Sub-Series 2-C: Benjamin Ferris Business and Quaker Correspondence

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Ferris often composed his drafts of letters on a letter received and sorted his draft with the letter he had received. These related letters are stored under Correspondent. Miscellaneous Business files are placed at the beginning of this series. Benjamin Ferris was trained as a watch-maker in Philadelphia and opened his own shop after completing his apprenticeship. In 1813, he moved with his family back to Wilmington where he worked as a surveyor and conveyencer. In the 1820s he became involved in the religious controversies in the Society of Friends which centered on the ministry of Elias Hicks. Ferris wrote a series of essays for the Christian Repository under the pen name "Amicus." After the schism in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, he served as the first clerk of the Hicksite branch. In 1839, Ferris served on the Indian Committee of New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and in the later years of his life, he researched the history of Wilmington. His book A History of the Original Settlements on the Delaware was first published in 1846. He was a life-long member of Wilmington Monthly Meeting and active in Quaker concerns. His correspondence includes many of the prominent Quakers of his day.