Series 5: Joseph Elkinton

Joseph Elkinton (1859-1920) was the eldest son of Joseph S. and Malinda Elkinton. Like his father, he devoted much of his energy to Quaker concerns and the ministry. He was born March 16, 1859, and joined his father and uncle in the family soap and candle business. He taught at the Westtown School for a year where he met Sarah West Passmore, daughter of Benjamin West Passmore, who became his wife in 1884. They had five children, four of whom lived to maturity: Joseph Passmore, Mary Cope, Rebecca (died young), Howard West, and Frances Deborah. He was recorded as a minister by Philadelphia Monthly Meeting (Orthodox), and together with his father, worked with the Yearly Meeting on behalf of the Doukhobors. After his retirement from the Philadelphia Quartz Company in 1905, he and his wife traveled widely, including trips in the ministry to Japan and China. Joseph was a founder of the Pocono Lake Preserve. He died in London in June 1920, after beginning a religious mission that would have taken him to Great Britain, Ireland, the Continent, and eventually Palestine. Some of the early letters are annotated by J. Passmore Elkinton, 1957. The letters from Asia are particularly rich with description. For Inazo Nitobe correspondence and additional letters by Mary E. Nitobe, see RG 5/, Inazo Nitobe Papers. Passmore family papers, including correspondence and Pennock Passmore's commonplace book and essays on family members, are included in this series.