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Smedley 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.
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The Smedley family in America is descended from George (died 1723) who arrived in Pennsylvania about 1682, purchasing property from William Penn in what is now Delaware County. He married Sarah Kitchen Goodwin, a widow, in 1687. He subsequently bought tracts in Dublin Township and Willistown where he removed about 1700. His son George (1692/93-1766), who married first Jane Sharpless, inherited the Penn grant farm. His son, William Smedley (1728-1766) built the first section of the family home in Middletown Township in 1757. Son William Smedley (1768-1839) married Deborah Lightfoot (1763-1824) under the care of Chester Monthly Meeting in 1793 and added an addition to the house in 1818. The eldest son, George (1796-1855) married first Mary Webster and second Philena Hibberd, the widow of Albin Yarnall. Mary Webster (1801-1837) was the daughter of William and Lydia Sharpless Webster. Mary Webster's younger sister, Rebecca Webster (1803-1844) married William Smedley in 1826, the younger brother of George Smedley. After Rebecca's death, William Smedley married second Harriett Jones (1797-1882) in 1849.
William Smedley (1799-1866) inherited the Middleton property. He and Rebecca had nine children: James (1827-1883) who married Hannah Hibberd Fox Haines, a widow; Mary (1829-1866) an Overseer at Chester Monthly Meeting and unmarried; Samuel (1831-1873) who married Mary Large in 1864; Thomas (1833-1875) who married Philena Yarnall, the daughter of Albin and Philena Hibberd Yarnall; Edward Garrett (1835-1908) married Elizabeth Sharpless; William B. (1837-1881) married Deborah Cope; Rebecca (1839-1918) a Quaker minister, acknowledged by Chester Monthly Meeting; Deborah L. (1841-1922) married George Allen; and Lydia (1843-1845). At William's death, his estate was divided between his children with the property conveyed to two sons, Thomas and Edward G. Smedley, living at the homestead at different intervals. Part of the property was sold to Minshall and Jacob Painter. In the 20th century, the Painter property became the Tyler Arboretum.
The Smedley family in America is descended from George (died 1723) who arrived in Pennsylvania about 1682, purchasing property from William Penn in what is now Delaware County. Thomas and his family lived in the Middletown farm from 1866 to 1876, and Edward moved to his wife's family farm in Birmingham where his father-in-law, Aaron Sharpless, was Superintendent the Westtown School, 1869-1874. Aaron was the son of Isaac and Sarah Garrett Sharpless. His grandfather, Joshua Sharples, was an Elder who traveled with ministers and was active in Native American concerns. His grandmother, Edith Yarnall Sharples, was a Quaker minister, Aaron Sharpless married first Susanna Kite (1809-1844), the daughter of prominent minister Thomas Kite and part of a family that included many educators and Quaker ministers. They had three children, and after Susanna's early death, he married second Susanna Forsythe (1815-1907) with whom he had five children. Thomas and Philena Yarnall Smedley had seven children, six of whom survived to maturity. Lydia H. Smedley (1858-1923) married Edward L. South; Harriett J. Smedley (1859-1893) married William Kirkbride. Both were teachers. Walter Smedley (1862-1939) married Ida Wilkins Roberts. Horace (1867-1957) married Anne R. Hoopes and was a businessman. His twin, Rebecca (1867-1950), was an active member of the Society of Friends and Elder of Chester Monthly Meeting; the youngest, Emma (1868-1944), was a teacher at Johns Hopkins.
Thomas died at the age of 43 in 1875, and his half interest went to brothers William B. Smedley and Edward G. Smedley. Thomas Smedley's widow, Philena Yarnall Smedley, and their children were close to their extended family and the network of students who studied at Westtown. Philena Smedley moved to a house in Media, also the home of unmarried daughters Rebecca and Emma Smedley until they moved to the Barclay Home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Edward G. and Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley with their two daughters Edith and Susanna lived at the farm until about 1888. They were appointed Superintendent and Matron at Westtown in 1896.
Edward Garrett Smedley was a conscientious objector in the Civil War and a Clerk, Overseer and Elder at Chester Monthly Meeting. His wife, Elizabeth Sharpless, a Sharpless and Kite descendant, was friends with the Smedley siblings, especially Deborah, and all attended Westtown School. Edward G. and Elizabeth Smedley had three children, a son who died in infancy and two daughters, neither of whom married: Edith (1869-1915) and Susanna (1875-1970). Susanna was bookkeeper for the Westtown School, served as archivist, and took an interest in family history. The property subsequently was owned by the widows of William B. and Edward G. Smedley, Deborah Cope Smedley and Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley, until Walter Smedley, their nephew, purchased it in 1911.
Walter Smedley (1862-1939) was the middle child of Thomas and Philena Smedley's and a prominent Philadelphia architect. He attended the Franklin Institute Drawing School and was apprenticed with the firm Balderston and Hutton. After the partnership dissolved in 1882, he remained in practice with Addison Hutton. He began his independent career in 1890, continuing a professional relation with Hutton and rented an office in the Stephen Girard Building, Philadelphia, where Hutton also had an office. Smedley's practice included residential and institutional design contracts. In 1910, he purchased the farm in Middletown from his aunt and uncle and lived in Media with his widowed mother, two unmarried sisters, and a widowed sister. In 1919, he married Ida Wilkins Roberts, a teacher and member of Moorestown Monthly Meeting, and they had three children: Walter, Jr. (1920-2010), Henry R. (1922-1997), and Alice Roberts Smedley (1924-1995). The family moved into the remodeled 18th century Smedley farmhouse before Henry's birth, and Walter enjoyed raising Guernsey cows and philanthropic concerns, and he served as president of the Pocono Manor Association. The market crash in 1930 brought financial disaster, much of it collateral damage from Walter's loan to save Pocono Manor. He suffered a debilitating stroke in 1937 and died in 1939.
Ida Wilkins Roberts (1896-1993) was the daughter of Allen H. Roberts and Ida Wilkins and a birthright member of Moorestown Monthly Meeting, New Jersey. She was educated at the Westtown School, graduating in 1914, and taught in Friends schools. In 1917, she spent a year at the State Normal School in Los Angeles with the help of a funding grant from the T. Wister Brown Fund. After graduation, she taught briefly in California where she was courted by Philadelphia architect Walter Smedley who had been traveling with Quaker minister Joseph Elkinton. He was more than thirty years her senior and already a well-established architect. They married under the care of Moorestown Monthly Meeting on 10 month 4, 1919. After briefly living in an apartment in Philadelphia, they moved to "Oaklawn," the stone house on the Smedley farm in Middletown Township. Soon after, they move into the remodeled historic Smedley family home. They had three children: Walter, Jr. (1920-2010), Henry Roberts (1922-1997), and Alice Roberts Smedley (1924-1995). Walter married Mary Jane Felix (1921-2016) of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and Alice married Mary Jane's brother, Samuel Palmer Felix, and moved to California. With the Depression and Walter's declining health in the 1930s, the family struggled financially, and Ida returned to teaching. Walter Smedley died in 1939, and in 1942, she married C. Canby Balderston, a business executive and widower with two grown sons, Frederick E. Balderston and Robert W. Balderston. C. Canby Balderston was a conscientious objector in World War I, taught at the University of Pennsylvania and served on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1954-1966. After his retirement, the couple travelled widely. He died in 1979, and Ida Roberts Smedley Balderston died December 31, 1993. Walter, Jr., (1920-2010) and his wife, Mary Jane Smedley lived in the family homestead until their deaths (1921-2016).
