Emlen and Mifflin Family collection

The materials in this collection represent a variety of Emlen and Mifflin family members, including some who are not identified.

The majority of the estate book contains information about the estate of James Emlen, including a copy of his will, a list of books given to writer by the executors for the use of his children, and financial information. The book also includes financial information on the estates of Caleb Pierce, Mary Vernon, Caspar W. Sharpless, and Abraham W. Sharpless, usually mentioning cash transactions. It is possible that the book was created by John Pierce, Thomas Stewardson, or Jonathan Evans, as they were the guardians of James Emlen’s children.

The Ann Emlen Mifflin manuscripts is a bound volume: “Several pieces from a manuscript book in the handwriting of Ann Mifflin, copied by Charles C. Cresson, Philadelphia, 1868.” The contents are as follows: Margaret Ellis’s Journal; Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge (various sources); A Few Words of Council unto Friends, Concerning Marriage; Epistle to Friends of Philadelphia from Elizabeth Webb; Expressions Used by Roger Haydock and Eleanor Lowe, said to the first marriage among Friends.

Ann Emlen Mifflin’s diary does not have her name recorded, but is written in her hand. Part of the diary is a recording of daily life, including attending Meeting (usually Hill Meeting), dining out, visiting other Friends, including Warner Mifflin, and personal and spiritual reflections on the author’s place in the world. There are also sections titled: “An Account of Two Months Spent in the Country,” “Acct of a Journey to Chopt [?] Yearly Meeting, 1789,” and “Some account of a Tour Thro a part of the Country.” Inserted into the book are three documents in the hand of Warner Mifflin. These include his address to the Convention of the Delaware State Sitting at Dover, 1791, a piece dated 7-10-1794 reflecting on slavery and American Independence, and a piece titled by a later writer "Awful Considerations on the Probability of Judgments coming on the Land Because of the Injuries Attending Slavery of Fellow Men,” which may be a continuation of the previous piece.

The commonplace book has Ann Emlen Mifflin’s name inside, but the handwriting does not match the previous piece. It includes copies of a number of letters, testimonies, and accounts of Quakers, as well as excerpts from Cowper’s “The Task.” Testimonies for James Emlen and Warner Mifflin are included.

The George G. Williams receipt book records mostly cash transactions. The Poor Committee receipt book records incoming cash from patrons and whose board each donation is going to pay. The scrapbook contains images of meeting houses and significant historical figures, mostly Quaker, both British and American; these images are mostly clipped from books and magazines, but some are photographs. The Quaker history copy book contains handwritten copies of parts of works on the history of Quakerism and Pennsylvania.