Place: West Chester (Pa.) - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 4.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Joseph B. Smith and Sons Funeral Home in West Chester, Pennsylvania was established in 1870, when Joseph B. Smith purchased the existing Hoffman Undertaking and Furniture Business. Smith’s firm, which was in business until 1994, was owned and operated by four successive generations of Smith men: Joseph B. Smith; his son, William B. Smith; his grandson, Ashton B.T. Smith; and his great-grandson, Ashton B.T. Smith, Jr. It ranked as one of the oldest funeral home businesses in Chester County. The Joseph B. Smith and Son Funeral Directors records houses the records produced by that funeral home from 1876 to 1946. In addition, there is a small cache of Smith family papers dating from 1883 to 1975. The bulk of the collection is made up of funeral home records. Included in the funeral home records are account books, funeral registries, bills, funeral home ephemera, and undertaker and coroner licenses. The Smith family papers section of the collection has very little to do with the...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: .1 linear ft. (1 volume)
Abstract:: Young Friends' Association (West Chester, Pa.), a Quaker social and study group, was established in 1895 in West Chester, Pa. This collection contains the constitution and minutes, 1895-1904, in one bound volume.

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

Extent:: 32.75 linear foot (50 boxes)
Abstract:: The Littleton and Jane Mitchell papers document the life and career of the Delaware-based civil rights activist and educator Littleton P. Mitchell (1918-2004) and his wife Jane E. Mitchell (1921-2004). The collection contains material relating to his education, activities as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, his three decades-long leadership of the Delaware NAACP, his career as a teacher and counselor at Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City, and his involvement in a number of organizations. The collection also highlights the career of Jane Mitchell, one of Delaware's first African-American nurses and former director of nursing at the Delaware State Hospital. There are also photographs, slides, and other media documenting the Mitchells' family life as well as their participation in local and national events. The collection also contains a significant amount of the many awards and citations received by Littleton and Jane Mitchell for their achievements. As a whole, the papers...(see more)

Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The Howell family were members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) who resided in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The Howell family papers, 1798-1929 (bulk 1830-1880), consist substantially of routine personal correspondence between several generations of the Howell family, particularly Sally R. Howell, Israel Howell, Mary Mott Howell, Joshua R. Howell, and Elizabeth Howell. The collection also includes a sizeable amount of school records, about 17 manuscript volumes from the early to mid-1800s, and drafts of poems and other writings.

Held at: Delaware County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The Davis family moved to Newtown Square, Delaware County, Pennsylvania around 1850. William Thomas Davis bought the Newtown Square Inn in 1866 and held livestock auctions at the hotel. His son, Edward N. G. Davis, operated a grocery store in town before becoming a real estate broker. The Edward N. G. Davis family papers, 1896-1973, consist largely of financial ledgers with some correspondence, photographs, and other document types. Most items relate to Edward N. G. Davis, with another large portion of items from his father, William T. Davis. There are also materials from several other family members and the first minute book of the Improvement Association of West Chester Road, 1909-1910.

Held at: Newtown Square Historical Society [Contact Us]