Smedley Family Photographs

The Smedley family in America is descended from George Smedley (died 1723) who arrived in Pennsylvania about 1682, purchasing property from William Penn in what is now Middletown, Delaware County. A descendant, Thomas Smedley died at the age of 43 in 1875, and his half interest went to brothers William B. Smedley and Edward G. Smedley. Thomas Smedley's widow, Philena Yarnall Smedley, and their children were close to their extended family and the network of students who studied at Westtown. Philena Smedley moved to a house in Media with unmarried daughters Rebecca and Emma Smedley until they moved to the Barclay Home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Edward G. and Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley with their two daughters Edith and Susanna lived at the family farm until about 1888. They were appointed Superintendent and Matron at Westtown Boarding School in 1896.

Edward Garrett Smedley was a conscientious objector in the Civil War and a Clerk, Overseer and Elder at Chester Monthly Meeting. His wife, Elizabeth Sharpless, a Sharpless and Kite descendant, was friends with the Smedley siblings, especially Deborah, and all attended Westtown School. Edward G. and Elizabeth Smedley had three children, a son who died in infancy and two daughters, neither of whom married: Edith (1869-1915) and Susanna (1875-1970). Susanna was bookkeeper for the Westtown School, served as archivist, and took an interest in family history. The property subsequently was owned by the widows of William B. and Edward G. Smedley, Deborah Cope Smedley and Elizabeth Sharpless Smedley, until Walter Smedley, their nephew, purchased it in 1911.

Walter Smedley (1862-1939) was the middle child of Thomas and Philena Smedley and a prominent Philadelphia architect. In 1910, he purchased the farm in Middletown from his aunt and uncle and lived in Media with his widowed mother, two unmarried sisters, and a widowed sister. In 1919, he married Ida Wilkins Roberts, a teacher and member of Moorestown Monthly Meeting, and they had three children: Walter, Jr. (1920-2010), Henry R. (1922-1997), and Alice Roberts Smedley (1924-1995). Walter Smedley died in 1939, and in 1942, his widow married C. Canby Balderston, a business executive and widower with two grown sons, Frederick E. Balderston and Robert W. Balderston. C. Canby Balderston was a conscientious objector in World War I, taught at the University of Pennsylvania and served on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1954-1966. He died in 1979, and Ida Roberts Smedley Balderston died December 31, 1993. Walter, Jr., and his wife, Mary Jane Smedley lived in the family homestead, Penncrest, until their deaths.