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William Hobson Papers
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Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. 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
William Hobson (1820-1891) was born, raised and educated as a member of the Society of Friends in North Carolina. He married Sarah Tulburt in 1844 and in 1848 migrated with his family to Iowa. Active in the life of Iowa Friends, he was recognized as a minister by 1859, and during the next several year made numerous religious visits in Iowa and nearby states of Kansas and Missouri. In 1870 he made his first of three journeys to California and Oregon. Finally, in 1875 he purchased land for settlement in the Chehalem Valley (Newberg, Oregon), where he spent the remaining years of his life.
The collection contains chiefly diaries (1859-1891) describing rural life in Iowa and ministerial visits to California, Kansas, Missouri, and Oregon; together with autobiographical fragments and notes for sermons.
- Diaries
- Genealogical and biographical
- Correspondence
- Writings
- For a detailed account of William Hobson's life and work, see Myron Dee Goldsmith's dissertation (Boston University), 1962, William Hobson and the Founding of Quakerism in the Pacific Northwest.
Donor: Calvin H. Blair and Maryanne Blair, 1976
Processed and placed in document box in Record Group 5. In 1977, letter from William Hobson to G..., F.B., originally catalogued as a Miscellaneous Manuscript, source unknown, was added to this collection (Series 3).
Subject
- Farmers -- United States
- Quakers -- Biography
- Quakers -- Diaries
- Lay ministry -- United States
- Lay ministry -- Society of Friends
- Rural conditions -- Iowa
- Quakers -- United States
- Quakers -- North Carolina
- Quakers -- Oregon
- Quakers -- Iowa
- Quakers -- Iowa -- Social life and customs
- Quakers -- Oregon -- Social life and customs
- Quakers -- 19th century -- Diaries
- Quakers -- 19th century -- Biography
- Sermons, American
- Agriculture -- Iowa
- Society of Friends -- Iowa
- Society of Friends -- Oregon
- Quakers -- California
- Society of Friends -- California
- Quakers -- Kansas
- Society of Friends -- Kansas
- Quakers -- Missouri
- Society of Friends -- Missouri
Place
- Publisher
- Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
- Finding Aid Author
- FHL staff
- Finding Aid Date
- 1976
- Sponsor
- Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Friends Historical Library believes all of the items in this collection to be in the Public Domain in the United States, and is not aware of any restrictions on their use. However, the user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status before reproducing. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/.
Collection Inventory
Diaries describe farming activities in Hardin Co., Iowa, and religious visits to Friends in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.
Physical Description5 vols.
6 vols. While living in Iowa, Hobson made three visits to California and Oregon, eventually settling in County, Oregon in 1876.
Physical Description6 vols.
Agricultural and religious life in Yamhill County, Oregon.
Physical Description6 vols.
46p.
2p.
4p.
newspaper clipping
ALS
Originally catalogued in Misc. MSS., transferred to RG 5, 1977, donor unknown.
Physical DescriptionALS
typescript