Charles Smith Ogden family Papers
Scope and Contents
This collection contains a collection of Quaker correspondence, family correspondence, genealogical research, and memorabilia compiled by Charles Smith Ogden, a Philadelphia Quaker businessman, genealogist, and civic leader.
Dates
- Creation: 1732-1938
Creator
- Ogden, Charles Smith, 1822- (Person)
- Ogden, Charles Smith, 1822- (Contributor, Person)
- Ogden, Emma Corbit, 1827-1874 (Contributor, Person)
- Hicks, Elias, 1748-1830 (Contributor, Person)
- Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849 (Contributor, Person)
- Ferris, Benjamin, 1780-1867 (Contributor, Person)
- Comly, John, 1773-1850 (Contributor, Person)
- Mott, Lucretia, 1793-1880 (Contributor, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Smith Ogden (1822-1904) was a Philadelphia Quaker businessman, genealogist, and civic leader. He was born in Philadelphia, the son of John Melchior and Harriet (Middleton) Ogden, into a prominent family involved in philanthropic and reform activities. He was educated in Friends' schools and married Emma Corbit (1827-1874) in 1848 under the care of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting (Hicksite). She was the daughter of Henry Cowgill Corbit and Sarah Bolton Corbit. Her mother was an intimate friend of Lucretia Mott. They had two children, Henry Corbit Ogden and Middleton Ogden. Charles Ogden worked as a wholesale druggist before the Civil War, was active on the committee to elect Abraham Lincoln, and served as Consul to Quebec, Canada, 1860-1864. In 1886, he began a tour around the world, which is recounted in his travel diaries, 1886-1891, composed as letters to his son. The trip ended abruptly with the death of his son, H. Corbit Ogden, in July 1891.
Extent
2 linear ft. (4 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Charles Smith Ogden (1822-1904) was a Quaker businessman, genealogist, and civic leader. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, educated in Friends' schools, and married Emma Corbit in 1848. He worked as a wholesale druggist before the Civil War, was active on the committee to elect Abraham Lincoln, and served as Consul to Quebec, Canada, 1860-1864. In 1886, he began a tour around the world, which is recounted in his travel letters, 1886-1891. This collection contains genealogical material, family correspondence, scrapbooks and memorabilia. Of particular interest are letters collected by Charles S. Smith from prominent Quaker correspondents including Elias and Edward Hicks, Lucretia Mott, Benjamin Ferris, and John Comly.
Arrangement
The colleciton is divided into six series:
- Ogden Collection: Autographs, Photographs and Original Papers of the Society of Friends
- Historica Genealogica in five volumes
- Scrapbook #2, Charles S. Ogden memorabilia
- Scrapbook #3, Our United States Consulate: Quebec, Canada
- Charles S. Ogden correspondence
- Miscellaneous
Physical Location
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donor: Marie Ogden Francke, 1948
Donor: Estate of Charles S. Ogden, 1905
The donor of the Ogden Collection (of autographs), Marie Ogden Francke (1878-1955) was a granddaughter of Charles Smith Ogden and the daughter of his son, H. Corbitt Ogden. The bulk of the material was given to Swarthmore College in 1905 as a memorial to Ogden's son, Middleton, who attended Swarthmore College in 1869-1870. Marie Francke was a member of New York Yearly Meeting (Hicksite). The Quaker autographs collected by her grandfather were intended for Swarthmore College according to his Will.
Donor: Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Acc. 2012.032
Separated Materials
The following materials, originally part of the collection, have been removed and recatalogued:
- The Quaker Ogdens in America, by Chas. Burr Ogden, J.B. Lippincott Co., Phila., 1898. BX7791.03403
- PG 7 - “John Melchior Ogden”, biographical data.
- In Memoriam John M. Ogden. J.B. Lippincott Co., Phila., 1882. BX7796 +.03513
- Germantown History, p.15-17, “How Grandmother Dorothy Meng (later married Hugh Ogden) Saw the Battle of Germantown. Published by The Site and Relic Society of Germantown, 1915. F159.G3S62
- Photographs removed to FHL Individual Pictures include: Isaac Norris, John Townsend, Middleton Ogden, Marie Ogden, Lizzie Bowman Ogden, John Melchior Ogden, Lucretia Mott, James Mott, Elias Hicks
- Lucretia and James Mott correspondence (originals) removed to Mott Mss, MSS 035
Processing Information
Processed by FHL staff prior to 1967. The collection of Quaker autographs apparently was retained by Charles S. Smith's granddaughter, Marie Odgen Francke, until 1948, when it was designated "Scrapbook #4" by FHL staff. The donor had the items mounted in an oversized scrapbook according to the archival standards of the time. In 1984, this scrapbook was dismantled in order to better preserve the documents. Detailed inventories of the contents were created and the siginficant correspondence individually described on the MSS card catalogue. In 2009, the collection was refoldered and described in more detail for access. The Lucretia Mott correspondence was removed to MSS Mott Manuscripts and the Hicks letter to FHL Safe. The detailed inventories of the genealogical papers are filed in Box 1. In 2012, the Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, transferred over-sized certificates of membership to various philanthropic organizations. These were added to the collection as a separate series, Series 6 Miscellaneous. A photograph of the design of the US Treasury Building and a printed list of honorary members of the first troop of the Philadelphia City Cavalry were included in this gift and are stored with the certificates.
Subject
- Ogden family (Family)
Source
- Ogden, Charles Smith, 1822- (Donor, Person)
- Francke, Marie Ogden, 1878-1955 (Donor, Person)
- Title
- An Inventory of the Charles Smith Ogden Family Papers, ca. 1732-1938
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- 2009
- 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
Revision Statements
- 2020: Updated outdated, harmful terminology related to enslavement, except where it appears in a title, quotation, or subject heading.
- 2024: This finding aid was reviewed in order to change or contextualize any outdated, harmful terminology related to Indigenous Peoples, except where it appears in a title, quotation, or subject heading.
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