Sections of the Smedley farmstead were sold to build Granite Run Mall () and Penncrest High school. In 2006, the Smedley tract was sold to Middletown Township with the deed restriction that Walter Smedley, Jr., and his children could reside in the Penncrest farmhouse during their lifetimes.
The collection contains correspondence, journals and other writings, business and legal papers, and miscellaneous items of the Smedley family, a large and prominent Quaker family of Penncrest Farm, Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The family was related to the Kite and Sharples/Sharpless families of Chester and Delaware Counties. The papers include significant correspondence of the Kite family, especially Thomas Kite (1785-1845) and Mary Kite (1792-1861), both prominent Quaker ministers, and Thomas's daughter, Susanna Kite (1809-1844) who married Aaron Sharpless. Their daughter, Elizabeth S. Sharpless married Edward G. Smedley of Middletown, thus merging the Smedley-Sharples-Kite families. In the 20th century, the property became the home of Edward Smedley's nephew, Walter Smedley (1862-1939), a Philadelphia architect, and his wife, Ida Wilkins Roberts Smedley (1896-1993). She married second C. Canby Balderston. The papers cover a wide range of subjects including Quaker ministry and concerns, the Hicksite Separation, Civil War, conscientious objection, education, dairy farming, and family life in the 19th and 20th centuries. Members of the family were active in the Society of Friends for over 250 years.
Arranged in four series.
Smedley family, Acc. 2018.055
The papers were preserved at the Smedley family homestead where some of the material, particularly Walter Smedley's architectural journals and papers, were stored in outbuildings. FHL staff cleaned and sorted the papers. Records relating to the Ozone Club were removed and added to Ozone Records, RG4/055. Pictures were removed to create a Smedley Family Picture Collection. Walter Smedley's camera and glass plate negatives of his architectural projects were rehoused in archival envelopes by Adam Levine of the Media Historical Society before delivery to FHL in May 2019. His inventory is filed in the Smedley Papers accession folder.
The family papers were sorted into four series. Series 1 contains Sharpless-Kite papers. An effort had been made by a family member to sort and identify the early family correspondents. Series 2 contains branches of the Smedley family with overlap - the correspondents often were classmates and friends as well as related in many ways through marriage. Walter Smedley architectural and personal papers were processed as a separate series, Series 3. The papers of his widow, Ida Robert Smedley Balderston are organized in Series 4.
Marriage certificates removed to FHL Marriage Certificates (chart case):
William Webster and Lydia Sharpless, 12 month 4, 1800, under care of Chester Monthly Meeting: "W"
William Webster and Agnes Yarnall, 10 month 31, 1811, under the care of Chester Monthly Meeting: "W"
Four cartons and 2 archival boxes of photographs removed to be proccessed as a Picture Collection, Smedley Family Pictures. Also 3 boxes of glass negative plates of Walter Smedley's architectural career. Many buildings no longer standing. Scans available in FHL Picture Drive. Walter Smedley's camera, to be added to Relics.
People
Organization
Subject
- Smedley family
- Lay ministry -- Pennsylvania
- Lay ministry -- Society of Friends
- Society of Friends -- Hicksite Separation
- Agriculture -- Pennsylvania -- History
- Agriculture -- Pennsylvania -- Delaware County
- Quakers -- Pennsylvania
- Quaker farmers
- Quaker architects
- Quaker women -- Diaries
- Quakers -- Travel
- Quakers -- Pennsylvania -- Education
- Architects -- United States -- History -- Sources
Place
- Publisher
- Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
- Finding Aid Author
- Susanna Morikawa
- Finding Aid Date
- 2019
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.
Collection Inventory
In 1813 Joshua Sharples (1746/7-1826) married Edith Yarnall (1743-1787) under the care of Concord Monthly Meeting. He was an Elder, traveled with ministers, and visited Native Americans. Edith was recorded as a minister in 1774 and traveled in the ministry in 1778 and 1786. They had eight children, including Edith (1777-1861) who married Thomas Kite (1785-1845), a prominent Quaker minister. After Edith's death, Joshua married second Ann Trimble (1752-1837). .Joshua and Ann Trimble Sharples served as superintendents of the Westtown School 1800-1811.
Thomas Kite (1771-1845), son of Benjamin and Rebecca Walton Kite, married first Elizabeth Barnard (1786-1810) with whom he had two children, Susanna (1809-1844) and William (1810-1900). Thomas Kite was acknowledged as a minister in 1818. In 1813, he married secondly Edith Sharples. Thomas's sister, Abi Kite (1787-1865), married Joseph Walton (1784-1853), Philadelphia bookseller, in 1813. Another sister, Mary Kite (1792-1861) was a prominent Quaker minister.
Concerning validity of Quaker preaching
Edith Yarnall Sharples (1743-1787), Quaker minister, first wife of Joshua Sharples. Religious advice and addendum with mention of Quaker meetings
Laminated.
To his second wife, Ann Trimble Sharples, with a detailed description of the Yearly Meeting and Friends attending. [has been conserved]
Physical DescriptionItem as received has been conserved.
He wrote that he was intending children to study at Westtown
Not signed, return address is East Bradford
Concerning her family
William Poole, Quaker minister. Letter is damaged, poor condition.
Physical DescriptionLetter is damaged, poor condition.
Addendum note added to letter of Benjamin Kite to his son
Unidentified hand. Concerning Joseph Kite (1795-1854). An undated note with Mary's letter gives an account of the family: Joseph had worked at a school in Delaware until 1820 when brother Nathan went to live with brother John Letchworth Kite (1798-) in Fallowfield and Joseph joined them. Their mother Rebecca Walton Kite, soon followed to care for her dying mother with young son James. Daughter Mary Kite was living in Philadelphia with her father and was lonely, separated from family. Noted that she wrote many letters, now lost, and writer follows with a copy of Mary's letter to Joseph dated 1820 5month 18. Also a copy of letter from his mother, Rebecca Walton Kite, dated 1820 5 mo 30 with an account of her mother's death.
"Dear brother," the letter mentions wife Rachel and son Aaron. Concerns property in Middletown.
Written in remembrance of events of 1827 8month 27 when the Orthodox were locked out of the meeting house.
Letter with an account of his religious beliefs
James Graeves married Susanna's cousin Abigail Sharples in 1834.
Joint letter to their grandmother [Ann Trimble Sharples]
Joseph's brother [uncle) Nathan [Walton] added a long account of meetings, visiting Friends, the celebration of emancipation in the West Indies and racial tensions there. Rebecca Walton was a teacher and did not marry.
His letter relates conversations with Samuel Bettle and Richard Jordan
The family began to spell the surname with double "ss," perhaps to reflect pronunciation. Thomas Kite (1771-1845), son of Benjamin and Rebecca Walton Kite, married first Elizabeth Barnard (1786-1810) with whom he had two children, Susanna (1809-1844) and William (1810-1900). Thomas Kite was acknowledged as a minister in 1818. In 1813, he married secondly Edith Sharples. Thomas's older sister, Abi Kite (1787-1865), married Joseph Walton (1784-1853), Philadelphia bookseller, in 1813. His younger sister, Mary Kite (1792-1861) was an acknowledged minister. Brother Joseph Kite (1795-1854) who married was an active Friend; their correspondence is particularly rich in detail about Quaker meetings, ministers. Joseph wrote about the monthly meetings in Philadelphia and described internal problems.
Religious advice
Richly detailed and affectionate letters to her namesake. The letter of 1 month 1842 addressed to Edith and her little brother Thomas.
Richly detailed and affectionate letters to her namesake. Also letters to their grandmother from the three children of Aaron and Susanna Kite Sharpless. Edith Kite visited son Thomas Kite in Cincinnati with details of her visits.
1849-1859, undated 1 Letters to younger daughter of Aaron and Susanna Kite Sharpless, born 1842. The letter dated 1859 12 month 22 is addressed to Susanna Forsythe Sharpless (Aaron's second wife) and the grandchildren. Edith Kite mentions a visit from the daughter of Ellen McCarty, a minister with whom she had traveled. Ellen Roberts McCarty (ca. 1782-1844) from Elklands, Pennsylvania, traveled to Canada and Upstate New York.
In response to his letter which offered encouragement in trying times. She was very discouraged about tensions in the Society of Friends.
Fond letters, describing family concerns, helping members of family in illness. Susanna was the eldest child of her older brother Thomas Kite (1785-1845), a Quaker minister.
Local ministry, family concerns, Quaker and family news
Rebecca Walton (1765-1840) married Benjamin Kite in 1784.
Expressed sympathy and offered to help with care of his ill wife. Susanna, and their children. Mentioned that English Friends had visited and also minister Rachel Thornton
Mary was at Aaron and Susanna's home, helping care for Susanna who was becoming weaker. Susanna Kite Sharpless died in November of tuberculosis, leaving three small children including a toddler.
James (1808-1856), youngest brother of Thomas Kite. He married Lydia Rodman at Lynn (Mass) Monthly Meeting in 1837. They were members of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of the Southern District.
In 1849 James Kite reported on the cholera epidemic in Philadelphia. 1854 letter urged his sister not to despair about the state of the Society. But he expressed criticism of sermons by ministers, especially Richard Mott who spoke at Burlington Monthlyy Meeting about slavery and war in Europe.
To "Dear Sister," the letters describe Quaker ministers and meeting news. Notes violence in the City of Philadelphia in 5 month 1844. Sermons of Christopher Healy, concerned with Quaker issues, meeting of ministers and elders, controversies in other yearly meetings - New England, Ohio.
Mary was helping with her brother Joseph's first wife, Debra Cresson, who was dying. Note from "JJ" at end.
Joseph Kite (1795-1854) married first Debra Cresson, 2nd Rebecca Walton. The letters cover the final illness of his wife Debra, Quaker meeting news, visiting ministers and travels. He mMentioned in his letter of 12 month 22 the separation at Farmington, Genesee Yearly Meeting. English Friends visiting Philadelphia.
Quaker ministers including Elizabeth Pitfield, Rebecca Collins to North Carolina Yearly Meeting. William Smedley and Harriett Jones gave their marriage intentions before meeting 5 month 1849. News and anecdotes.
He attended Joseph Edgerton's meeting for seafarers in Bethel meeting, Walnut Street, in 6 month 1851, 300-400 persons in attendance. Cordelia Bayes, minister from England, news from New England, Indiana, Ohio Yearly Meetings, in-house controversies, description of the wedding of their brother Nathan and family news. Remarks on the autobiography of Jesse Kersey and Life of Edward Hicks.
The letters describe the monthly meetings and preparative and include other news of Friends. Elizabeth Evans, Samuel Leeds, William Evans, Hinchman Haines, etc. Difficulties in Western Meeting to come to agreement in appointing Elders. London Yearly Meeting evolving away from traditional Quakerism. Death of Abraham Keyser who was drawn to Friends because of his disdain for singing in worship. Case of Meed Atwater. Robert Scotton who devoted many years to Native Americans.
Details of the evening meetings, Select and monthly meetings. Personalities, conflicts, description of wedding and the reception. His letter of 5month 30 noted that the Hicksite held a conference at Kennett Meeting calling themselves Pennsylvania Meeting of Progressive Friends and Lucretia Mott spoke. He wrote that they "eshew Christianity" and have no religious belief but do valuable testimony against slavery, alcohol, tobacco. Reported that a committee from London Yearly Meeting intended to present President with epistle against slavery and then to take it the Southern states - he was fearful of what might be aroused. He describes the ravages of old age on some esteemed Friends and the death of Hannah Folwell, age 26, at the Asylum; she had refused to wear clothes made with the labor of enslaved people, then food that she thought was unclean, and then refused to speak. Disagreement among Friends on which meetings were Select, controversy with Gurneyite faction.
Details of meetings, visiting Friends including Eliza P. Gurney, Richard Mott, Thomas B. Gould accompanied by Robert Scotten. The letter of 7 month 15 includes mention of Lucretia Mott's sermon at Cherry Street Meeting, with a clipping he found in the Daily Register recording the substance of the talk. Joseph Kite died 10 month 29, 1854.
amily updates, especially concerning the children in the Aaron Sharpless family. Also an undated note to Elizabeth Sharpless. Edith's letter to her great-aunt 1853, shortly after the birth of brother James, reported that her step-mother was treated for pleurisy. She was bled and given medicines.
The letter mentions family including William and daughter Hetty (Esther). Attended meetings. Brother James and wife Lydia visited, and he looked very ill. [James died that year.] They heard Mary Nicholson's report on ancient English Friend Mary Witchell - Hetty (Esther) recorded the story. Includes a typed transcription and copy Mary's letter (carbon copy). Also a unsigned or dated scrap which mentions Aunt Mary Kite.
Asenath Hunt Clark, North Carolina Quaker minister.
Includes an extract of a letter dated 1843 from niece Edith Jefferis with comments by Caleb Pennock at Kennett Meeting regarding the Separation and a poem by Henry Hicks White copied for Edith. Also a letter of sympathy from Benjamin Hoyle on death of her brother Thomas in 1845. .
Society of Friends concerns.
An account of his journey in the ministry to western Pennsylvania.
4 letters, signed. Joseph Edgerton (1797-1865), Quaker minister
2 letters, signed. Elkinton (1794-1868) was a Philadelphia Quaker minister
Quaker minister, died 1893.
Includes a letter 1851 signed simply "thy sister." Also undated poem and story signed by Nathan.
Nathan Kite (1804-1867) to Edith (1836-1902), eldest daughter of Aaron and Susanna Kite Sharpless. Nathan was almost 20 years younger than his brother, Susanna's father, Thomas Kite. He maintained a close relationship to Susanna's three children. The family was double related - Edith's grandmother, Edith Sharpless (1777-1861) was a second marriage of Thomas Kite. Affectionate letters, Affectionate letter mentions messages from his sister (Aunt Mary) who was busy with Quaker meetings. He described tells a visit to a zoo, and in 1856, informed her of the death of his brother, James. Also, undated reply from Edith and 1851[?] note to Elizabeth. Undated poems sent to Elizabeth, one with hair design enclosed. Hair stored in acid-free envelope.
