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Start Over Place Middletown (Delaware County, Pa. : Township)

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Orphan Society of Philadelphia records, 1930-1965 (bulk) 1815-1965 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.5 linear feet
Abstract:
The Orphan Society of Philadelphia, founded in 1814, was the first non-sectarian orphanage in Pennsylvania. In 1965, due to low enrollment and financial and staffing issues, the Orphan Society merged with the Elwyn School, now known as Elwyn, in Delaware County, Pa. The Orphan Society of Philadelphia records, 1815-1965 (bulk 1930-1965), consist of administrative and financial records, legal documents, historical files, orphan records, and other materials. Of special interest is an Orphan Asylum register listing orphan admissions (name, birth date, admission date) and dates of discharge or death from 1815 to 1896.

Held at: Elwyn Historical Archives and Museum [Contact Us]

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Elwyn records, 1852-2006 (inclusive)

Extent:
125.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Elwyn is one of the oldest service organizations in the United States for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Tracing its roots to a Philadelphia school for "mental defectives" founded in 1852, and officially incorporated in 1853 as The Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children, Elwyn has remained at the vanguard in the understanding, care, and treatment of intellectual disability for over 150 years. One of its most influential staff members, Superintendent Dr. Isaac Kerlin, was instrumental in organizing the field's national professional organization, today known as the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The Elwyn records, 1852-2006, consist of materials from Elwyn's administrative bodies and staff members including past superintendents and presidents, student records, materials published by Elwyn including publicity materials, photographs, and various audio and audiovisual materials. The collection is organized into six...(see more)

Held at: Elwyn Historical Archives and Museum [Contact Us]

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Media Historic Archives Commission subject files, 1842-2013 (inclusive)

Extent:
41.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The Borough of Media is the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, located about 12 miles outside of Philadelphia. The area was settled by Europeans beginning in the 1680s, Media became the county seat in 1850. A largely rural area prior to that point, the town grew rapidly in the second half of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century. About half of the materials in the Media Historic Archives Commission subject files, 1842-2013, are secondary source (newspaper clippings, narrative histories, and photocopies and transcriptions of original documents), and the other half is primary source (largely pamphlets and ephemera and photographs, with some correspondence, financial papers, organizational records, maps, and other documents). The collection focuses on various local history topics relating to Media and vicinity, such as local schools, churches, organizations and associations, people, military, black history, and other topics.

Held at: Media Historic Archives Commission [Contact Us]

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Malin family papers, 1684-1880 (bulk) 1684-1992 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.5 linear feet
Abstract:
The Borough of Media, the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was settled by Europeans beginning in the 1680s. The area remained largely rural until the end of the 19th century. The Malin family was one of the first English Quaker families to settle in Pennsylvania when Randal Malin (1652-1729), a Quaker minister, emigrated from Cheshire, England upon purchasing 250 acres of land from William Penn in 1681. The Malin family papers, 1684-1992 (bulk, 1684-1880), include mostly estate records such as deeds, indentures, wills, bond and mortgages, and estate inventories with some financial papers such as a receipt book, miscellaneous receipts, and shilling notes. There is also a photocopy of a manuscript genealogy of Malin and Edwards families by Phyillis Centman.

Held at: Media Historic Archives Commission [Contact Us]

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Media Historic Archives Commission photograph collection, circa 1880-1990

Extent:
3.5 linear feet
Abstract:
The Borough of Media is the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, located about 12 miles outside of Philadelphia. The area was settled by Europeans beginning in the 1680s; Media became the county seat in 1850. A largely rural area prior to that point, the town grew rapidly in the second half of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century. The Media Historic Archives Commission photographs, circa 1880-1990, consist of roughly 500 photographic prints of various Media area subjects. Most of the photographs are original with some reproductions.

Held at: Media Historic Archives Commission [Contact Us]

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Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades records, 1888-2014 (bulk) 1746-2014 (inclusive)

Extent:
150.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades (now known as Williamson College of the Trades) in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania (Delaware County) was established in 1888 with an endowment from Philadelphia merchant and philanthropist Isaiah V. Williamson. The tuition-free school initially offered vocational training for high school-aged men in areas such as bricklaying, carpentry, and machine shop. Since becoming a post-secondary institution in 1961, the school now offers associate degrees in various fields of specialized technology. The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades records, 1746-2014 (bulk 1888-2014), consist of administrative and financial records; a variety of visual, audio, and audiovisual materials; alumni and student publications; alumni records and personal papers; blueprints, deeds, and other documents relating to the School's property; and several other materials that document the functions of the School and the individual experiences of its students,...(see more)

Held at: Williamson College of the Trades (Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades) [Contact Us]

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Cornelia Hennigan research on the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, circa 2000-2008

Extent:
9.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Cornelia M. Hennigan, born in 1927, worked at Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades (now known as Williamson College of the Trades) in Media, Delaware County, Pennsylvania from 1994 until her retirement in 2009. During her time at Williamson she was employed as a dorm mother (1994-1997), director of residential life (1997-2000), and historian (2000-2009). While serving as historian, Hennigan wrote a manuscript (never published) about the history of Williamson. The Cornelia Hennigan research on the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, circa 2000-2008, consists mostly of research files with photocopies of primary and secondary-source documents relating to various subjects and people associated with the school. Hennigan's indices to several primary-source Williamson records (such as meeting minutes), an incomplete index to her own manuscript, and materials relating to the logistics of researching and writing a book, can also be found in the collection.

Held at: Williamson College of the Trades (Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades) [Contact Us]

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Isaiah V. Williamson financial papers, 1835-1898 (inclusive)

Extent:
5.5 linear feet
Abstract:
Isaiah V. Williamson (1803-1889) was born in Fallsington, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After becoming a successful merchant in Philadelphia and retiring in 1838, Williamson turned to investing and philanthropy. In 1888, Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades (now known as Williamson College of the Trades) in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania was established with an endowment from Williamson. The Isaiah V. Williamson financial papers, 1835-1898, consist of various documents and volumes relating to Isaiah Williamson's financial interests, including some legal and estate papers dating from after his death. There is also a small amount of secondary-source materials, such as newspaper clippings of Williamson's obituary and research on Williamson and his family members and associates.

Held at: Williamson College of the Trades (Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades) [Contact Us]

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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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Emlen Family Papers, 1740-1886 (inclusive) 1817-1849 (bulk)

Extent:
0.75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:
Contains papers relating to the Emlen family, residents of Middletown and West Chester, Pennsylvania. Chiefly correspondence (1817-1849) of Sarah Foulke Farquhar Emlen (1787-1849), Quaker minister, relating to her travels to visit Friends' meetings in England, Ireland, New England, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. Also correspondence of Quaker ministers 1740-1790, copybooks, and memorabilia. Includes material relating to Westtown School, a Quaker boarding school in Chester County, Pa., where both Emlens taught; the Hicksite-Orthodox separation; slavery, the free produce movement and other Quaker concersn. Correspondents include Moses Brown, John Churchman, Samuel Emlen (ca. 1765-1837), Josiah Forster, Samuel Fothergill, Isaac Hadwen, Thomas Kite, Thomas Shillitoe, Esther Tuke, Joseph Whitall, and John Wilbur.

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

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