Morris Family papers
Scope and Contents
A collection of papers of several generations and descendants of Anthony Morris and Samuel Sansom, prominent Quaker families of Philadelphia and Germantown, Pennsylvania, reflecting two centuries of cultural and religious life, and particularly informative on social and economic developments. Among the papers are: letters of Anthony Morris, 1715, and Anthony Morris, Jr., 1759; Samuel B. Morris, accounts of his travels abroad, commerce and shipping, bills of lading, receipts, and insurance, 1798-1815; his numerous correspondence with his daughter Beulah Sansom Morris, at Westtown, and his son, Samuel Morris at Haverford College, and others, 1813-1853; Samuel Morris (1827-1905) papers, diaries, memorandum books, etc., contribute information on the early educational methods at Haverford College, and include a printed copy of the bill, “Act to establish by the name of Friends Haverford School Association”, 1833; manuscript of “First catalogue of Donations to Library and Cabinet of Haverford School”, 1833; minute book of the Directors of Lathe, 1842; a typescript copy of his diary, 1842-1843, and accounts of his religious and missionary travels, 1893-1898, etc.
John Sansom, Samuel Sansom, James Sansom, etc., letters and papers, 1737-1801, relating to commerce, finance and family matters; narratives of travel in England, Holland, France, and Switzerland; Joseph Sansom's passports, 1799, 1815, signed by Timothy Pickering and James Monroe, and accounts of his travels in Europe and his letters to Beulah Sansom; a biographical sketch of Beulah Sansom, etc.
Other papers include: manuscript record of names and houses insured, 1759-61; discourse on physiology, medicine, by William Shippen, 1762; Sarah Biddle, correspondence, accounts of Monthly Meetings, 1758-1818; Quakeriana, sermons, abolition of slavery, 1787, 1790; accounts of yellow fever epidemics, 1801; journals of travel to "New York Indians," New England, 1790-1796, including Joseph Sansom's journal of a tour to the treaty of Newtown Point on the Tioga, 1791; papers relating to Elias Hicks, 1822-1823; poetry and literary compositions, school books, essays, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers; papers relating to Schuykill Permanent Bridge Company, 1801; Frankford & Germantown Turnpike Road Company accounts, 1853; Frankford Monthly Meeting, 1860-1869; Germantown & Frankford Friends, 1871; Abington Quarterly Meeting, 1889-90; names of Friends figuring in these manuscripts are, Anna Braithwaite, M. Buckley, Caspar Wistar, Joshua Humphrey, Elizabeth Foulke, S. Hollingsworth, David Barclay, William Callander, 1766-1812, and numerous others.
Dates
- Creation: 1715-1925
Creator
- Morris family (Family)
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Buckley Morris (1791-1859) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Quakers Luke Wistar Morris and Elizabeth Buckley Morris. Samuel B. Morris became a member of the shipping firm of Waln & Morris in Philadelphia. He was one of the first directors of the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society. Morris was one of the founders of Haverford College, a manager of Friends Asylum, and served on the Committee for Westtown School from 1843 until his death in 1859. Samuel Buckley Morris was the husband of Hannah Perot Morris (1792-1831). They had four children: Samuel Morris (1827-1905), Beulah Sansom Morris (1829-1923), Luke Wistar Morris (1830), and Elliston
Perot Morris (1831-1914).
Samuel Morris (1827-1905) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Quakers Samuel Buckley Morris and Hannah Perot Morris. Samuel Morris matriculated at Haverford College in 1845, then went on to learn farming. He married Lydia Spencer in 1853. Morris was recorded a minister in the Society of Friends in 1864. In 1876, he made a religious mission to visit "North American Indians," later embarking
on a similar mission to Europe and Australia. He was president of the managers of Friends Asylum from 1888-1902. Samuel Morris and Lydia Spencer Morris (his wife) had three children: Hannah Perot Morris (1854-1931), Luke Wistar Morris (1858-1874), and George Spencer Morris (1867- 1922).
Hannah Perot Morris (1854-1931) was the daughter of Samuel Morris and Lydia Spencer Morris. She attended Westtown School and became a minister in the Society of Friends in 1908. She was the first woman appointed by a Quarterly Meeting in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to serve on Representative Meeting. Morris was the author of Glimpses of the Life of Samuel Morris (1907).
Extent
5.8 linear ft. (14 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The papers of two prominent Philadelphia Quaker families, Morris and Sansom, spanning more than two centuries, from the colonial period into the 20th century. Topics include cultural and religious life and social and economic development.
Other Finding Aids
Processing Information
Original processing information unknown.
Subject
- Morris family (Family)
- Sansom family (Family)
- Morris, Samuel, 1827-1905 (Person)
- Morris, Samuel Buckley (1791-1859) (Person)
- Morris, Beulah Sansom (Person)
- Sansom, Joseph, 1765 or 1766-1826 (Person)
Genre / Form
- Title
- Morris Family papers, 1715-1925
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- May 2022: by Nathaniel Rehm-Daly, Harmful Language Revision Project
Find It at the Library
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