Childhood letter with an account of his school work and the company of cousins (including Hetty)
To his nephew-in-law, with advice concerning young Friends facing with the draft.
Correspondence with her niece. 12 month 1844 was written after her return to Philadelphia after death of Susanna Kite Sharpless.
Rebecca Walton Kite to granddaughter Edith Sharpless, West Chester, and Rebecca Kite to grandmother Rebecca Walton Kite.
Updating Quaker news: Reports on Quarterly Meeting where Powell Stackhouse spoke and other news of the meeting and monthly meeting. Described difficulties in Ohio Yearly Meeting, especially concerning the boarding school. Mentions visiting ministers, a separation in Hartland Monthly Meeting attributed to Amos Battey. The 1856 letter is Rebecca to cousin Edith.
Note from her cousin notifying Edith of the sudden death of their uncle, James Kite
Elizabeth Sharpless married Edward G. Smedley in 1865.
Her brother Nathan appointed executor
Appears to be Susanna Kite penmanship, written to her mother Edith and her grandparents. Also poems written to an invalid (Edith Sharpless?), not dated
Fragments of essays, a poem "Truth of Age," 1829, written to B.K. [Benjamin Kite} by granddaughter S.K. Poem about girls names
Manuscript copy of family record, last entry is death of William Kite, 1900.
Susanna entered Westtown School in 1822 and became a teacher in 1828.
To William, Rebecca, and Nathan Kite and cousin Edith Jefferis
Nathan (1804-1857) wasthe much younger brother of her father. Susanna wrote of family news. In 1843 she asked to borrow his magic lantern. Short note from Aaron concerning book order.
Letter of 10 month 6, 1836, gave an account of her aunt Phebe Sharpless's marriage to Nathan Middleton at Birmingham meeting house with details of the wedding feast that followed.
One letter is from William, the remainder of letters were written by Susanna Sharpless with family news
Welcome to family and family news
Family news, condolences in 1842 to William and Mary on the death of their baby. December 1843, Susanna wrote of scarlet fever in Chester County. January 1844 Aaron wrote of Susanna's illness, treated the sore throat with red pepper tea and paste of silver nitrate. Susanna died 9 month 1844 following complications of the disease.
She entered Westtown School in 1828. Rebecca Kite (1814-1852) married Nathaniel Brown in 1848 under the care of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting (Orthodox).
12 month 1843, Susanna wrote that the family was ill with scarlet fever and she asked if Rebecca could come to help.
Rebecca Kite married Nathaniel Brown in 1848. Aaron's letter of 4 month 1844 described Susanna's illness and the various relations who were helping him at home with three small children and ill wife. In 10 month 1844, Aunt Mary Kite was returning home to the city, and Aaron was working on his memorial for Susanna. In 1846, he was planning marriage to Susanna Forsythe.
Letters to her aunt Mary of which include notes about her children, Friends, and Quaker meetings. In 1 mo 1844, she wrote about caring for her children and that she had since fallen ill. "Morning Hymn," written for her aunt.
Letters to her step-daughter which acknowledge that Susanna's health was failing
Thomas Kite (1818-1884)was the youngest child of Thomas Kite (1785-1845 )and his second wife Edith Sharpless Kite.
Joshua (1816-1835) was Susanna's half brother, son of Thomas and Edith Sharpless Kite.
2 letters to her older children. Susanna mentions their baby sister, Elizabeth, born 1842.
Life and details of death of Susanna Kite Sharpless, written by her husband, Aaron.
Sent from Westtown in 1824 and then from home in East Bradford. Interesting letters written in 1827 mention visiting Hicksites, including John Comly and the tensions in the local meetings. She remarked on Joshua traveling with Stephen Grellet.
News of family and friends. She mentioned the pressure by the Hicksites, including rival meetings with Elias Hicks and the Orthodox in 12 month 1828. She heard a rRumor that 37 ministers at Cherry Street and 19 speaking at meeting. Also a letter describing illness of cousin Edith Jefferies. Letter from Charleston to Susanna, initials indecipherable
The 1834 letter has pencilled note "just before her marriage." The 1834 letter signed P. Sharpless? Susanna married Aaron Sharples in 1835, Abigail married James R. Graeves in 1834 and died in 1837.
Wrote about attending temperance lectures in Philadelphia and family news
Joint letter from Susanna's step-mother and her uncle with family and Quaker news. Edith very pleased that Aaron had been appointed to Yearly Meeting
Aaron's younger sister, born 1812, died 1835
Aunt Mary had been staying with them. Aaron was concerned that they left before he could give proper farewell - Susanna recently gave birth to Elizabeth in 1842. Mary was staying with William Kite in Philadelphia; Susanna gave an update about the children in 3 month 1843 and mentioned that her cold was worse.
Edith (1836-1902) Aaron and Susana's oldest child. After the death of her mother when she was about 9, she stayed with her grandparent Kites. Aunt Mary Kite helping Aaron at home with the two younger children. In 1847 Edith was homesick, and in 1850 she was a student at Westtown and her father remarried. She did not marry and died at home of brother Thomas in Birmingham.
In 1850 Edith was a student at Westtown. Her fatherhad remarried in 1847. Brother Thomas joined her at Westtown. 8 month 1851, Aaron wrote that Aunt Mary [Kite] intended a ministry to North Carolina. Also, undated letter from her step-mother Susanna F. Sharpless mentioned explosion in Wilmington
In 3 month 1857, Aaron gave his consent and encouragement for her to attend Yearly Meeting later that spring. Edith was working at a school. Aaron reported the death of Mary Gibbons, wife of Joseph Gibbons, of erysipelas, and that Eliza Taylor, the "eccentric" daughter of recently deceased Elizabeth Taylor, was at (Friends) Asylum. He referred to difficult times in the Society of Friends. In subsequent letter, he warned her about accepting invitations including to a debate and reminded her that they are a "peculiar people."
Aaron and wife Susanna F. Sharpless attended Quarterly Meeting in Trenton in 1863. Aaron wrote an account of Friends they met and socialized with. In 1866, he traveled to meetings in Ohio, as a companion to a minister visiting Mount Pleasant.
Elizabeth was the youngest of Aaron and Susanna Kite Sharpless's three children and only a toddler when her mother died. In 1849 she was living in Philadelphia with Kite relatives (7 years old). Her father remarried, mention baby Isaac. In the later letter, Elizabeth was homesick, at Westtown.
Susanna sent family updates to the eldest, Edith, in 1857. To William, written from Westtown in 1869 where son Isaac had measles along withamong other students.
In 1868, he wrote that he was concerned with the search for a superintendent and matron of Westtown, a position which he did not want to assume. Attended Indian Committee meetings.
Sent from Westtown, he mentioned financial problems at the School
A teacher, graduate of Westtown.
Aaron Sharpless was administrator of the estate
Account of death of Ann Forsythe written by her daughter, Susanna Forsythe Sharpless. The subject of the longer description of 1905 illness and death of "mother" is unclear; Susanna died in 1907, not 1905.
