Rodman-Rotch Family Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection contains chiefly personal correspondence (1763-1865) of the extended Rodman and Rotch families, along with travel journals (1805, 1807, 1809) and a manuscript copy of the autobiographical memoir of William Rotch (1734-1828), the father of Elizabeth Rotch Rodman, and some related material. The families had links to Philadelphia and English mercantile families. Some of the letters have been transcribed into typed copies. There are also a small number of Quaker manuscripts, including accounts of Priscilla Cadwallader's sermon delivered at Newport, R.I., in 1824; Samuel Spavold's Prophesy or Testimony in 1749; and Robert Barrow's testimony at the funeral of George Fox.
Dates
- Creation: 1763-1865
Creator
- Rodman-Rotch family (Family)
- Rodman, Elizabeth Rotch, 1757-1856 (Contributor, Person)
- Rotch, William, 1734-1828 (Contributor, Person)
- Rodman, Samuel, 1753-1835 (Contributor, Person)
- Barrow, Robert, -1697 (Contributor, Person)
- Cadwallader, Priscilla, 1786-1859 (Contributor, Person)
- Spavold, Samuel (Contributor, Person)
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 Rodman and Rotch families were New England Quakers. Samuel Rodman (1753-1835) married Elizabeth Rotch (1757-1856) in 1780. He was a successful Nantucket and New Bedford, Mass., whaling merchant and clerk of New England Yearly Meeting. Elizabeth (Rotch) Rodman was a birthright member of the Society of Friends, also from a family involved in the whaling business, and active in philanthropic and reform causes. They had nine children. The Rodmans and Rotches were closely intertwined by marriage; three of the Rodman siblings married three of the Rotch siblings. The families also had links to Philadelphia and English mercantile families and were related to the Fisher, Waln, Morgan, Hussey and other families.
Extent
0.75 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Rodman and Rotch families were New England Quakers. Samuel Rodman (1753-1835) married Elizabeth Rotch (1757-1856) in 1780. He was a successful Nantucket and New Bedford, Massachusetts, whaling merchant and clerk of New England Yearly Meeting. Elizabeth (Rotch) Rodman was a birthright member of the Society of Friends, also from a family involved in the whaling business, and active in philanthropic and reform causes. They had nine children. The Rodmans and Rotches were closely intertwined by marriage; three of the Rodman siblings married three of the Rotch siblings. The families also had links to Philadelphia and English mercantile families. The collection contains chiefly personal correspondence (1763-1865) of the extended Rodman and Rotch families, along with travel journals (1805, 1807, 1809) and a manuscript copy of an autobiographical memoir of William Rotch (1734-1828), the father of Elizabeth Rotch Rodman, and some related material. The families had links to Philadelphia and English mercantile families. Some of the letters have been transcribed into typed copies. There are also miscellaneous Quaker manuscripts, including accounts of Priscilla Cadwallader's sermon delivered at Newport, R.I., in 1824; Samuel Spavold's Prophesy or Testimony in 1749; and Robert Barrow's testimony at the funeral of George Fox.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into three series:
- Journals, biographical and genealogical
- Family correspondence
- Quaker manuscripts
Physical Location
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donor: Mrs. Alfred Rodman Hussey, 1959, 1960
The collection was given by Mary Lincoln Warren Husssey, the widow of Alfred Rodman Hussey who was a descendent of Samuel and Elizabeth (Rotch) Rodman. His grandparents, Charles W. and Sarah R. Morgan became Unitarians after the "New Light" controversy in New Bedford Monthly Meeting. Alfred R. Hussey was a Unitarian minister.
General
- Genealogy of the Rodman Family by Charles Henry Jones, Philadelphia, 1886.
Processing Information
Processed by FHL staff prior to 1967. Other related papers from the same donor were cataloged as Alfred Rodman Hussey Manuscripts, MSS 030. In 4/2014, the miscellaneous Quaker writings in the manuscript collection were united with the larger collection, added to Series. 3. The journals by Sarah R. Morgan and Jane Hoskins were added to MSS 003, FHL Journals. See Acc. file for list of items previously cataloged as MSS 030.
Subject
- Rodman family (Family)
- Rotch family (Family)
- Title
- An Inventory of the Rodman-Rotch Families Family Papers, 1738-1915
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- 1960
- 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
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