Gathered Leaves: Miscellaneous Papers from New York Yearly Meeting
Scope and Contents
This is an artificial collection compiled by William Wood, long time Clerk of New York Yearly Meeting. Circa 1872, he selected interesting documents to mount in two large scrapbooks. The title is inspired by a verse from John vi:12 -- Gather up the fragments . . . that nothing be lost. The bulk of the collection is epistles, sorted roughly by topic. Wood was particularly interested in the issues of slavery, freedmen, peace testimony, and religious education. Also included are correspondence, Quaker documents, and miscellaneous papers. Correspondents include Moses Brown, William Rickman, John Pemberton.
Organized in four series:
- Correspondence
- Quaker documents
- Epistles, Circulars
- Miscellaneous
Dates
- Creation: 1694-1871
Creator
- Wood, William, 1797-1877 (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
William Wood, the son of Samuel and Mary Wood, was born 5 month 6, 1797, a birthright member of New York Monthly Meeting. In 1835, he married Mary S. Underhill, daughter of Joshua and Mary Underhill. William Wood was a New York City publisher and lifelong devout Quaker. He worked in the publishing house which his father had established 1806, specializing in children's' books. Under William's leadership, the firm became known for its medical publications. He was a longtime Clerk for New York Monthly Meeting (Orthodox) and an Elder. His special concerns were the abolition of slavery, the welfare of freedmen and Indians, peace, and Quaker education. William Wood died 4 month 9, 1877.
Extent
.75 linear ft. (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The bulk of the collection is epistles, sorted roughly by topic. William Wood, the Clerk of New York Yearly Meeting who arranged the collection, was particularly interested in the issues of slavery, welfare of freedmen and Native Americans, and peace testimony, and religious education. Also included are correspondence, Quaker documents, and miscellaneous papers. Correspondents include Moses Brown, William Rickman, John Pemberton.
Physical Location
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donor: New York Yearly Meeting
Date: 1997
Existence and Location of Copies
Most of the epistles also can be found in meeting records.
Separated Materials
An engraved portrait of Stephen Grellet and a political cartoon, 1848-The Birthday Banquet-1869, stored with FHL Art
Processing Information
Circa 1872, documents compiled by William Wood, long time Clerk of New York Yearly Meeting, were glued into large albums, roughly by topic. In some cases, he annotated the items. In 1937, John Cox, then Keeper of the Records, pasted in additional loose items and created an alphabetical index. Because the scrapbooks were badly deteriorated and the documents not easily accessed or preserved, they were dismantled after their transfer to Friends Historical Library. In some cases, documents could not be separated. They were removed as best as possible, sorted into basic categories and described. An engraved portrait of Stephen Grellet and a political cartoon of 1848 The Birthday Banquet 1869 were removed to FHL Art.
Subject
- New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Organization)
- Darby, Deborah (Person)
- Title
- Finding aid for Gathered Leaves: Miscellaneous Papers from New York Yearly Meeting, 1694-1871
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- ENG
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.
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
