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Eyre Family 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

Call Number:
RG5.179
Repository:
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Extent:
1.5 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Language:
English
Date:
1840-1912 (inclusive)
Creator:
Eyre family, George School (Bucks County, Pa.), Eyre, Isaac, 1819-1904, and Eyre, William, 1804-1885
Abstract:
The collection contains papers concerning the Eyre family, Pennsylvania Quakers. descendents of Isaac and Eleanor (Cooper) Eyre, of Philadelphia and Bucks County. Isaac Eyre (1778-1843) was a prominent Philadelphia shipbuilder. In 1828, he removed to a farm in Bucks County, Pa. William Eyre (1804-1885) was their oldest son, a Philadelphia master builder. His brother, Isaac (1819-1904) was a farmer and promoter of the railroad from Bucks County, Pa. He was also one of the founders of the George School, Newtown, Pa., and active in Quaker concerns. The collection contains correspondence of Isaac Eyre largely to Isaac Hicks (1815-1900) Quaker interests, prominent Friends, farming, and railroad projects; also eighteen diaries of William Eyre (1840-1880, gaps 1841-1849 and 1855-1857, microfilmed), and some miscellaneous family material.

Isaac Eyre (1778-1843) was a prominent Philadelphia shipbuilder. In 1801 he married Eleanor Cooper (1778-1851) of Camden, N.J. In 1828, he removed to a farm in Bucks County, Pa. Isaac and Eleanor had ten children, six of whom survived to maturity. William Eyre (1804-1885) was their oldest son, a Philadelphia master builder. At the time of his death, he was president of the Carpenters’ Company in Philadelphia which owns and maintains Carpenters’ Hall. He married Elizabeth Ann Davies of New York in 1827, and they had three children. Late in life he married a second time, to Keziah R. Bunting.

His brother, Isaac (1819-1904) remained on the family farm and eventually removed to a farm near Newtown. He was a promoter and builder of the railroad between Philadelphia and Newtown and other rail projects. He was also one of the founders of the George School, Newtown, Pa., and active in Quaker concerns. He corresponded regularly with Isaac Hicks (1815-1900) of Westbury Monthly Meeting. Isaac Hicks established the Hicks Nursery on Long Island, NY, and was a Quaker minister.

The collection contains extensive correspondence of Isaac Eyre to Isaac Hicks and other prominent Quakers about Quaker interests, farming, and railroad projects; also eighteen diaries of William Eyre (1840-1880 with gaps, microfilmed) and some miscellaneous family material. The letters are useful as a social commentary of Quaker life of the era and mention many prominent Friends. The diaries include information on topical events as well as work related notes.

Organization: Organized in four series: 1. Biographical; 2. Correspondence; 3. Diaries; 4. Miscellaneous.

Deposit

Donor: Mary Sullivan Patterson and Elizabeth Thomson Taylor, Date: 1956; Donor: Mrs. William S. Preston, Date: 1969. Elizabeth Thomson Taylor was a descendent of Isaac Eyre.

Isaac Hicks Family Papers, RG5/197

Picture of William Eyre transferred to General Picture Collection, Individual Portraits

People
Subject
Place

Publisher
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Finding Aid Date
2004
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

Sketch of life of William Eyre by granddaughter Elizabeth Davies Eyre Sisson, 1912.
Box 1

Correspondence, 1871.
Scope and Contents

1 ALS

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1872.
Scope and Contents

6 ALSs including four ALSs to "Friend" and two to Isaac Hicks.

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1873.
Scope and Contents

2 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

1874.
Scope and Contents

5 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1875.
Scope and Contents

3 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1876.
Scope and Contents

2 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1877.
Scope and Contents

7 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1878.
Scope and Contents

2 ALSs, Isaac Eyre to each of Isaac Hicks and Friend.

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1879.
Scope and Contents

3 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1880.
Scope and Contents

8 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1881.
Scope and Contents

5 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1882.
Scope and Contents

7 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1884.
Scope and Contents

4 ALSs

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1885.
Scope and Contents

1 ALS

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1890.
Scope and Contents

1 ALS

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1893.
Scope and Contents

1 ALS

Physical Description

1 folder

Correspondence, 1898.
Scope and Contents

1 ALS

Physical Description

1 folder

Existence and Location of Copies

Available on microfilm in the following location(s):

    Diary, 1/1/1840-2/20-1840.
    Box 1
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 4/1/1840-6/23/1840.
    Box 1
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 6/24/1840-5/15-1841.
    Box 1
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1849.
    Box 1
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1850.
    Box 1
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1851.
    Box 1
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1852.
    Box 1
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1853.
    Box 2
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1854.
    Box 2
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1855-56.
    Box 2
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1857-59.
    Box 2
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1860-63.
    Box 2
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1864-66.
    Box 2
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1867-2/20/1870.
    Box 2
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 3/6/1870-1872.
    Box 3
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1873-1875.
    Box 3
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1876-1877.
    Box 3
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Diary, 1878-1880.
    Box 3
    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Letter, Joshua Eyre to his father, 8mo/16/1840.
    Box 3
    Scope and Contents

    Letter of Joshua Eyre to his father, Jonas P. Eyre, from Westtown School

    Physical Description

    1 folder

    Photo of William Eyre, n.d.
    Box PA

    Print, Suggest