This sub-series includes the correspondence of the children of Aaron Sharpless by both his wives, Susanna Kite Sharpless (1809-1844) and Susanna Forsythe Sharpless (1815-1907). The elder, Edith Sharpless, did not marry. Elizabeth Sharpless married Edward G. Smedley in 1865, and after their marriage her correspondence is filed in Series 2: Smedley Family
An extract transcribed by Susanna Smedley?) to Edith Sharpless, daughter of Susanna Kite Sharpless, from her mother's sister Rebecca
With an invitation for her to visit when aunt Rebecca visits, and warm encouragement to grow up to be like her mother, Susanna Kite Sharpless
Rebecca Kite (1814-1852), half sister of Susanna Kite Sharpless married Nathaniel Brown in 1848. She wrote that she dearly missed her nieces and nephews and visiting the family before she was married, but presently was tied down with her own family and children.
William (1810-1900) was the brother of Susanna Kite Sharpless. His 1863 letter included advice on Elizabeth's proposed marriage to Edward Smedley. William married Mary Clements in 1838, and they had two children: Esther ("Hetty") who married Samuel Griscom in 1863 and Susanna Sharpless Kite, who did not marry.
Susanna ("Sue" or "Suze") and Esther ("Hetty") were the children of William (1810-1900) and Mary Clement Kite. William was the younger brother of Susanna Kite Sharpless. The cousins were Westtown students, some copy poetry and notes
Ann visited New York State in 1862, she worried about the Southern Army
From Upstate New York, she wrote that the Irish and Germans were opposing prohibition and that there were women's rights supporters in the area. She was a teacher and commented on plain dress, Gurneyites and Wilburites,
Elizabeth Tucker was an itinerant teacher in various schools. She resigned from the Society of Friends in 1863. Her letters are filled with comments on current events, Lincoln's Proclamation, etc.
Includes her letter giving an account of a trip she made in 1882 to New England and Canada.
Includes fragments of writings
Childhood letter to friends, Edith wrote about herof baby brother and friends at school with her in East Bradford
"My dear little friend," the letter mentions that she takes her young scholars to meeting
Edith Sharpless was a student at Westtown in early letters. In 1849, their father, Aaron Sharpless, added a note, with love to Thomas, who also was studying at Westtown
Poem to her little sister, age five, in handmade envelope.
Elizabeth also studied at Westtown
Not signed - Elizabeth?
Letters written from Westtown
Thomas was at Westtown
From Westtown School, then Haverford College. In 1876 he mentioned expecting to pass meeting (to marry Lydia Trimble Cope). He was the son of Aaron and second wife, Susanna F. Sharpless. Isaac Sharpless (1848-1920) served as long-time president of Haverford College.
Ann (1853-1943) was the daughter of Aaron and second wife, Susanna F. Sharpless. Unmarried, she taught at Westtown.
Poem with reference to her mother, Susanna Kite Sharpless, who died when Elizabeth was a baby. 2 copies
Elizabeth to her half-brother, James F. (1853-1868), the son of Aaron and Susanna Forsythe Sharpless. Susanna was the youngest child of Aaron and Susanna F., born 1859.
Note from her cousin that notifiednotifying her of sudden death of their uncle James Kite
She wrote that since did not have grandchildren, she was sending to Elizabeth a doll and a letter from Aunt Mary to Kite to Susanna Kite Sharpless, Elizabeth's mother.
From Westtown. Susanna (1844-1932) was the daughter of William Kite and Mary Clement Kite. Her letter of 1865-5mo-5 contains her apology why not she was not in attendance for Elizabeth's passing meeting - because she had other Meeting obligations.
lizabeth married Edward G. Smedley in 1865
Ann (1850-1943) was the daughter of Aaron and Susanna F. Sharpless. A long-time teacher at Westtown, she was active in peace and other concerns and an acknowledged Quaker minister, Birmingham Monthly Meeting.
Younger half-brother of Edith Sharpless and Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley, son of Aaron and Susanna F. Sharpless. William (1856-1947) was a prominent Chester County physician,
This series includes some early Smedley papers but largely relates to Edward G. Smedley and Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley and Thomas and Philena Smedley. See following sub-series for bulk of material relating to the correspondence of children of William Smedley (1799-1866) and his grandchildren.
William Smedley (1728-1766) built the first section of the family house on the farmstead in Middletown Township, Delaware County.
James Albin of West Marlborough, manuscript copy 1751 by George Smedley. This was removed from Emma Smedley's leather folder containing items of family history.
Edward Churchman, a Quaker minister, wrote to encourage Smedley's increased responsibility in Meeting.
Concerning her upcoming marriage. She married Walter Smedley in 1826, under the care of Chester Monthly Meeting
Concerning death of Rebecca Webster Smedley, 1844. Memorial notes and poem by her husband, William Smedley (1799-1866) by whom she had nine children. After her death, William married second Harriett Jones (1797-1882) in 1849. An added note recorded the death of "father" William Smedley, together with a memorial of thanks from Pennsylvania Training School [later Elwyn Institute]
Auditor's report, a sister of William Smedley (1765-1839)
George (1796-1855) was the older brother of William Smedley who was the father of Edward G. Smedley. George Smedley first married Mary Webster, the older sister of Rebecca Webster (married William Smedley.) George married second Philena (Hibberd) Yarnall, the widow of Albin Yarnall. Albin and Philena's daughter, Philena Yarnall (1833-1921), married Thomas Smedley, Edward's brother. George died intestate in 1875.
Copy book of rules, beginning with #11
Mary Smedley (1829-1866) was the older sister of Edward G. Smedley and did not marry. She was an Overseer at Middletown Meeting.
Includes an account of Mary's death and a letter from Elizabeth S. Smedley to her father-in-law, William Smedley, notifying him of the death.
Thomas was an older brother of Edward G. Smedley and married Philena Yarnall, daughter of Albin and Philena Hibberd Yarnall, in 1855 under the care of Middletown Monthly Meeting. His letters to Philena before their marriage include Quaker and household news. Thomas attended Yearly Meeting 1853 and Nottingham Monthly Meeting. Guardian account for Philena, 1828-1854. Letter from his father, William, 1863. Letters to his siblings and daughter.
Thomas Smedley taught school in Philadelphia and then removed to the family farm after the death of his father, William, in 1866. The first part of the ledger contains the records of student tuitions with their addresses. It is followed by farm accounts, 1869-1875. He served as an Overseer, Elder, and Assistant Clerk of Chester Monthly Meeting.
Thomas and Philena Smedley. Also miscellaneous memorabilia.
Penciled notes from Edward to his brother written from Philadelphia barracks, and his official discharge notice [Edward and his cousin William P. Smedley were drafted in the summer of 1863 and kept in a Philadelphia barracks until their conscientious objection appeal was approved with the aid of concerned Friends.]
Elizabeth Sharpless married Edward Garrett Smedley under the care of Birmingham Monthly Meeting on 1865, 6 month, 14. At the time of the marriage, he was farming in Middletown Township, Delaware County, and a member of Chester Monthly Meeting.
Later entries are household. Includes a letter dated 11 month, 1875, from Jesse Garrett, Burlington, NJ, which releases him as tenant of his farm because he (Garrett) understands the need for Edward to assume responsibility at the Middletown farm upon the death of his brother Thomas. Edward and Elizabeth Smedley served as Superintendent and Matron of Westtown 1896-1906. He was appointed Overseer, Elder at Middletown Meeting and also Clerk at the Monthly and Quarterly Meetings.
