J & J Darlington Brothers Papers
Content Description
Business records of the historic Delaware County, Pennsylvania, dairy farm and creamery of J and J Darlington, as well as the business records of the Darlington/Darling Post Office, about 1879-1922. The rural branch of Postal Service was established about 1879 and officially closed in 1976. The name was changed to Darling Post Office in 1896 to avoid confusion with a Darlington in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The collection also contains some family papers - specifically, designs by architecture student Martha S. Darlington.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within about 1875-1922
Creator
- Darlington family (Family)
- Darlington, Martha Sharples, 1906-1979 (Contributor, Person)
Limitations on Accessing the Collection
This collection is available for research use, but it is only partially processed and contains many dusty, dirty papers.
Physical Access Note
All or part of this collection is stored off-site. Contact Friends Historical Library staff at friends@swarthmore.edu at least two weeks in advance of visit to request boxes.
Biographical / Historical
Jesse Darlington (1762-1842) settled in Midddletown Township in Delaware County about 1797. He married Amy Sharples at Middletown Meeting (Chester Monthly Meeting) in 1787, and they had ten children. Jesse Darlington was a dairy farmer, and his youngest son, Jared Darlington (1799-1862), went into partnership with his father in the business of farming and butter making. They labeled the butter as "The Darlington" and "The Cornucopia." Two of Jared's sons, Jesse (1841-1912) and Jared (1844-1902) assumed the farm as J and J Darlington. They were succeeded in the business by two of Jesse's sons, Jared Worrall Darlington and Paul Darlington. At it peak, Cornucopia Dairies served hotels in New York and Washington, D.C., but their dairy became a casualty of the Great Depression.
Jared Worrall Darlington (1875-1934) married Hannah Mary Sharples in 1899. Both attended Swarthmore College. Jared was appointed postmaster of the Darling post office in 1898, and after his death, he was succeeded by their daughter, Martha Darlington. She had graduated in 1930 from Penn State College's program in Architecture.
Extent
9 Linear Feet : Stored in acid-free cartons
Language
English
Separated Materials
Commonplace book: [Elizabeth?] Worrall, Poplar Grove, 1829(?). Copy poetry on death themes in soft-bound notebook.
Subscription list to erect a building in the borough of West Chester for a preparative meeting house, 1896.
Letter, Samuel Darlington, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to his father Samuel S. Darlington. March 30, 1851. [Samuel S. Darlington was the son of Jesse and Amy Sharples Darlington, elder brother of Jared. His son, Samuel, Jr., (1832-1861).
Processing Information
The records were roughly sorted and boxed for storage. Some materials are dirty and damaged.
- Title
- J & J Darlington Brothers Papers
- Status
- Needs Final Processing
- Author
- O'Donnell and Morikawa
- Date
- July 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
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 Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library
