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Frederick Barnes Tolles 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:
RG5.218
Repository:
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Extent:
7 linear ft.
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item or series here], Frederick B. Tolles Papers, RG 5/218, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.
Date:
1871-1970 (inclusive)
Creator:
Tolles, Frederick Barnes, 1915-1975, Mott, Lucretia, 1793-1880, and Swarthmore College
Abstract:
Frederick Barnes Tolles (1915-1975), Quaker librarian, teacher, and historian, was Director of Friends Historical Library from 1951-1970, and a member of the Department of History at Swarthmore College. This collection contains the papers of primarily relating to his books and articles on Quaker history and biography, along with other writings, including research notes on a proposed history of Swarthmore College.

Frederick Barnes Tolles was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1915, son of James and Josie (Barnes) Tolles. He graduated from Harvard in 1936, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and took Honors in English with his thesis on Emerson and Quakerism. He received his Masters degree from Harvard in 1937 and taught in the English Department at Harvard University until 1941. He came to Swarthmore College as Librarian of Friends Historical Library in 1941 and was named Director of the Library in 1951. He also was a member of the Department of History. He earned a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1947, with his dissertation submitted in the History of American Civilization. This manuscript was published as Meeting House and Counting House in 1948.

As a conscientious objector, Tolles served in Civilian Public Service camps from 1943-1946. In 1950-1954 he was a Fellow and member of the research staff of the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, and also taught history at the California Institute of Technology. On his return to Swarthmore College in 1954, he was appointed to the Howard M. and Charles F. Jenkins Chair of Quaker History and Research. Professor Tolles received an Honorary Doctor of Literature from Haverford College in 1959.

He served as president of Friends Historical Association, 1969-1970, and editor of its Bulletin (called Quaker History after 1955) from 1949-1967 Tolles published seven books and nearly 50 articles and prefaces to books and also wrote many book reviews. Ill health forced him into early retirement in 1970, and he died on his 60th birthday, Apr. 18, 1975. Dean Emeritus Everett L. Hunt said of Fred Tolles, "His life has been a symbol of Quaker activity and scholarship that has won national recognition."

This collection contains the papers of Frederick B. Tolles, primarily relating to his books and articles on Quaker history and biography along with other writings, including research notes on a proposed history of Swarthmore College.

  1. Biographical material
  2. Books, published
  3. Book manuscript, drafts, unpublished
  4. Other publications: Articles, book reviews, etc.
  5. Unpublished manuscripts: Articles, miscellaneous mss.
  6. Reference material relating to conferences and committees attended by Frederick B. Tolles, gathered by F. B. Tolles.
  7. Reference material gathered by F. B. Tolles for a history of Swarthmore College.
  8. Teaching notes

Donor: Frederick B. Tolles

Dates: 3/1970

Gift of Frederick B. Tolles at the time of his retirement. Additional material added 6/1983.

The collection was originally placed in Record Group 4/029 as part of the records of Friends Historical Library. It was transferred to Personal Papers, RG 5 in 2005. In 2012, the inventory was reviewed and corrected. A photocopy of Elizabeth Webb "A short memorial. . . " added to the collection in 1979 was transferred to FHL Journals, MSS003; this is a copy of a journal that belongs to Haverford College and is not related to the transcript of Webb's 1697-1699 religious visit which was the subject of Tolles introduction.

SC/016 Henry J. Cadbury correspondence

FHL and AFSC Correspondence files

Subject
Place

Publisher
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
Finding Aid Author
FHL staff
Finding Aid Date
2012
Access Restrictions

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

Ser. 1 Biographical material: Obituaries and resume.
Box 1

Bound manuscript of Meeting House and Counting House, originally titled "The Quaker Merchants of Colonial Philadelphia, 1682-1763", 1948.
Box 1
Correspondence, 1948-1967.
Box 1
Reviews, 1948-1950.
Box 1
Residents of Philadelphia.
Othertype Metal box
Scope and Contents

Metal file box containing list of residents of Philadelphia prior to 1775 (alphabetical, on index cards), in connection with Meeting House and Counting House

- Correspondence, 1952-1956.
Box 1
- Reviews, 1953-1954.
Box 1
- Correspondence, 1951-1963.
Box 1
- Reviews, 1957.
Box 1
- Correspondence, 1956-1962.
Box 1
- Reviews, 1957-1958.
Box 1
- Correspondence, 1959-1960.
Box 1
- Reviews, 1960-1961.
Box 1

- Correspondence, 1954-1963.
Box 2
- Drafts: Prologue - The earliest Americans; The Chesapeake Country; The Dutch; The Holy City of the Puritans and its Suburbs.
Box 2

"Emerson and Quakerism," reprint by Friends Book Store of article which appeared in American Literature, vol. 10, no. 2, 1938.
Box 3
Drafts and notes for Afterword to "Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes and part second Considerations on Keeping Negroes," by John Woolman, Gehenna Press edition, Northampton, (Mass.), 1970.
Box 3
"F.B.T. Collected Papers, 1938-1953".
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Articles and reprints published in a variety of periodicals and pamphlets, bound.

"F.B.T. Collected Papers, 1954-1959".
Box 3
Scope and Contents

Articles and reprints published in a variety of periodicals and pamphlets, bound.