Letters from Wigton, England
He was traveling and mentioned the illness of his older brother, Samuel (1831-1873). Samuel married Mary Large in 1864 and resided for a time in New York.
Letters to her friend and future sister-in-law. 8 month Elizabeth wrote that she heard that the rebels were approaching Harrisburg again, and the young men were worried about the draft. 3 month 1863 Deborah wrote about the return of the body of Charles H. Fox who died at Nashville.
Includes a long letter to sister Ann Sharpless describing trip to New York State. Ann was Elizabeth's half sister, the daughter of Aaron and Susanna Forsythe Sharpless.
Mary Large married Samuel Smedley (1831-1873), older brother of Edward G. Smedley, in 1864. Letter from sister Mary Smedley from Middletown contains family news and visitors at the Quarterly Meeting. Mary was an Overseer at Middletown Monthly Meeting.
Elizabeth regularly corresponded with her daughters, especially Edith, the eldest. Neither daughter married. Edith worked as a bookkeeper and Susanna worked at Westtown School.
Updates from home, encouragement in studies. Edith was at Westtown. Elizabeth mentioned in the letter of 2mo 1, 1885, that the Methodists were having a series of revival meetings, attracting new members.
From Westtown and a resort in Wernersville
Edith's letter of 1900 informed her mother of the death of Uncle William Kite (1810-1900). 1906 letter from Elizabeth to Rebecca Smedley and Deborah Allen related her appendectomy
According to the records of Farmington Monthly Meeting, Selby Howard was born in slavery in 1800 and was received into membership in 1874. The 1871 letter was sent to "our old esteemed friend" in response to Edward G. Smedley's correspondence. The letter was written for him by Charles W. Wood who became a member on request at the same business meeting. Howard described Quaker revival meetings in Farmington County that went on for eight days with multiple sessions each day. Later letters from Wood describe Selby's old age and financial difficulties. He died in 1885.
Harvey was the editor of the Western Friend, Quakervale, Kansas. Also copy of Edward's response
Includes a letter to Edward regarding the question of a member resisting full apology for marrying out of the Discipline. Edward Smedley served as clerk and overseer under Chester Monthly Meeting. In 1886-03-23, Jonathan Rhoads requested help in arranging his visits to meetings. In 1890, John Dillingham asked his help in finding a location for meeting of the Friends interested in the "Fox Club"
Edward G. and Elizabeth Smedley served as Supervisors at Westtown. Edward suffered from a heart condition at the time of the letter.
Typed letter of 1 mo enclosed a letter from Joseph Walton. Includes Quaker news and concern about the Hicksite "flippincy"
Notice, draft of memorial, funeral expenses. Condolences
Poems and notes on family.
Contains correspondence and miscellaneous papers concerning the children and grandchildren of William Smedley (1799-1866) who inherited the Middletown farm and particularly the children of Edward G. Smedley, Edith and Susanna Smedley. Edith (1869-1915) was a bookkeeper and Susanna Smedley (1875-1970) was a librarian and archivist at Westtown School. Reflecting her interest in history, Susanna compiled family records in researching family and farmstead history. Daughters of Thomas Smedley are represented in the next sub-series and son Walter Smedley in Series 3.
Correspondence between children of William and Rebecca Webster Smedley: James, Samuel, Thomas, Rebecca, Deborah. 1857 (?) from Thomas Smedley, Rockland, to his father. Miscellaneous including receipt to Westtown School for tuition for Samuel and Thomas, 1847. William Smedley had inherited the Middletown farmstead, and the children were raised at the homestead he named "Social Retreat."
Letters from second wife of William Smedley, Harriett Jones Smedley (1797-1882). They married in 1849, Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of the Northern District.
Thomas Smedley's widow. She was the mother of Lydia, Harriett, Walter, Horace, Rebecca and Emma Smedley and outlived her husband by almost fifty years.
Her note of 12mo 30 1877 from home mentions that they did not hang their stockings at Christmas so will do it on New Year's Eve instead..
Deborah L. Smedley (1841-1922), from Westtown where she is part of a group to create Westtown Female Literary Society. Deborah Lightfoot Smedley in 1869 married George B. Allen under the care of Chester Monthly Meeting. He was an Elder at the Meeting and died in 1922. Deborah's unmarried sister Rebecca (1839-19180, an Elder at Chester Monthly Meeting died at their home, "Social Retreat," in Media.
Written from her residence,"Social Retreat," Middletown, with description of a visit to Westtown. Typed copy.
To her friend Lizzie (Elizabeth Sharpless who married her brother Edward G. Smedley in 1865. At home in Lima (Media) at "Social Retreat." Her letters expressed her anxiety as brother Edward and their cousin George were drafted and not granted exemption as conscientious objectors.
Deborah wrote about the Rebel invasion of Pennsylvania, return of the body of Charles Fox who died a prisoner of war in Nashville. Quaker and family news. She expressed hHorror at the death of Lincoln and attempted assassination of Seward. "Lizzie" married her brother 1865. Deborah married George Allen in 1869.
Also includes an undated poem by Deborah on joys and sorrow of life
Quaker meeting and family news. Temperance meetings, mention of Indian maidens school in 1893. Deborah served as an Overseer at Middletown Meeting.
Deborah Smedley Allen was the daughter of George and Deborah Smedley Allen. She wrote to Ida enclosing Smedley photos circa 1890 since Ida was collecting family history. Also a copy of a letter from her mother to good friend Hannah W. Roberts concerning recent death of her brother Thomas (1875).
Small diary with daily entries, possibly Harriett J. Smedley (1859-1893), a teacher? She mentions teaching, Quaker meetings, visiting the Souths (her sister Lydia married Edward South). Harriett married William Kirkbride in 1888.
Old acidic photocopies
Correspondencewith her aunts and uncle William Sharpless. In 1883, William's letter described his visit to brother Thomas Sharpless ((1838-1914) who spent a time in Colorado as superintendent of a mining company. In 1893 Edith visited Boston in the company of Rebecca Kite.
In 1901 and 1903, Edith was on vacation in the Poconos. Mary Allen (1871-1938) was her cousin, daughter of George and Deborah Allen.
An 1893 letter is typed by Susanna, sent from Westtown. Neither sister married, Edith worked as a bookkeeper and Susanna as a bookkeeper and archivist at Westtown.
Westtown report cards, 1903 class letter, correspondence concerning sister Edith's death in 1902. Also 1880 report card from Middletown Friends School for Edith.
"Historical sketch prepared for the 100th anniversary of the building of the Middletown Meeting House." Susanna Smedley worked as a bookkeeper and archivist at Westtown School. She wrote this informal essay about the history of the meeting and the Smedley family which reflects her interest in family and local history.
Susanna was an approved Elder in Chester Monthly Meeting. Her parents, Edward G. and Elizabeth S. Smedley, had resided in the house on the Middletown farm when she was young, and she included a floorplan of the house when she lived there, Smedley reminiscences, etc. Includes a copy of Jacob Lightfoot's Will, Maiden Creek, 1789.
