Call Number:

RG5.197

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Extent:

0.21 linear ft. (1 box (approx 100 items))

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item or series here], RG 5/197, Isaac Hicks Family Papers, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Date:

1798-ca. 1956 (bulk 1798-1818) (inclusive)

Creator:

Hicks, Isaac, 1767-1820, Marriott, Charles, Hopper, Isaac T. (Isaac Tatem), 1771-1852, Gibbons, J. S. (James Sloan), 1810-1892, Hicks, Elias, 1748-1830, Comly, John, 1773-1850, Rotch, William, 1734-1828, Rotch, Thomas, 1767-1823., Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849, Fisher, Miers, 1748-1819, and Fisher, Samuel Rowland, 1745-1834

Abstract:

Isaac Hicks (1767-1820) was a New York Quaker merchant. He established a large fleet of international trading vessels and financially helped to support his cousin, Edward Hicks (1780-1849), the Pennsylvania Quaker folk artist. Isaac Hicks traveled extensively with his cousin, Elias Hicks (1748-1830), the New York Quaker minister. The collection contains primarily the correspondence of Isaac Hicks, including letters from Isaac Hicks to his wife describing religious journeys taken with Elias Hicks; some letters concerning the Separation of 1827-28; and business letters. Correspondents include: John Comly (letters about Edward Hicks, the primitive painter), Elias Hicks, John Murray, Jr., Thomas Rotch, William Rotch, Thomas Sturge. The letters provide insight into Quaker family life on Long Island and the travels of a Quaker minister. Also of interest is a letter concerning the disownments of Isaac T. Hopper, James Gibbons, and Charles Marriott, as well as an anecdote conveying the Quaker attitude towards music in the late 19th century.

Isaac Hicks was born in 1767, the son of Samuel and Phebe (Seaman) Hicks in a Quaker farming community on Long Island, New York. A birthright member of Westbury Monthly Meeting, he was part of a prominent and extended Quaker family that included distant cousins primitie artist Edward Hicks (1780-1849) and Quaker minister Elias Hicks (1748-1830). In 1789 he went to New York City to start a career in business, and in 1790 he married Sarah Doughty. They had six children: John D., b 1791;, Robert, b. 1793; Benjamin, b. 1798; Isaac, b. 1802; Elizabeth, b. 1805; and Mary, b. 1807. In 1796, Isaac Hicks established a shipping and commission business. Benefiting from his extended Quaker connections in America and England, he soon became a wealthy ship owner. In 1806, he retired from business, returning to Westbury, Long Island, and became increasingly involved in Quaker concerns.

In 1804, his brother Valentine (1782-1850) married Abigail Hicks, the daughter of Elias Hicks, uniting even more closely a family already tied by kinship and Quaker belief. Elias and Isaac Hicks were both descended from Jacob and Hannah (Carpenter) Hicks, and Edward Hicks, the artist, was descended from Jacob's brothers, Isaac and Thomas. Isaac supported Edward Hicks financially as well as accompanied Elias Hicks on a number of his ministerial travels, including the visits to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1813 and Rhode Island Yearly Meeting in 1816. Isaac Hicks died in 1820.

The collection contains primarily the correspondence of Isaac Hicks, including letters from Isaac Hicks to his wife describing religious journeys taken with Elias Hicks; some letters concerning the Separation of 1827-28; and business letters. Correspondents include: John Comly (letters about Edward Hicks, the primitive painter), Elias Hicks, John Murray, Jr., Thomas Rotch, William Rotch, Thomas Sturge. The letters provide insight into Quaker family life on Long Island and the life of a Quaker minister. Also of interest is a letter concerning the disownments of Isaac T. Hopper, James Gibbons, and Charles Marriott, as well as an anecdote conveying the Quaker attitude towards music in the late 19th century.

The collection is divided into three series:

1. Correspondence sent
2. Correspondence received
3. Miscellaneous