Articles published in Friends Intelligencer, and one from The Christian Century, 1942-1951.
Box 3
- Lucretia Mott, for Colliers. Correspondence and draft, 1959.
Box 4
- William Penn, for Britannica. Correspondence and draft, 1959.
Box 4
- William Penn, for Americana. Correspondence and draft, 1960.
Box 4

"Emerson and Quakerism" - Thesis for Honors in English at Harvard, 1936.
Box 4
"Journal of Elizabeth Webb: A short account of my viage [sic] into America with Mary Rogers my companion [1697-1699]",, 1958.
Box 4
"Journal of Elizabeth Webb: A short account of my viage into America with Mary Rogers my companion, [1697-1699]" edited by Frederick B. Tolles and John Beverley Riggs, 1959.
Box 4
Elizabeth Webb: "A short memorial of the dealings of God with me in the days of my youth". Ms. (photocopy) received from Haverford College Library., 1979.
Box 4
- Lucretia Mott, 1960.
Box 4
- Mary Dyer, 1960.
Box 4
- Deborah Norris Logan, 1960.
Box 4
- Susanna Wright, 1960.
Box 4
- Sybilla Masters, 1961.
Box 4
- Hannah Callowhill Penn, n.d.
Box 4
"Report of a Survey of the Albert Cook Myers Collection of William Penn material in the Chester Co. Historical Society", by Mary Maples (Dunn), Joseph E. Illick, and Frederick B. Tolles., 10/1959.
Box 4
"Swarthmore, a Non-Denominational Quaker College: The Paradox Resolved", ca. 1961.
Box 3
"James Logan: A Canterbury Pilgrim" Introduction to John Woolman's Journal, to be published by Corinth Books, 1960.
Box 4

Folder of papers in reference to 1952 trip to the Tercentenary Commemoration of George Fox's visit to the Northwest of England, 1652, and also the Friends World Conference held at Oxford. Tolles attended the first as President of the Friends Historical Society of England and the second as an appointed representative of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Hicksite).
Box 4

- ALS (photocopy) to "Esteemed friend" from Phebe W. Foulke on dress, 4/14/1871.
Box 5 Folder 1
- Letters to Edward H. Magill from William Camby Biddle in regard to establishing a separate normal school on the grounds of the College and on the authority of the Board of Managers., 11/1881.
Box 5 Folder 1
- Letters (photocopies) to Andrew D. White, President of Cornell University, from Edward H. Magill., 10/1887.
Box 5 Folder 1
- ALS (incomplete, photocopy) from Helen Magill to Andrew D. White, 9/13/1889.
Box 5 Folder 1
- ALS and report on situation with athletics at the College, with defense of students who play football. Related papers including resolution of the Board on football, ca. 1909.., 1890-1909.
Box 5 Folder 1
- Tls (photocopy) from William W. Birdsall, President, to Howard M. Jenkins ., 6/16/1902.
Box 5 Folder 1
- Excerpts from diaries of Anna Griscom Elkinton, 1907-1910.
Box 5 Folder 1
- Personal statement of President Joseph Swain, 1908?.
Box 5 Folder 1
- "Social life as academic problem," by Dean Brewster, ca. 1922.
Box 5 Folder 2
- Letters concerning tenure of Jesse Holmes, 1920.
Box 5 Folder 2
- Report and excerpts of letters concerning Trade Union conference held at the College, April 1923, 4/1923.
Box 5 Folder 2
- Material on honors courses at the College, 1926-1935.
Box 5 Folder 2
- News release about the removal of the Franklin Institute Laboratories to Swarthmore, 6/6/1927.
Box 5 Folder 2
- Letters concerning Unemployment Study undertaken at the College by Paul H. Douglas, 1931.
Box 5 Folder 2
- Material on athletic policy and significance of athletics, 1929-1938.
Box 5 Folder 2
- Cover memo concerning the Comprehensive Plan submitted to Aydelotte, Dec. 1930, 12/19/1930.
Box 5 Folder 2
- "Swarthmore alumni under Frank Aydelotte", 7/21/1940.
Box 5 Folder 3
- Statement of policy in the War Emergency, 1/6/1942.
Box 5 Folder 3
- "Recollection of Days in College," by Charles S. Pyle, Class of 1883, 10/1950.
Box 5 Folder 3
- Statistic on the College, 1869-1962, 1962.
Box 5 Folder 3
- Letter to Courtney Smith from Eleanor S. Clarke, concerning Quakerism and the College, 6/15/1962.
Box 5 Folder 3
- "A Small Coeducational College and How It Grew," by Frederick B. Tolles, 1963.
Box 5 Folder 3
- Notes on the history of Engineering at the College, by Samuel T. Carpenter, 10/1963.
Box 5 Folder 3
- Concerning a letter by Arthur Beardsley, written from the College, Sept. 11, 1872., 8/10/1964.
Box 5 Folder 3
- Reminiscences by Barbara Lange about her father, Paul M. Pearson, 8/20/1965.
Box 5 Folder 4
- Letters regarding recollections about Joseph Swain., 9/18/1966, 9/26/1968, 11/17/1968.
Box 5 Folder 4
- Letters concerning the acceptance of African-Americans to the College, late 1930s-early 1940s, 1968.
Box 5 Folder 4
- Excerpts from letters, Carrie Stover while a student at the College, 1879-1882, and other typed notes about College life., 5/9/1968.
Box 5 Folder 4
-Honor System, 3/1/1969.
Box 5 Folder 4
- Ferris W. Price, Profesor of Latin, 1888-1920.
Box 5 Folder 5
- Catalogs, pamphlets, clippings, 1907-1963.
Box 5 Folder 6
- Notes, index cards, n.d.
Box 5 Folder 7
- Correspondence concerning proposed history of Swarthmore College, 1963.
Box 5 Folder 8
- Correspondence concerning Swarthmore Remembered, 1963-1964.
Box 5 Folder 9
- 1. Bibliography.
Box 6
- 2. Early History: Parrish, Magill.
Box 7 Box 8
- 3. Magill (cont.), Appleton, DeGarmo, Birdsall, Swain.
Box 9 Box 10
- 4. Aydelotte, Nason, Smith, Campus buildings, and statistics.
Box 11 Box 12

Course plans and exams for history courses.
Box 13

Print, Suggest