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Florence E. Taylor 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
Florence E. Taylor was the descendant of a Quaker family whose roots went back to the settlement of Pennsylvania. Her parents were Frederick W. Taylor (1848-1919) and Emily Hunt Taylor (d. 1942). Fred Taylor, a wealthy Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist to the Society of Friends, was the son of Charles Maus Taylor and Anna E. W. Sterling Taylor. Emily was active in Green Street Monthly Meeting First Day School. Florence Emily was their own child and an amateur musician. The Taylors were active in the Germantown Shakespeare Club.
Frederick W. Taylor's grandfather was Israel Taylor (1782-1850). He was born in Chester County, Pa., and apprenticed as a hatter. He traveled to Ohio and the South seeking employment, settled in Trenton where he married Susan Maus in 1808, and was elected to the State Assembly in 1819. In his adulthood, he became active in the Society of Friends. He moved back to Ohio, but in 1846, he received a certificate of transfer from Cincinnati Monthly Meeting to Philadelphia Monthly Meeting.
Frederick W. Taylor was the second child, and he was successful in the export trade, serving as president of Charles M. Taylor Sons, Inc., and succeeding his father as president of the Philadelphia Grain Elevator Company.
The collection includes correspondence of Israel Taylor (1782-1850) and Charles M. Taylor (1817-1893), diary (1932-1939) and other writings of Emily H. Taylor, and biographical data concerning the Taylor and Sterling families, including memorabilia and pictures.
The collection is divided into four series:
- Biographical and genealogical
- Correspondence
- Manuscript writings
- Pictures
Donor: Florence Taylor, 1971
Donor: Joseph Shane, 1985
Donor: R. Bruce Jones, 1997
Accession number: 97-028, 97-008
The collection was given by the estate of Florence Taylor and other donors. Florence did not marry, and, after her death, an auction was held to liquidate the estate.
First group of papers received in one carton, unsorted. These were processed in 1971. In 2004, two related items were added to the collection and a revised finding aid produced.
People
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
- Finding Aid Author
- FHL staff
- Finding Aid Date
- 1971, revised 10/2004
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce items in this collection beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/.
Collection Inventory
At the home of his father, Charles M. Taylor, Philadelphia.
Correspondents include Joseph Taylor (brother), James W. Taylor (brother), Ann Taylor(sister), Maria Taylor Bennett (daug.), Susan Taylor (wife), James Taylor Jr. (nephew).
From Emily E. Moore mentioning copy of her book posted to Florence; photocopy of the inscription (1952) in the book.
Stored in three boxes.
Hand written by A. E. Taylor in three volumes. To be used along with Mitchell's Ancient Atlas, included.
Compiled by Anna E. Taylor--book of names arranged to make sentences.
Physical Description2 copies
With Mayfair House Address.
Small pen and watercolor sketches by Fred W. Taylor, signed "FWT" and dated with two Valentine cards at back, one inscribed, "For Freddy...from his Dear Mother"
Scherrenschnitten (9) attributed to cousin Albert Eugene Taylor, 19th century