Sharples-Paschall Family Papers

Nathan H. Sharples (1779-1828) married Martha Price (1785-1852) in 1804 under the care of Birmingham MM. They had six children born in West Chester, Pennsylvania: Hannah married Edward B. Darlington in 1831; William P. married Anne G. Pennell in 1848 and secondly Sarah J. Leedon in 1850; Philip Price married Mary A. Paschall; Henry P. married first Harriett Price and second Hannah Martin; Ann (1816-1883) married Stephen Paschall; Alfred married Elizabeth Cope Sharples; and Samuel Emlen Sharples married Martha Serrill Ash. Family members variously spelled the surname Sharples or Sharpless.

William P. Sharpless (1808-1879), the oldest son of Nathan and Martha Sharples, was a Quaker minister and successful Philadelphia businessman. He first operated general store in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in partnership with John W. Townsend. He subsequently moved to Philadelphia where he became a manager of the Philadelphia-West Chester Railroad.

His brother, Philip Price Sharples (1810-1902), was a superintendent of the West Chester Railroad and a major supporter of the Borough of West Chester and High Street Friends Meeting. He was involved with peace concerns and prohibition as well as the Price School in West Chester. He married Mary A. Paschall (1815-1885), daughter of Thomas and Anne Price Gibson Paschall of Darby Monthly Meeting. Anne P. Paschall was a Quaker minister, and she had married second Halliday Jackson, a prominent Quaker minister, in 1833. Philip P. and Mary A. Sharples' children included Stephen Paschall Sharples who married Abbie M. Hall, Alfred D. Sharples who married Rachel Roberts, and Ann Price Sharples (1846-1925). Alfred Roberts Sharpless (1888-1955) was an electrical engineer and physicist. He married Clara V. Broadbent and resided in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. His brother, Henry R. Sharples, married Esther B. Foulke and was active in Baltimore Yearly Meeting.

Henry P. Sharples (1813-1890), brother of William and Philip, was a successful West Chester merchant and builder, active in civic affairs and a member of Birmingham Monthly Meeting. His son, William Penn Sharpless married three times, Sallie A. Marshall, Frances Linton, and Elizabeth Black. He was a banker, a founder of Chester County Hospital, travelled widely and was an active member of West Chester Friends Meeting.

Ann Sharples (1816-1883) married Stephen Paschall, son of Thomas and Ann Price (Gibson) Paschall. She was the author of children's books and in late life returned to West Chester. Their son Alfred Paschall graduated from Swarthmore College, and his son, Irvin Francis Paschall, married Edith Lane Verlenden. Another son, S. Edward Paschall married Elizabeth Roberts and moved to Washington State.