Call Number:

RG5.152

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Extent:

2.5 linear ft. (5 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item or series here], Turner Family Papers, 1776-1954, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Date:

1776-1954 (inclusive)

Creator:

Turner, Rebecca Sinclair, 1795-1877, Friends' Indian Aid Association of Philadelphia, Cadwallader, Priscilla, 1786-1859, Turner, Joseph, Jr., 1790-1850, Turner, Richard Townsend, 1819-1892, Turner, Richard Townsend, Jr., 1845-1908, Turner, Joseph, III, 1831-1865, and Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends (Hicksite: 1828-1968). Joint Committee on Indian Affairs (1869-1892)

Abstract:

This collection centers around the family and descendants of Joseph Turner, Jr., (1790-1850) and his wife Rebecca (Sinclair) Turner (1787-1877), members of Baltimore Monthly Meeting-Western District. They raised eight children and had fifty-four grandchildren. As a young man, Joseph left the family plantation near Still Pond, Kent County, Maryland, and became a lumber merchant in Baltimore. He served as Clerk of the Lombard Street Meeting. Rebecca was a recorded minister and traveled widely. She served on the Standing Committee on Indian Concern of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, the Friends Association in Aid of Freedmen and on the first Board of Managers of Swarthmore College, 1862-1868. The Turner Family Papers are significant for the source material they provide on Quaker family life in Baltimore and the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the 19th century. The manuscripts include extensive correspondence concerning the Indian Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting and records of goods sent to the Pawnee Agency in Nebraska. There is also a series of letters written during the Civil War by Joseph Turner (1831-1865), Rebecca Turner's diaries and her journal travelling in the ministry with Priscilla Cadwallader in 1850-1851, journals and correspondence of her son Richard Townsend Turner (1819-1892), and miscellaneous family papers.

The Turner Family Papers are significant for the source material they provide on Quaker family life in Baltimore and the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the 19th century. The papers include extensive correspondence concerning the Indian Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting and records of goods sent to the Pawnee Agency in Nebraska; also included is a series of letters written during the Civil War.

The Turner ancestors claimed land in Calvert County in 1653 and were associated with the Colonial Government of Maryland. In 1690 they were members of the Third Haven Meeting. Later they owned land in Kent County and were ministers and elders in Cecil Monthly Meeting until it was laid down in 1952. Through marriage, they were related to Townsend, Bartlett, Corse (DeCourcy), Betterton, Rigbie, St. Clair and Yardley families. This collection centers around the family and descendants of Joseph Turner, Jr. (1790-1850) and his wife Rebecca (Sinclair) Turner (1787-1877), members of Baltimore Monthly Meeting, Western District. They raised eight children and had fifty-four grandchildren. Joseph left the family plantation near Still Pond, Kent County, Maryland, and became a lumber merchant in Baltimore. He served as Clerk of the Lombard Street Meeting. Rebecca was a recorded minister and traveled widely. She served on the Standing Committee on Indian Concern of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, the Friends Association in Aid of Freedmen, and on the first Board of Managers of Swarthmore College, 1862-1868. Among the correspondents are: Rachel and Caleb Barker; Deborah Bringhurst; Levi K. Brown; John Comly; Jane M. Edgar; Jacob M. Ellis; Benjamin Ferris; Benjamin Hallowell; Rachel Hicks; Phoebe H. Howell; Cornelia Janney; Samuel M. Janney; George M. Justice; Mary S. Lippincott; Harriet I. Moore; William D. Parrish; Rachel Price; Mary L. and Rush Roberts; William Stabler; P.E. Thomas; Lydia M. Thorne; Anne W. and Jacob M. Troth; Martha E. Tyson; E.H. Walker; Deborah J. Wharton; Amos and Caroline Willets; and James Wood and the families of Sinclairs, Townsends, Underhills and Yardleys.

The family had a keen interest in education and were associated with a variety of schools including: Alexandria Boarding School; Eaton Academy, Kennett Square; Fair Hill Boarding School, Sandy Spring; Friends Free School, Darby, Pa.; Friends Boarding School, Providence, RI; McKim's School, Baltimore; New England Yearly Meeting Boarding School; Sharon Boarding School, Darby, Pa.; Samuel Smiths Boarding School, Wilmington; Southern Boarding School, Smyrna, Del.; Springdale Boarding School, Loudon County, Va.; as well as Swarthmore College.

The Turner Family Papers are significant for the source material they provide on Quaker family life in Baltimore and the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the 19th century. In addition to family correspondence, the papers include extensive correspondence concerning the Indian Committee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting and records of goods sent to the Pawnee Agency in Nebraska. There is also a series of letters written during the Civil War by Joseph Turner (1831-1865), Rebecca Turner's journals (1865, 1866, 1871-1876) and her journal of travelling in the ministry with Priscilla Cadwallader in 1850-1851, journals and correspondence of her son Richard Townsend Turner (1819-1892), and miscellaneous family papers, including a detailed farmbook detailing wages, livestock, etc., kept by Richard Townsend Turner, Jr., 1865-1907.

The collection is divided into six series:

1. Biographical and genealogical
2. Journals and writings
3. Correspondence
4. Business papers
5. Family memorabilia
6. Reference material