Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1282

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Levis family papers, 1770-1891, circa 1932, Ms. coll. 1282, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1770-1891, circa 1932 (inclusive)

Creator:

Lobb, Isaac and Levis, Samuel Garret

Form:

Legal documents, Financial records, Business records, Estate inventories, Family papers, Ledgers (account books), Invitations, Receipts (financial records), Estate records, and Clippings (information artifacts)

Abstract:

Beginning in the late eighteenth century, the Levis family of Delaware County, Pennsylvania owned and operated mills, manufacturing first paper and then cotton. This collection of Levis family papers contains a variety of documents including correspondence, bills, contracts, estate records and newspaper clippings, dating from 1770 to around 1932. When possible, the papers have been arranged by the creator of the material, or the Levis family member to whom they most directly relate.

The Levis family of Delaware County, Pennsylvania owned and operated mills, manufacturing first paper and then cotton. Samuel Levis (1649-1734) and William Garrett (1643-1723) of Leicester, England, jointly purchased 1,000 acres of land from William Penn. In 1684, Levis immigrated to Pennsylvania, settling on Darby Creek. Samuel Levis' descendants –including at least five more individuals by the same name- established a number of successful mills in the area, namely Glenwood Mills, Tuscarora Mills and Lamb Mill (renamed 'Clifton Mills' in 1867 when the facility was re-outfitted to process cotton). Samuel Garret Levis (1812-1891) appears to be the central focus of this collection although there are documents relating to his wife Esther Hibbard Lobb (1819-1866); his father Oborn (1787-1862); his brother Oborn (1820-1880) and Oborn's wife, Elizabeth Rhoads (born in 1825); his children Hannah (1842-1901), Anna (1845-1923) and Albert (1847-1898); and his wife's father, Israel Lobb (1817-1838), and her grandfather, Isaac Lobb (1731-1803). Newspaper clippings deal largely with the extended family history of the Levis family from the time of immigration from England.

The Levis family papers consist of a variety of documents including correspondence, bills, contracts, estate records and newspaper clippings, dating from 1770 to around 1932. When possible, these papers have been arranged by the creator of the material, or the Levis family member to whom they most directly relate. The individual best represented in the collection is Samuel Garret Levis (1812-1891). The documents relating to S. G. Levis include a few invitations, a tax return (1872), bills for his children's education at the Friends Central School and Village Green Seminary, a contract granting right-of-way to the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad Company, and a ledger book (1830) which possibly belonged to his uncle, also named Samuel Levis. There are two early nineteenth century estate records included in this collection which are connected to Samuel Garret Levis's wife Esther Lobb. The first is an inventory and appraisal of the estate of Isaac Lobb (her grandfather), completed after his death in 1803. The second booklet, which belonged to Israel Lobb (her father), documents the 1813 "Vandu" or estate sale of John Hibbard (probably her uncle), and lists the items purchased by various individuals. The final two files in this collection contain clippings in two groupings, one from the late nineteenth century and the other circa 1932. The set of earlier clippings contains three obituaries of S. G. Levis (1812-1891) as well as two poems about mourning. The later newspaper clippings all relate to the history of the Levis family in Pennsylvania.

Of particular note in this collection may be the focus applied to education--not only for the Levis and Lobb children, but also a few whose connections to the families are unknown. These records date largely from the 1820s and the 1860s. While public education in Philadelphia was established in 1818, it appears that Isaac Lobb paid a tutor to educate both boys and girls. In the 1860s, Samuel Garret Levis his wife sent two of their children to established schools: Anna attended the Quaker Friends Central School (Levis paid for tuition, boarding, and tutoring) and Albert (1847-1898) attended the Village Green Seminary (Levis paid for tuition and boarding) in preparation for attending college. An account of expenses for their daughter, Hannah, lists lectures, textbooks, and supplies, but does not identify a particular school, indicating that she may have been educated by private tutors.