in educational and peace programs of the Society of Friends.

Edward Wyatt Evans (1882-1976) was born January 31, 1882 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Germantown Friends School in 1898. Evans received an A.B. from Haverford College in 1902, an A.B. from Harvard University in 1903, and an LL.B. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1907. He married Jacqueline Pascal Morris September 15, 1911. Evans served as a member of the board of managers of Haverford College from 1912 to 1965 and was secretary of the board from 1925 to 1943. He was a lifelong member of the Germantown Monthly Meeting and was active in the Friends Peace Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, serving as co-chairman from 1937 to 1939. Evans was secretary of the Yearly Meeting (Arch Street) from 1938 to 1946. He served on the board of directors of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Committee of Pendle Hill, and of the White Williams Foundation. Evans was instrumental in thefounding of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), and was the executive secretary from 1916-1919. During the 1920s, he was associated with the University of Pennsylvania, teaching and writing on international law. For more than sixty years. Evans was active in educational and peace programs of the Society of Friends. He died on May 26, 1976 at Foulkeways, Gwynedd, Pennsylvania.

The Papers of Edward Evans consist of correspondence, administrative files, minutes of meetings, financial statements, flyers, leaflets, and miscellaneous documents from the years 1916-1922. The papers largely reflect his involvement in Fellowship of Reconcilation and Philadelphia Yearly Meetings Peace Committee. Much of the correspondence was penned by Evans and includes information on the Fellowship of Reconcilation members of the American Friends Reconstruction Unit (1917-1918), the Conference of Christian Pacifists (1917-1918), work on the committee which made arrangements for the American Delegation to the London Conference of All Friends held in London (1920), and the publication The World Tomorrow.

Correspondents include: Roger N. Baldwin, Gilbert A. Beaver, William C. Biddle, Henry J. Cadbury, Noble S. Elderkin, Walter G. Fuller, Floyd Hardin, Henry T. Hodgkin, Paul Jones, Rufus M. Jones, Mary Kelsey, Scott Nearing, Vincent D. Nicholson, Norman Thomas, Wibur K. Thomas, Anne Garrett Walton, Robert Whitaker, L. Hollingsworth Wood, and Walter C. Woodward. Additional information on Edward Evans may be found within the Peace Collection in the Fellowship of Reconciliation, USA collection (DG 13) Series A, Box 1 which contains correspondence. Additionally, this Evans collection contains information from a few years of his life and addresses only a few aspects of his life. Some additional information on his life is available in the Haverford College Quaker Collection.

When the material arrived at the Peace Collection, a preliminary checklist was prepared. In June 1993 the collection was put into acid free folders and paper clips were removed. When the preliminary checklist was prepared it was acknowledged that the "order of the folders needs work" but nothing was done at that point to better organize the material. This collection arrived with a numbering system that grouped material together, the numbers did not appear to be sequential, and there appeared to be large gaps between these numbers. Additionally, the material grouped together while generally related was not all together and various material from other sections belonged with like material. An attempt was made to keep the material as close to its original order as possible but, to make the material more accessible, it was necessary to reorganize the collection in date-order divided by organization or specific purpose. This collection contained minutes of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and their Friends Peace Committee meetings; copies of these minutes were kept in the Evans collection only if they mentioned Evans' name. Minutes of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and their Friends Peace Committee are available in the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.