Skip to main content
Header image

Heacock Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-060

Scope and Contents

The collection includes correspondence, diary, and letter book (1871-1872), of Joseph Heacock (1846-1918), farmer, of Wyncote, Pa., including material relating to his work on a farm in Albion, N.Y., and in iron works in Pittsburgh, Pa., to earn money to pay debts; account book (1836-1877) of his father, Joseph Heacock (1800-1883);papers relating to the teaching activity of his wife, Elizabeth Walker Heacock, and unmarried sisters, Eliza, Annie, Jane, and Martha Heacock, in various Philadelphia area Quaker schools; biographical and genealogical data on the Hallowell, Heacock, Longstreth, and Penrose families; and minute book (1857-1891) of Richland Turnpike or Plank Road Company, of which J. S. Heacock was treasurer.

Dates

  • Creation: 1773-1928

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

The Heacocks were a Quaker family of Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania. The Heacock family arrived in America from Staffordshire, England, about 1711. They settled in Rockhill Township, Bucks Co., and Wyncote, Montgomery Co., and were primarily farmers. Joseph Heacock, Jr., fell into debt as a man in his early 20's as a result of an unsuccessfully farming venture and had to work from 1871 to 1875 for hire as a farmhand in New York state and in an iron works in Pittsburgh in order to pay off his debt. In 1875 he rented his father's farm in Wyncote and began truck farming, later putting up heated greenhouses where he specialized in roses, carnations and palms. To furnish fertilizer for his flowers he had 200 head of pedigreed cows, producing 1600 quarts of milk daily from his dairy.

Joseph Heacock, Jr., served in the State Senate from 1910 to 1914. His unmarried sisters, Eliza, Annie, Jane, and Martha (known as Patty), as well as his wife, Elizabeth Walker Heacock, were all involved in teaching in various Quaker schools. One served as principal at the Green Street School, and the others operated the Chelten Hills School for many years. Earlier, Eliza and Jane Heacock were in charge of the Colored Orphans Home in Washington, D.C. In the 1860's, Annie Heacock taught in a school for African-Americans near Beaufort, S.C.

Extent

1 linear ft. (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Heacocks were a Quaker family of Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania. The collection includes correspondence, diary, and letter book (1871-1872), of Joseph Heacock (1846-1918), farmer, of Wyncote, Pa., including material relating to his work on a farm in Albion, N.Y., and in iron works in Pittsburgh, Pa., to earn money to pay debts; account book (1836-1877) of his father, Joseph Heacock (1800-1883); papers relating to the teaching activity of his wife, Elizabeth Walker Heacock, and unmarried sisters, Eliza, Annie, Jane, and Martha Heacock, in various Philadelphia area Quaker schools; biographical and genealogical data on the Hallowell, Heacock, Longstreth, and Penrose families; and minute book (1857-1891) of Richland Turnpike or Plank Road Company.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into five series:
  1. Biographical and genealogical materials, 1773-1928
  2. Correspondence, 1863-1911
  3. Memorabilia, 1869-1927
  4. Pictorial material
  5. Business, legal, and financial papers, 1836-1910

Physical Location

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

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donor: Esther Heacock, 1970

Jessie L. Hoopes, 1941

The collection was received as a gift in 1970. In 1976, it was decided to remove the minute book concerning the Richland Turnpike, which had been given to FHL in 1941 by Jessie L. Hoopes, from Miscellaneous Manuscripts and add it to this collection (Series 5).

Separated Materials

See Marriage Certificates, Chart Case H, for marriage of Joseph Heacock and Elizabeth Walker, 1877.

General

  1. Hallowell Family including the Longstreth, Penrose, and Norwood Branches, by William Penrose Hallowell. Call number BX7791.H25H3.
  2. Early Friends Families of Upper Bucks, Clarence V. Roberts, pages 242-270.

Processing Information

Materials were arranged in categories and placed in document boxes in 1976. Minute book, 1857-91, of Richland Turnpike or Plank Road Co. was moved to RG 5/060; it was received from Jessie L. Hoopes in 1941 and originally catalogued as a Misc. MSS.

Related Names

Subjects

Record Groups

Administrative Information

Title
An Inventory of the Heacock Family Papers, 1773-1928
Author
FHL staff
Date
1976
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries

Find It at the Library

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 repoductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library

http://www.swarthmore.edu/friends
Contact:
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore Pennsylvania 19081 USA

trico lib
Bryn Mawr College Special Collections
Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections