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Wilmer Atkinson Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-005

Scope and Contents

Wilmer Atkinson (1840-1920) was a Philadelphia, Pa., Quaker journalist and publisher of the Farm Journal. The collection includes scrapbooks containing clippings and memorabilia concerning the Atkinson, Allen, and related families, and a typed journal which Atkinson kept in 1917 concerning the War. The family was involved with Ursinus College, women's suffrage, and Buck Hill Falls.

Dates

  • 1881-1948

Creator

Limitations on Accessing the Collection

Collection is open for research.

Copyright and Rights Information

Friends Historical Library believes all of the items in this collection to be in the Public Domain in the United States, and is not aware of any restrictions on their use. However, the user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status before reproducing. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/.

Biographical / Historical

Wilmer Atkinson was born June 13, 1840, the son of Thomas and Hannah (Quimby) Atkinson of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was a birthright and lifelong member of the Society of Friends. Atkinson was educated at the Foulke Boarding School at Gwynedd and then at Freeland Seminary, which became Ursinus College. He served briefly in the Civil War, and in 1866 he married Anna Allen, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Allen of Philadelphia. His sister, Mary Anna Atkinson, married Howard M. Jenkins, who became a business partner. Wilmer and Anna had three daughters, Elizabeth Allen, Emily Quimby, and Gertrude. The youngest daughter, Gertrude (1874-1948) never married and compiled the scrapbooks in this collection.

Wilmer Atkinson was an editor of newspapers in Wilmington, Delaware, and Norristown, Pa., with his brother-in-law, Howard Jenkins. In 1877 he founded the Farm Journal, a monthly farm journal published in Philadelphia, Pa. His nephew, Charles Francis Jenkins, longtime member of the Swarthmore Board of Managers, succeeded him as editor of the Farm Journal. Atkinson was a journalist and active in social concerns, especially women's suffrage. He died May 10, 1920.

Extent

1.75 Linear Feet (4 boxes)

Language

English

Overview

Wilmer Atkinson (1840-1920) of Philadelphia, Pa., was a Quaker journalist and editor and publisher of the Farm Journal. He was active in social concerns, especially suffrage for women. The scrapbooks in this collection were compiled by his daughter, Gertrude Atkinson (1874-1948). The collection includes scrapbooks containing clippings and memorabilia concerning the Atkinson, Allen, and related families, and a typed copy of a journal which Wilmer Atkinson kept in 1917 concerning the War.

Arrangement

The collection is divided in two series:

  1. Journal and notebooks
  2. Scrapbooks

Physical Location

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession information

Donor: Edward Jenkins, 1956

The collection was given to Edward Jenkins by Gertrude Atkinson. Gertrude was the daughter of Wilmer Atkinson, and Edward was her cousin.

Related Materials

See also:

  1. Howard M. (Howard Malcolm) Jenkins Papers, RG 5/074
  2. Charles F. Jenkins Autograph Collection, MSS 031
  3. Farm Journal

General

  1. PG7, Friends Historical Library Biographical/Genealogical reference files Atkinson, Wilmer, An Autobiography. Philadelphia: 1920.

Processing Information

The collection was boxed and inventoried in the 1950s. In 2001, it was reprocessed and a new finding aid created. Related items which had been stored in PG 7 reference file were transferred to the collection, including: Two small notebooks on the Atkinson family, apparently compiled by Gertrude Atkinson, genealogical correspondence dated 1881 of Wilmer Atkinson, and a typed biographical sketch of Wilmer Atkinson by his daughter, Emily Q. Atkinson Ellis.

Title
Wilmer Atkinson Family Papers, 1881-1948
Author
SKM
Date
2001
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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Swarthmore Pennsylvania 19081 USA