SFHL/FHL/RG5. Family and Personal Papers
Record Group Term
Identifier: SFHL/FHL/RG5
The largest category of collections in Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College is that of Personal and Family Papers. These materials include correspondence, journals and diaries, and property records of Quaker individuals and family groups they date from the mid 17th century to the present.
Found in 49 Collections and/or Records:
Charles Palmer Papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-112
Overview
Charles Palmer (1863-1966) was a Quaker teacher, lawyer, and real estate broker from Chester, Pennsylvania. The collection includes family correspondence, including that of Palmer as a student at Swarthmore College, diaries of Palmer's father, Lewis Palmer (1837-1917), mother, Hannah H. Palmer (1836-1917), and other family members in Chester and Delaware counties, Pa., account books, business and legal papers, essays, poetry, clippings, memorabilia, and other papers. Includes material...
Dates:
1829-1942
Parke Family journals
Collection — Box 1
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-318
Overview
The collection contains diaries and daybooks of Dr. Thomas E. Parke and his wife, Mary Bacon Parke, of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Very rich in detail, they reflect the life and activities of 20th century Quakers, active in the Society of Friends, business, and philanthropic activities.
Dates:
1896 - 1927
Edna Postlethwaite Family papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-125
Overview
Edna Postlethwaite (1892-1972) graduated from Swarthmore College in 1914 and earned a masters degree from Columbia University. A Quaker and a member of New York Monthly Meeting of Friends, she was a teacher and involved in many social concerns. The collection contains the letters and diaries of Edna Postlethwaite and photocopies of the letters of G. Edmund Stratton, her uncle, and also a Swarthmore College graduate. Of particular interest is the correspondence of the former with her parents,...
Dates:
1894-1962
Richardson-Yarnall family papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-187
Overview
The collection contains personal papers, primarily correspondence, of members of the Richardson and Yarnall families, Pennsylvania Quakers who emigrated to America in the 1680s. The families were united by the marriage in 1816 of Nathaniel Richardson and Hannah Yarnall of Byberry. Of special significance are the diaries of Quaker ministers Peter Yarnall (1754-1798) and his second wife, Hannah Haines Thornton Yarnall (1765-1822) and their correspondence with family and fellow ministers. ...
Dates:
1722 - 1962
Benjamin Sharp Family Papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-136
Overview
Benjamin Sharp (1858-1915), a zoologist who was primarily affiliated with the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, attended Swarthmore College (1876) and earned a M.D. and Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. A birthright member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), Dr. Sharp was the son of Benjamin and Hannah B. (Leedom) Sharp of the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pa. He was married to Virginia May of Ridley, Mass. The family moved to Massachusetts in the early 20th...
Dates:
1809-1915
Mary Williams Shoemaker Papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-139
Overview
Mary Williams Shoemaker (1861-1953) was a Quaker philanthropist from Germantown, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Franklin and Mary (Williams) Shoemaker. The collection contains chiefly journals (1934-1945) and correspondence (1914-1953) relating to Shoemaker's support of Quaker historical, educational, and social service agencies; together with correspondence of her brother, Thomas Howard Shoemaker (1851-1936), relating to his historical interests and civic activities. Includes deeds...
Dates:
1860-1957
Smedley Family Papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-319
Overview
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...
Dates:
1751 - 1996; Majority of material found within 1821 - 1950
Philip W. Smith Papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-224
Overview
Philip W. Smith (1889-1981) was a Quaker dairyman from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who was active in Russian concerns and a prominent peace activist. In 1925-1926, he spent two years on a collective farm in Russia, and in later life he traveled extensively for peace causes. He was a member of Buckingham Monthly Meeting. This collection contains his correspondence, several journals and day books, photographs, writings on Russia, dairy farm records, and information on various groups he was...
Dates:
1906-1981
Stackhouse Family Papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-306
Overview
The Stackhouse family was a Pennsylvania and New Jersey Quaker family with roots in the earliest settlement of America. The papers include diaries, ledgers, correspondence and other family papers and voluminous genealogical research conducted by Powell Stackhouse, Jr. They were united by the descendants of two sons of Amos and Mary (Powell) Stackhouse who shared an interest in family history. Powell Stackhouse, Jr., (1827-1900) was a real estate lawyer and conveyancer who pursued a...
Dates:
1804 - 1951; Majority of material found within 1820-1916
Norman Walton Swayne Family Papers
Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-144
Overview
The Swayne family were Quakers of southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. Caleb Swayne was a farmer and tanner, and his son, Benjamin, also operated a tan yard and conducted a school for boys, the London Grove Boarding School. Evan Thomas Swayne also taught at London Grove, but moved to the Eaton Institute, a boarding school for girls in Kennett, after 1865. His son, Edward Swayne, had a greenhouse business and wrote poetry. Edward's sister, Anna Belle, was a photographer before her marriage...
Dates:
1733-1987