Remarks given at the Smedley Gathering at Penn Crest, with a history of the family members who resided on the farmstead. She and cousins Elizabeth Satterthwaite and Deborah S. Allen, daughters of Deborah L. Smedley Allen, and Walter's children were the surviving Smedley descendants who had lived on the farm.
Includes her mother's estate information. Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley died in 1924. Also an i Inventory of contents of properties in West Chester, Westtown, Wawa in 1948.
Written by Susanna? "Hidden Helpers" labeled "My grad. essay." Historian report for Class of 1893, Westtown. Report of Camp Neff, partly typed carbon and mimeographed, with report by Sue Smedley (circa 1935), librarian at Westtown. Typed essay "Was This the First Peace Corps?" concerning Quaker work with Native Americans, 1798.
Selected contents of Smedley properties in West Chester, Media, Westtown School. Susanna's handwriting? Also a poem to a chair made by John Letchworth (written by a Kite?)
Small notebooks with notes on travel. Susanna Smedley?
As an archivist, Susanna compiled family records in researching the family and farm history. Includes estate of George Smedley (1796-1855), eldest son of William Smedley. Also rental of Birmingham property leased to Edward G. Smedley in 1874.
Typed partial copy of the original manuscript of Edward G. Smedley, 1863. See Haverford MS 1111 for original.
Unsigned 4 page manuscript
Handwritten manuscript preserved by Susanna Smedley which was read by her father before the Middletown Library Society. Also printed catalogue of Middletown Library, 1865.
George B. Allen, president
Rebecca Jones Smedley (1786-1859) was the widow of Jacob Smedley (1789-1937) who had inherited a tract of Smedley land in Willistown Township, Pennsylvania. In her Will executed in 1854, she created a fund to grant funds to young Quakers starting in life. Her brother-in-law William Smedley was one of the trustees, succeeded by Edward G. Smedley, then Walter Smedley
Incomplete writings, letters, wedding invitations. Account of Thomas Evans's sermon, 1867, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Lydia Smedley (1858-1923), the eldest of Thomas's children, was a teacher and married Edward L South. The file includes a childhood letter.
Her brother Walter Smedley served as trustee. Sisters Emma and Rebecca inherited as survivors.
A spiritual diary of Harriett Smedley (1859-1893) who married William Kirkbride in 1888. She was a member of Chesterfield Monthly Meeting and began her journal in 9 month 1883. The final entry was made three days before her sudden death. Condensed, typed, multiple carbons.
Horace Webster Smedley (1867-1957), twin of Rebecca. Audits of Smedley and Mehl, Co., Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Horace was president of a coal and lumber business and served on Board of Commissioners, Lower Merion Township. He lived in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
The papers were loose in a leather folder imprinted with Emma Smedley on the cover. Likely collected by the sisters. Includes carbon copy of 1944 letter concerning deposit of the records of Chester Monthly Meeting in Friends Historical Library; Rebecca served on the Meeting's record cCommittee.
Loose pages removed from the "Emma" folder. Includes an account of locations where family members lived. The papers probably were compiled by Rebecca Smedley; letter to her dated 1949 indicates her interest in family history.
The twin of Horace Smedley, Rebecca worked as a stenographer and bookkeeper. An active Friend, sShe served as an Elder in Chester Monthly Meeting.
Emma Smedley graduated from Drexel University and taught domestic science and dietetics at Drexel and Johns Hopkins Hospital before working as Superintendent of High School Luncheons, Philadelphia. She published a booklet Institution Recipes in 1902, followed by multiple subsequent editions. A clipping from a Philadelphia newspaper, 1912, features her work.
Passports issued for trip to France
The sisters lived Front Street in Media, Pennsylvania, and shared an annuity account. Account book reflects active investment as well as real estate purchases and sales.
After Emma's death in 1944, the sale of the books were handled by a New York company, Book Promotions, with sister Rebecca answering correspondence mailed to their previous address, 6 East Front Street, Media, PA.
In late life, the sisters resided in the Barclay Home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Tax returns, real estate regarding cottage at Pocono Manor, 1945-1950. Account book of Idylease cottage, #2, 1937-1950
Proposals, correspondence, estimates, orders, etc.
Lot plan, garage, etc.
Correspondence concerning 1436 Penn Square, specifications for 1322 Chestnut Street
Specifications for David Yarnall house and stable, Wallingford, Pennsylvania
Tennis lockhouses, farm house and barn overlooking Cobbs Creek conversion to Golf House, etc.
Correspondence, proposals, etc.
Additions. orders, most concerning Turner Construction
Correspondence, invoices, etc.
Correspondence, contracts, etc.
Walter Smedley, Chairman of the Committee. Proposed to provide sufficient space to host Concord Quarterly Meeting, allotment assigned to seven monthly meetings to cover expenses
Correspondence, estimates, bills, contracts, etc.
Photocopy of handwritten letter to his uncle (Edward G. Smedley) concerning power of attorney given to him regarding the property.
Tax receipts indicate that Walter purchased Middletown acreage in 1910 from his aunt Deborah Cope Smedley and in 1911 from his aunt, Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley. Taxes billed in 1909 to Deborah Smedley. Agreement of sales 1911, final mortgage payment 1935.
Begins with entry recording purchase of farm from Deborah S. Smedley, Feb. 14, 1910
Small ledger, incomplete, ends Oct. 31. Followed by listing of plantings in Ida's handwriting
Penncrest Farms/Breeders of Registered Guernsey/Growers of Fancy Fruit. Walter Smedley (with his Philadelphia business address) is listed as owner; William P. Smedley, Media, listed as manager. Includes brochure with photographs, record of milk production, etc.
Smedley was coordinating with Riverview Farms, Swarthmore, owned by Louis Cole Emmons.
Sales including to Swarthmore College
Receipts selling milk to Wawa and billed for their milk testing service.
Letterhead: Penncrest-Riverview, Inc. An advertisement in the Swarthmorean 1936, April 17, announced the American Guernsey Cattle Club awarded its license to a Guernsey Trade Mark in Penncrest-Riverview, Inc. endorsing projects in Swarthmore, Media, and vicinity.
Ownership of herd transferred from Walter to Ida Smedley. Rental agreement of Penncrest Farms to William P. Smedley and M. Katherine Smedley. Walter was in declining health and financial difficulties, and he transferred ownership of the farm to his wife.
Sample of invoices and receipts culled from years of financial records that were saved for household and farm expenses - including telephone and plumbing bills, etc., Sorted from moldy and vermin eaten paperwork that had been stored in the barn.
In 1930, Walter Smedley proposed to fellow breeders the creation of an Association to support marketing of local Guernsey milk. Correspondence with other state associations, associations, etc., and solicitations for guarantors subscriptions.
At June 1930 meeting of Eastern Guernsey Breeders Association, proposal to have a Pennsylvania Association. Walter Smedley, president.
With Guernsey Breeders, representing the organization as president
Controversy concerning singing at the Inn which was forwarded to Walter Smedley as Association President. Some Quakers resisted music as contrary to Discipline.
Invoice from law firm for paperwork, dissolution of partnerships with Walter J. Buzby, in Atlantic City and Pocono Manor properties. Buzby (1865-1950) and Walter Smedley purchased the Dennis Hotel in 1900, and he absorbed Smedley's interest in 1921. Buzby was a member and Elder of Evesham Monthly Meeting and staunch supporter of the Indulged Meeting in Atlantic City.
Walter Smedley as President was in the center of operations. In a effort to support finances, Grace Atkinson temporarily operated a school for girls in the Inn building during the winter. Cottage owners advertised their homes for seasonal rental. Financial pressures created tension between the Association and Lot Owners' League.
The correspondence reflects financial pressure on the Pocono Manor Colony and attempts to get better roads to the area. A full-time director of the Association was hired in 1932.
In 1930 the Association reorganized, and in 1932, it was incorporated. As banks closed and loans were tightened, three of the founders - Walter Smedley, Walter J. Buzby, and Henry W. Leeds guaranteed a line of credit.
Efforts to keep Manor from foreclosure led to a financial crisis for lenders: Walter Smedley, Henry Leeds and Walter Buzby
Smedley's efforts to secure payments of the debts from Leeds and Buzby. All three were facing creditors and the debt ultimately was left to Smedley.
In addition to his architectural practice and work with the Pocono Manor Association, Smedley was an active investor and also an active Friend who served on Boards and financially supported a variety of social causes.
Stock registration book #1. Smedley was an investor and served as chairman. It involved copper mining operations in Alaska. It was listed as based in Philadelphia.
These stock certificates had been stored in safe of law offices and were sent to Ida Balderston in 1943. Also correspondence relating to S. C. Barnes investment
Monies paid to S. C. Barnes and Smedley's unsuccessful attempts to recoup the investments concerning Philbrin Ignition Company.
Walter Taylor, broker for investments in company, supposedly incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia, exporting Polish textiles. Smedley was not able to verify company with the State of Georgia.
Attempt to recoup loss
Correspondence with Ida Smedley concerning sale of Tacony-Palmyra Bridge stock
Rental, stock, hospitalizations, taxes paid
Walter Smedley served on the Executive Board, Emlen Trust. The Trust supported multiple institutions for Native and African-Americans. According to the organization: "The Emlen Institution for the Benefit of Children of African and Indian Descent resulted from a bequest of Samuel Emlen, a Burlington, N.J. member of the Society of Friends (Quaker) who died in 1837."
Walter Smedley served as president Board of a committee mandated to make recommendations regarding preservation of open land in Delaware County
Sample of organizations and social concerns that Walter Smedley supported which included Union League, National Council for Prevention of War, Indian Rights Association, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Peace Committee.
Ida was elected valedictorian and was an active alum. C. Canby Balderston was in the same class.
Travel to study in California
Journal kept as a student at State Normal School in Los Angeles. Mentions Quaker meetings, the war, etc.
Began teaching at Lockwood School in September and final exams
Ida was dating Walter Smedley and teaching in Pasadena. Walter visited her mother in New Jersey in late January, and a ring arrived in February.
Ida's course planlan for teaching about Native Americans
Family trip
Columbia University. Ida returned to school to finish her degree.
Manuscript written in a spiral notebook before her second marriage in 1942. Describes her honeymoon in Europe and apartment in Philadelphia. Farm house in Middletown ("Oak Lawn" had been rented, and when it became available, they moved to Media. Oldest part of house had been used for Middletown Meeting, so it needed to be completely remodeled before they could move in. Grant Malin had managed the farm but he not interested in Walter's plan to raise cows and was unhappy to be pensioned off. Walter hired William Smedley to take charge of the herd and shared a bull with Louis Cole Emmons of Swarthmore. Dairy never made money. Her mother came to live with them in 1926. Market crash in 1930 brought financial disaster mostly collateral on Pocono Manor and Walter's stroke. Ida was able to save the farm which was deeded in her name. She sold the cows and went back to teaching - free tuition at the Haverford School for her children. Walter died in 1939.
Includes charitable donations
Withholding statement, day book with only scattered entries
Balderston dinner, 1965. Ida was a member of Washington Club in 1968 when C. Canby served in D.C.
Sections were written in 1967 student exam book. Includes some memoirs of travels with Canby Balderston
Typed manuscript with photographs. Includes a signed copy of daughter Alice Smedley Felix's introduction.
Typed copy, the memoir ends with Ida's marriage to Walter Smedley in 1919
Spiral bound version, with introduction by her daughter Alice Smedley Felix.
Ida's autobiography from her marriage to Walter Smedley's death. Spiral bound version with foreword by Walter Smedley, Jr., includes photocopies of photographs of the farm
Spiral bound, includes context of being a Quaker and her grandmother's era. Also typed copy prepared and circulated by her granddaughter, Missy, in 1979. Ida wrote it as an assignment for Evermay Club, Washington, DC, when Ida and Canby lived in DC.
Typed manuscript with a note from Natalie Densmore who typed it for Ida Balderston.
Ida? Original manuscript typed on Pocono Manor stationary. Also a photocopy
Handwritten manuscript
Typed manuscript poem and photocopy
Mimeographed group letters to family, describing his and Ida's trip
Typed group letters home
Typed original with photographs taped into pages
C. Canby and Ida Balderston cruise trips in Europe, spiral bound
In 1926, Ida's mother, widowed in 1912, was caring for Ida's sons in Atlantic City. The same year she moved in to live with Ida and Walter at Penncrest Farm.
Sent during their cruise
From Penncrest; Walter was at Pocono Manor with his sisters Rebecca and Emma Smedley
Letter mentions ill-health of his wife (Gertrude Emery Balderston died in 1922), includes receipts for his sons'boys' education, etc.
Congratulations on their marriage and miscellaneous memorabilia
During their travels
Birthday greetings, etc.
Primariy Walter's, Haverford School.
Family cruise to West Indies
From childhood to Princeton
Childhood activities, education
Student at Princeton
To his mother and sister, Alice ("Way") from CPS
Walter worked as an instructor in Chemical Engineering at Princeton and then enlisted in the Navy in 1942
Walter married Mary Jane Felix in 1943 and worked as an independent manufacturer's representative to the shipbuilding industry.
Family updates, and Ida's reminiscences about her mother's help in caring for her children when Walter Smedley was ill and she had to run the household and teach.
Letters from his parents, C. Canby Balderson, and others. Samuel was serving in the U.S . Air Force
Henry was serving in the Navy on the USS Wallace L. Lind.
Serving in Navy
Henry Smedley and Anne Jane Cleaver were married in 1954
Carbon copies
Letters to Walter III and wife MJ on death and memorial services for Alice Smedley Felix, his sister. In late fall 1995, Walter and Mary Jane Smedley moved from their home in Narberth to the family farm at Penncrest.
Daniel Balderston, son of Frederick and Judith Braude Balderston, wrote a paper based on the correspondence between Thomas Kite and daughter Susanna 1822-1823 while she was a student. His grandmother, Ida Roberts Smedley Balderston, loaned to him the family papers which had belonged to Walter Smedley, her first husband. Typed draft with notes and transcriptions of a selection of the letters.
Letter to "Mama" (grandmother) from California, tells that she found the manuscript of Ida's Evermay Club essay on "American Philosophy" with family photographs and records stored in Carmel. She typed and copied it for family members as a Christmas gift.
Concerning naming of high school of the Rosetree-Media School District which was constructed on former Smedley Penncrest farm
Worked for both the Smedley and Felix families