Samuel Pennock letterbook
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of the single volume letterbook of Samuel Pennock. In addition to correspondence, the volume includes various other materials, including clippings, illustrations, and signatures of 19th century figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Anna Dickinson, William Still, and John Greenleaf Whittier.
Description of items in this volume:
- Photograph of unidentified woman
- Letter from “ML” [identified as Mary Lamborn, who married Moses Pennock] to “Brother Joseph”
- Print of “Robert Fulton’s first experiment with paddle wheels in the summer of 1779-on the Conestoga”
- Four envelope covers, pasted together at one corner: from Horace Greely, unidentified, Susan B. Anthony, Thadius [sic] Stevens
- Letter from Laura G. Julian, to Samuel Pennock
- Unsigned letter with Lamberton family history information, to “Cousin S.”
- Manuscript poem of Walter Savage Landor
- Letter from Sarah Lewis, to “Debby”
- Facsimile of a letter from Toussaint L’Ouverture
- Letter from H.R. Revels, to George W. Julian
- Letter from W.E. Langon(?) to “Mrs. Pennock”
- Letter from “Aunt Sarah” to “My dear neice [sic]”
- Advertisement for “Pennock’s Patent Plow Sulky”
- Letter from Susan B. Anthony to “Mrs. Darlington,” on The Revolution stationery. Letter concerns Anthony and others coming for a speech on a Saturday, after which they will "attend the regular morning meeting at Longwood meeting house if they have such." Letter from George W. Julian to Sarah Pennock
- Letter from Ezra Cornell to Samuel Pennock, declining the invitation to serve on a committee.
- Letter from Susan B. Anthony to “Mrs. Pennock,” on National Woman Suffrage Association stationery. Letter concerns the death of their aunt Dinah Mendenhall and the disposition of her estate.
- Note from John Comly(?)
- Dated signature of John Greenleaf Whittier, April 2 1860
- Signature of Abraham Lincoln
- 2 signatures on the same sheet of Samuel B. Chase
- 3 signatures on the same sheet of L.M. Mason
- Letter from L.B. Chandler to “Mrs. Pennock”
- Note from Laura De Force Gordon to Samuel Pennock
- Letter from Abraham L. Pennock to Samuel Pennock
- Letter from L.D. Parker to Samuel Pennock
- Letter with illegible signature, to ‘Friend’
- Letter from William Still to Samuel Pennock, setting up an abolitionist speech by a black woman, Susan Laning(?)
- Letter from Sarah Lewis to “Debby”
- Letter from Theobald Mather, to ‘Friend’
- Letter from Hannah Pennock to Deborah A. Pennock
- Letter from Harris(?) Sains(?) to Deborah Pennock
- Letter from Anna Dickinson to Deborah A. Pennock
- Letter from Barclay Pennock to Samuel Pennock
- Short death notice of Donald Pennock, 1886-1887
- Letters (on same paper) from J. Elizabeth Jones to “Mrs. Pennock” and from R.S.J. to Samuel Pennock
- 2 signatures on same sheet, from Joseph Miller
- Letter from Eleanor D. Richmond(?) to “Mrs. Pennock”
- 3 signatures on same sheet of J. Erastus Lester
- Obituary of T. Clarkson Taylor
- Letter from T.C. and E.S. Taylor, to ‘Friends’
- Letter from Joseph(?) G. and Elizabeth Jackson
- Note from Luis(?) Voith Hull(?)
- Letter from William Bill Murphy, to Deborah Pennock
- Note from Phebe Earle Gibbons, to Samuel and Deborah A. Pennock
- Letter from Robert Collyer, to ‘Madame’
- Note labelled as from ‘Dickens’
- Newspaper clipping: “Characteristic Sayings by Americans”
- Letter from ___ ___ Stone, to “Mr. Pennock”
- Note from Anna Dickinson to A.M. Powell
- 4 signatures on scraps of paper: Dom(?) Walter(?), Richard D. Wibb, C. Schwartz(?), Jacob Freeman(?) Glocks(?)
- Letter from Joseph May, to “Mrs. Pennock”
- Letter from _ B. Stebbins, to “Mrs. Pennock”
- Note on torn printed anti-slavery publication, unsigned
- Note from F. Jacob(?)
- Signatures of Benjamin Hallowell and S.M. Savery, glued to note
- Note from Thaddeus Stevens
- Signatures of Ellen E. Miles, Phebe A. Hanaford, Florence E. Hanaford
- Letter from Lucinda B. Chandler, to “Mrs. Pennock”
- Two pencil drawings of shoes, by signed by N. Hozima
- Letter from “Fred and Cora” to “Charlie and Nellie”
- Article on the funeral of Lucretia Mott
- Letter from William Bill Murphy, to Deborah Pennock
- Letter from W.H. F
- Letter from W. Fiske, to Samuel Pennock
- Letter from H. Evells(?) to Bayard Taylor
- Article on a surprise party thrown for Samuel and Deborah Pennock
- Letterhead from ‘S. Pennock and Sons Co.’
