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Smedley Family Papers, 1751-1996 (inclusive) 1821-1950 (bulk)

Extent:

12 linear ft. (23 boxes plus photographs)

Abstract:

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...(see more)

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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Smedley Family Photographs, ca. 1875-1979 (inclusive)

Extent:

4 linear ft. (11)

Abstract:

The Smedley family in America is descended from a George Smedley, a Quaker, who arrived in Pennsylvania about 1682, purchasing property from William Penn in what is now Middletown Township, Delaware County. The collection represents the descendants of Thomas Smedley and his brother Edward G. Smedley. The property was purchased by a nephew, Walter Smedley, a well-known Philadelphia Quaker architect. His widow married C. Canby Balderston, a business executive. The family sold the remaining property to Middletown Township in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The collection includes photographs of the extended Smedley family, Westtown Boarding School, Penncrest Farm, and the careers of Walter Smedley, architect, and C. Canby Balderston.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]