Call Number:

RG5.178

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Extent:

1 linear ft. (2 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item or series here], RG 5/178, Cope Family Papers, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.

Date:

1792-1877 (inclusive)

Creator:

Day, Mahlon, Gurney, Joseph John, 1788-1847, Cope, Rebecca, 1781-1856, Cope, Jasper, 1775-1856, Janney, Ann, d. 1837, Yarnell, Emma Cope, 1808, Janney, John, 1765-1823, and Cope family

Abstract:

The Cope family was a Quaker family of Chester County and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. The collection contains family correspondence, genealogical papers and legal papers, a journal (1823) of Ann (Shoemaker) Janney, and other papers of the Cope and related Shoemaker, Yarnell, and Janney families. Individuals represented include Mahlon Day, Joseph John Gurney, and John Janney.

The Cope family in America descended from Oliver Cope who settled in northern Delaware, arriving from England in the late 1680s. His son, John Cope, joined the Society of Friends, and his and succeeding generations were active in Quaker affairs. John Cope married twice, the second time in 1721 to Charity Jefferis Evans. They were members of Bradford Monthly Meeting, and their son, Caleb, was born in 1736. Caleb Cope (1736-1824) was married in 1760 at Bradford Monthly Meeting to Mary Mendenhall (died 1809).

Their son, Jasper Cope (1775-1856) was married in 1800 at Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Northern District, to Rebecca Shoemaker (1781-1856). She was the daughter of Joseph and Abigail (Jones) Shoemaker. Rebecca's sister, Ann Shoemaker (1772-1837), married John Janney (1765-1823) of Alexandria Monthly Meeting, Virginia, at Frankford Monthly Meeting in Philadelphia, 1817. He died in 1823 while on a sea voyage, a trip recorded in a journal kept by his wife.

Jasper Cope was a dry goods merchant in Baltimore, establishing the firm of Cope and Company. Rebecca and Jasper Cope had seven children, including Emma (b. 1808) who married Charles Yarnell, son of Ellis and Mary Horner Yarnell, in 1834. Emma and Charles Yarnell also had seven children, including Ellis Horner, Charles, and Amy, who are represented in the correspondence.

The Cope family was a Quaker family of Chester County and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. The collection contains extensive family correspondence, genealogical papers and legal papers, a journal (1832) of Ann (Shoemaker) Janney, and other papers of the Cope and related Yarnell, Shoemaker, and Janney families. The largest part of the correspondence is that of Rebecca (Shoemaker) Cope, especially her correspondence with her sister, Ann (Shoemaker) Janney and her daughter Emma (Cope) Yarnell. Persons represented in the collection include Mahlon Day, Joseph John Gurney, and John Janney of Alexandria, Virginia.

1. Family Papers & Journals
2. Correspondence