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Wills Family papers

 Collection
Identifier: HC.MC-1112

Scope and Contents

Papers include correspondence, miscellaneous personal papers, pictures, financial accounts, legal papers, and genealogical papers of the Wills family. Notable among the correspondents are Aaron Wills, 1734-1805, Samuel Wills, 1765-1852, and Daniel Wills, 1803-1878. Miscellaneous papers include copy of an account by Daniel Wills, 1633-1698, of the first settlement of Burlington, N. J., in 1677. Financial accounts are mainly bills and receipts of Daniel Wills, 1689-1760, Aaron Wills, and Samuel Wills. Legal papers include copy of will of Wm. Wills, 1671; copy of deed to Daniel Wills and Thomas Olive of lands in West Jersey, 1676, with notes on initial divisions of land in New Jersey and on the Commissioners who handled them; also miscellaneous bonds, deeds, marriage certificates, other. Genealogical papers cover main descendants of Daniel Wills, 1633-1698, up to 1879, with some as far as 1956; also some notes on the Davis and Pennell families. Also included are Epistles from Philadelphia and London Yearly Meetings of Women Friends and extracts from the Minutes of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Women Friends, Burlington Monthly and Preparative Meetings, and Ancocas [Rancocas] Preparative Meeting; also, some printed booklets, tracts, and clippings, including newspaper account of a talk by Dr. E. Newbold Cooper, "Glimpses of 17th Century Rancocas."

Dates

  • circa 1720-1926

Creator

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical / Historical

Quaker Daniel Wills (1803-1878) was a member and overseer of Burlington Monthly Meeting and Rancocas Particular Meeting. Quaker Samuel Wills (1765-1852) was an elder of Burlington Monthly Meeting. (Information from obituary notices in The Friend and Friends Review respectively).

Extent

1 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language

English

Overview

Papers relate to the first settlement of Burlington, NJ at the end of the 17th century, and include deeds, wills, marriage certificates and other papers, particularly of Wills family members.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Mrs. E. Newbold Cooper, Nov., 1963.

Processing Information

Original processing information unknown.

Title
Wills Family papers, 1790-1926
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • June 2022: by Nathaniel Rehm-Daly, Harmful Language Revision Project

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections Library

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Haverford PA 19041 USA US