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Fell Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-039

Scope and Contents

This collection contains papers of the Williams and Fell family members, Pennsylvania Hicksite Quakers. These papers include student papers of E. Lawrence Fell, family correspondence (1819-1885), pictures, and miscellaneous deeds and memorabilia.

Dates

  • Creation: 1753-1923

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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

Joseph Fell (1804-1887), the son of Dr. David and Phebe Schofield Fell, was a Pennsylvania Quaker teacher and farmer. In 1835 he married Harriet William, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Watson Williams of Buckingham, Pa. He served in the State legislature in 1837-38 and as superintendent of the county schools.

Joseph and Harriet Fell had five children: William W. (1836-1874), Emily Catherine who married William Seal in 1863; David Newlin (1840-1919) who married Martha Trego; Edward Watson (1843-1901) who married Elizabeth Matlack Kenderdine in 1867; and Lucy W. Fell, born 1847.

Edward Watson and Elizabeth Kenderdine Fell had four children. The eldest was Edward Lawrence Fell (1867-1943) who married Esther May Willets. Both were Swarthmore College graduates, Class of 1888, and members of Green Street Monthly Meeting.

Extent

0.5 linear ft. (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Joseph Fell (1804-1887), the son of Dr. David and Phebe Schofield Fell, was a Pennsylvania Quaker teacher and farmer. In 1835 he married Harriet Williams, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Watson Williams of Buckingham, Pa. Joseph and Harriet Fell had five children: William W. (1836-1874), Emily Catherine who married William Seal in 1863; David Newlin (1840-1919) who married Martha Trego; Edward Watson (1843-1901) who married Elizabeth Matlack Kenderdine in 1867; and Lucy W. Fell, born 1847. Edward Watson and Elizabeth Kenderdine Fell had four children. The eldest was Edward Lawrence Fell (1867-1943) who married Esther May Willets. Both were Swarthmore College graduates, Class of 1888, and members of Green Street Monthly Meeting. This collection contains papers of the Williams and Fell family members, Pennsylvania Hicksite Quakers. These papers include student papers of E. Lawrence Fell, family correspondence (1819-1885), pictures, and miscellaneous deeds and memorabilia.

Physical Location

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Libraries' online catalog: http://tripod.brynmawr.edu

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Deposited by Nancy Gideon Clark, 2000.

Related Materials

See RG5/203: Taylor-Thomson Family Papers, Series 3, Miscellaneous for photo of Clothier Family posed in front of the Great Pyramids, same era.

Separated Materials

Photographs removed to FHL Picture Collection, PA 114: Fell Family Pictures:

Buckingham Friend School with Joseph Fell on steps, stereographic photo; Fell homestead in Buckingham, stereographic photo; Willets, John ( 2 photos); Willets, “Grandmother” ( 2 photos); Seaman, “Aunt Mary and Lizzie”; Fell, Elizabeth M. (Kenderdine); Fell, Elizabeth M. and Emily (daughter?); Fell, Emily {?}; Jackson-Fell wedding, June 28, 1900; Fell, “Father Fell with mother and sisters”; Four women, identified only as Aunt Cordelia, SusanAnn, Nancy, [Grandmother?]; 4 X 6 medium photos, family and friends, 9 identified, five may be classmates of Esther May Willets and E. Lawrence Fell; Seaman, William H.; Laurie, Margaret J. (Mrs. Wm. Seaman, both S.C. 1888); Haydock, Clara Noyes (S.C. 1888); Ainley, Gertrude; Ainley, May Agnes (Kenderdine); Fell, Mr. and Mrs. E. Lawrence in Egypt, posed in front of pyramids; Suffragists, with sashes, identified as Jeanette Fell [Gillam], Marjorie Fell [Siebert], Grandmother Fell [Mrs. E. Lawrence], Kathryn Fell [Gideon], and Alex Rogers; Two 4 x 6 of girls pictured above, Jeanette and Marjorie Fell?; Snapshots of May Day, Swarthmore, 1900.

Three volumes of books by Thaddeus Kenderdine removed to book collection: A California Tramp (1888), California Revisited (1898), The Kenderdines of America (1901).

Portrait dolls, circa 1900, of Benjamin Franklin and E. Lawrence Fell removed to Relics.

Processing Information

This collection contains papers from two sources. A group of papers with no accession history were described previous to 1967. These included the Fell and Williams family letters, 1819-1885, primarily to Harriet Williams before and after her marriage in 1835 to Joseph Fell, and a small amount of family memorabilia and pictures. In 2000, a second group of papers were given to Friends Historical Library concerning the same family. These papers were found in the lap desk of Edward Lawrence Fell (1867-1943), a Swarthmore College graduate, class of 1888 and grandson of Joseph and Harriet Fell. These papers include student papers of E. Lawrence Fell, family correspondence (1840-1877) primarily between the children of Joseph and Harriet Fell, and miscellaneous deeds and memorabilia. In 2002, the two collections were united as Fell Family Papers, RG 5/039.

From the 2000 accession, three books by Thaddeus Kenderdine were transferred to FHL books, the two portrait dolls transferred to FHL Relics, and the pictures were removed to PA 114. A list of the pictures is included under “Related Material.”

Title
Fell Family Papers, 1753-1923
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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