- Invitation to the “Semi-Centennial of Freedom” celebration of 50 years of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1883
- Letter from P.T. Barnum to Bayard Taylor
- Letter from Anna E. Dickinson to Deborah A. Pennock
- Letter from N. Fri___, to E.M. Davis
- Letter from J.B. Fremont, unaddressed
- Letter from M.A. Livermore, to Deborah A. Pennock
- Letter from M.F. Eastman, to Deborah A. Pennock
- Poem by T.E.D.
- Obituary of John Cox, 1880
- Clipping, about a slave with a riveted band of iron around his neck during the Civil War
- Letter from William Henry Furmers, unaddressed
- Letter from William Henry Furmers, unaddressed
- Clipping of an article by Victor Hugo
- Letter from C.C. Burleigh, to Samuel Pennock
- Letter from Mary Grew, to “Mr. and Mrs. Pennock”
- Printed letter from the American Missionary Association
- Letter from Frank Buchanan, unaddressed
- Obituary of John Allen
- Letter from Marie Taylor, to Deborah [Pennock]
- Letter from Lilian Taylor, to “Mrs. Pennock”
- Sketched map
- Letter from H.M. Lang, to Deborah Pennock
- Letter from P. Hanaford, to Deborah Pennock
- Reproduction of the first front page of the Philadelphia Public Ledger
- “Midnight Thoughts,” religious tract
- Letter from Mary Grew, unaddressed
- Letter from Mary Grew, unaddressed
- Letter from Sarah Pugh, unaddressed
- Letter of acknowledgement from Cornell University library (William Fiske) for books donated by Samuel and Deborah Pennock
- Clipping, “Our Turkey Hunt”
- Invitation to the “Semi-Centennial of Freedom” celebration of 50 years of the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1883
- Obituary of Hannah Cox, 1876
- Letter from Waldo Masearaz(?), to Deborah Pennock
- Engraving of C.H. Mcormick(?)
- Letter from Marie Taylor, to Deborah Pennock
Dates
- Creation: 1820-1880
Creator
- Pennock, Samuel (Collector, Person)
- Pennock, Deborah Ann Yerkes (Person)
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Biographical Note
Samuel Pennock (1816-1903) was one of the leading inventors of agricultural machinery in the United States. He was a son of Moses and Mary J. (Lamborn) Pennock, and was born in East Marlborough Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, on October 8, 1816.
Samuel Pennock was reared on his father's farm, received his education in the schools of his neighborhood, and then learned the trade of carriage maker. Later, he went to Wilmington, Delaware, and for one year was engaged with the firm of Harlan & Hollingsworth. Leaving Delaware, he returned to the farm to study the agricultural machinery then in use, and soon made improvements on a rude grain drill which his father had patented. This improved drill, which he patented, contained the idea upon which all the modern grain drills are constructed. In 1859, Pennock invented and patented the 'Iron Harvester,' the first mowing machine in the United States that was equipped with a cutter-bar that could be raised and lowered without the driver leaving his seat. 15 years later, in 1873, he invented, patented, and introduced into use the 'Pennock Road Machine,' the first practical machine in this country for the construction and repair of roads. Pennock came to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in 1844. He was originally a Republican, but became a political independent. A Quaker and a Mason, he did not smoke or drink.
In September 1853, Pennock married Deborah A. Yerkes, a daughter of John Yerkes. They had three children: Frederick M., Charles J., and Theodore. Pennock died at Kennett Square, his family’s farm, on August 19, 1903.
Deborah Ann Yerkes Pennock (1831-1912) was the wife of Samuel Pennock and the daughter of John and Catharine Dull Yerkes. She, along with her husband, was active in the abolitionist movement, the Underground Railroad, and the Progressive Friends of Pennsylvania (also known as Longwood Meeting). She was also involved in the women's suffrage movement and was the cousin of Susan B. Anthony.
Sources: the 'Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Comprising a Historical Sketch of the County', by Samuel T. Wiley, revised and edited by Winfield Scott Garner, published by the Gresham Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1893, pp. 665-667, and the Friends’ Intelligencer for September 5, 1903, (Vol. 60 p. 567).
Sources: Internal evidence, The Pennocks of Primitive Hall Surname Index entry for Samuel Pennock, The Selected Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, Vol. 5 (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1997), p. 5.
Extent
0.16 linear ft. (1 volume)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection is comprised of the single volume letterbook of Samuel Pennock. In addition to correspondence, the volume includes various other materials, including clippings, illustrations, and signatures of 19th century figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Anna Dickinson, William Still, and John Greenleaf Whittier.
Acquisition
The Samuel Pennock letterbook was donated to Special Collections, Haverford College in 2008 by Jane Marshall Cox. Accession # 7265.
Processing Information
Processed by Kara Flynn; completed April, 2016.
Source
- Cox, Jane Marshall (Donor, Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Samuel Pennock letterbook, 1820-1880
- Author
- Kara Flynn
- Date
- April, 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Find It at the Library
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