Call Number:

RG5.254

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Extent:

1.75 linear ft. (4 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item or series here], Samuel Walton Family Papers, RG5/254, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

Date:

1813-1890 (inclusive)

Creator:

Stratton, Edward F., 1876-1968, Walton, Joseph, 1817-1898, Walton, Samuel, 1827-1899, Walton, Sarah J. (Sarah James), 1826-1911, Kite, Mary, 1793?-1861, Kite, Nathan, Evans, William, 1787-1867, Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends (Conservative : 1854- ), Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1828-1854), Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox : 1827-1955), and Walton, Rebecca, 1814-1859

Abstract:

The Waltons were prominent Quakers in Philadelphia, Pa., and Belmont County, Ohio. Joseph Walton (1817-1898) taught at Westtown School, edited the Quaker periodical, The Friend, and served as Clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Orthodox). His brother, Samuel Walton (1827-1899), moved to Ohio in 1847 and in 1854 married Sarah James Edgerton at Stillwater Monthly Meeting, the center of Wilburite Quakerism in Ohio. The family was deeply involved in matters relating to the Society of Friends. This collection contains primarily family correspondence, particularly of Samuel and Sarah Walton of Stillwater Monthly Meeting and Joseph Walton of the Westtown School, Haverford College, and Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Other correspondents include Rebecca Walton, Lydia L. Walton, and Mary and Nathan Kite. Topics include family and religious concerns, the Wilburite - Gurneyite controversy in Ohio, and related issues in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. There are lengthy descriptions of the yearly meetings and meetings for worship with visits by Quaker ministers including Thomas B. Gould, William Evans, and Ezra Comfort.

Walton family members were prominent Philadelphia Quakers. Joseph Walton (1784-1853) was a Philadelphia bookseller. He married Abi Kite (1787-1865), daughter of Benjamin and Rebecca (Walton) Kite, in 1813, and the couple had nine children: Rebecca (1814-1859), unmarried and a teacher; Charles (1815-1892), married Deborah Lightfoot; Joseph (1817-1898), married Lydia Lippincott of Chester MM, New Jersey, in 1858; Mary H. (1819-1857), married Nathaniel Brown in 1854; Henry (died in infancy, 1821); Anna (1822-1882); Abby (1825-1861) married Francis Lightfoot in 1848; Samuel (1827-1899), married Sarah J. Edgerton of Stillwater MM, Ohio, in 1854; and Jane (1830-1872), married Benjamin Lightfoot in 1852.

Joseph Walton (1817-1898) was a graduate of Westtown School and Haverford College (1836). He taught at Westtown School for about ten years, edited the Orthodox Quaker periodical The Friend, and served as Clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. In 1858 he married Lydia Lippincott at Chester Monthly Meeting in Moorestown, N.J. Much of the correspondence is directed to him from other family members, especially his older sister, Rebecca, who was a teacher at Friends Select School in Philadelphia, and from his brother and sister-in-law, Samuel and Sarah Walton, of Barnesville, Ohio.

Samuel Walton (1827-1899) moved to Ohio in 1847 and in 1854 married Sarah James Edgerton, daughter of James and Anna (Hall) Edgerton, at Stillwater Monthly Meeting, Belmont County, Ohio. That year the family moved to Philadelphia, but returned to Ohio in 1857 where Samuel had a dental practice. Samuel and Sarah are both buried at Stillwater Monthly Meeting which was the center of Wilburite Quakerism in Ohio.

Samuel and Sarah Walton had five children: Joseph J., James, Anna, Samuel Francis, and Abby. James (1857-1951) was superintendent of the Barnesville Boarding School and active on its Board. He gave his home, which was across the street from the School, to Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative) for use as a boarding home. It was in The Walton that this collection of letters was found.

This collection contains primarily family correspondence of the Walton family, especially letters to Joseph Walton from his siblings and the correspondence of Samuel and Sarah Walton of Stillwater Monthly Meeting. A large number of the earlier letters are to Joseph Walton from his sister Rebecca, while many of the later letters are from Samuel and Sarah Walton who lived in Barnesville, Ohio. Other correspondents include Rebecca Walton, Lydia L. Walton, and Mary and Nathan Kite. Topics include family concerns, the Wilburite - Gurneyite controversy in Ohio, and related tensions in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. The papers were preserved by Edward F. Stratton, Custodian of Records for Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Organized into two series:

1. Correspondence
2. Miscellaneous papers