Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA 19081
Abigail Hopper Gibbons (1801-1893) was an important figure in many of the reform movements in the middle and late nineteenth century. Like her father, Isaac T. Hopper (1771-1852), "Abby" Gibbons was an ardent abolitionist and dedicated to prison reform. Of particular note is the correspondence sent and received by Abby Hopper Gibbons, including family letters and and related to her work to assist Union Soldiers during the Civil War. Also includes letters from Union soldiers, prominent Americans such as Theodore Roosevelt, Joseph Choate, and Lydia Maria Child, and correspondence reflecting Quaker family life and concerns.
The Annual Association for the Relief of Sick Children in the Summer was a Quaker women's organization founded in 1818 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to provide relief for impoverished sick children and their mothers from the crowding and oppressive heat during the summer months. The Association was proposed by Casper Wister, M.D., (1801-1867) and was originally housed in a wing of the City Hospital. The collection contains minutes, 1818-1854 (gap 1819-1821) and other records, including acting committee minutes and workbook, 1843-1851.
The Association for the Care of Colored Orphans, also known as “The Shelter,” was founded in Philadelphia by Quaker women in 1822 to care for black orphans, both boys and girls, within a nurturing, home-like environment. In 1915, it relocated to Cheyney, Pa, adjoining the property of Cheyney Training School for Teachers (now Cheyney University) and became a home for girls, known variously as the Shelter for Colored Orphans and the Shelter for Colored Children. In 1965, its name was changed to “Friends Shelter for Girls,” and its mission evolved to serve as a home for teenaged girls, offering training and psychological support. It continued operation until 1981 when it ceased to function as a group home. It was succeeded by the Friends Association for the Care and Protection of Children which functioned as an emergency shelter.
The collection contains correspondence of the family of C. Canby Balderston, a prominent Quaker and businessman. He served with the Friends Relief Service and the Relief Commission for Belgium during WWI and both of his sons, Frederick Emery Balderston and Robert W. Balderston, were COs in WWII, working as ambulance drivers. Frederick E. Balderston (1923-2007) married Judith Braude (1926-1993) in 1949. A significant part of the collection consists of her childhood and college correspondence with her parents. It particularly reflects details of Swarthmore College students life, 1942-1946. Of special interest are the letters that Canby Balderston sent to his mother from France and Belgium, 1917-1919. Also included in the collection is correspondence of C. Canby Balderston's parents, John Lloyd Balderston and Anna Elizabeth (Marshall) Balderston, Quakers of Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Barclay White (1821-1906) was a birthright member of the Society of Friends and served as Clerk and Assistant Clerk for various Quaker meetings and committees starting in 1846. In 1871 President Grant appointed him to the position of Supervisor of Indian Affairs (Northern Superintendency) in which office he served until 1876. During this period he lived in Omaha, Nebraska. After this office was closed he was designated by the Convention of Delegates as Friends Special Indian Agent to periodically visit and inspect the reservations. In 1878 White returned to the East to live in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, until his death in 106 at age 86.
The collection comprises five bound volumes assembled by Barclay White titled Genealogy and Family History, “Collected by Barclay White.” White's autobiography begins on p. 251 of vol. 1. Each volume is indexed and illustrated with many tipped-in original photographs and drawings.
The Genealogy and Family History section in Volume 1 includes an index and genealogies of the families of Christopher White and William Smyth.
Barclay White's autobiography, beginning in Volume 1, includes detailed descriptions of his appointment in 1877 as Special Indian Agent of the Convention of Delegates of the Seven Yearly Meetings and his tenure as Superintendent of Indian Affairs under the Grant administration. Of particular interest is a very detailed history of his life in Nebraska and of the tribes with which he interacted including the Pawnees, Omahas, Winnebagoes, Santee Sioux, and others.
Belva Ann McNall Lockwood (1830-1917), was the first woman attorney to practice before the Supreme Court. Lockwood was also an ardent supporter of women's rights. She lectured and toured the country in attempts to gather support for woman suffrage. In 1884, and again in 1888, she was the Presidential candidate for the National Equal Rights Party, capturing over 4,000 votes in six states. The Papers of Belva Ann Lockwood are an assortment of writings both by and about her.
This collection consists primarily of the correspondence, journals, and memorabilia of Anna Margaret (Davis) Jackson (1848-1920) and her daughter, Anna Morris (Jackson) Branson Theiss (1881-1960), Quaker activists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also includes related materials of the Davis, Price, Jackson, and Fox families as well as some correspondence of William M. Jackson and memorabilia of Anna Florence (Branson) Boardman, and Myron Lewis Boardman. There are significant materials relating to prison reform, women's suffrage, peace, and equal rights for black Americans in New York City in the late 19th century, Quaker activities throughout the period, the Schofield Normal and Industrial School in the late 19th century, and Swarthmore College in the 1890's and 1930's.
The button, pin and ribbon collection contains over 1,700 items, dating from the late nineteenth century to the present, documenting movements for peace and social justice around the world.
Chesterfield Monthly Meeting was organized in 1684 by Burlington Quarterly Meeting. In 1827, after the Hicksite Separation in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the meeting split into Hicksite and Orthodox branches. In 1956, the former Orthodox or Mercer Street meeting merged with the former Hicksite or Hanover Street meeting. In 1974, Chesterfield's two preparative meetings, Crosswicks and Trenton, were established as monthly meetings. Chesterfield Monthly Meeting itself was formally discontinued in 1977.
This collection chiefly consists of men's meeting minutes as well as manumission certificates signed by members of Chesterfield Monthly Meeting, 1774-1796. It also includes several related documents on topics such as the education of free Negroes, and the treatment of Friends who refused to comply with the Anti-Slavery Testimony.
The Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social Justice was initiated in 1974 to "call for disarmament, a simultaneous shift of economic priorities away from militarism and toward meeting domestic and global human needs, and removal of the causes of war." When the Walk ended on October 18, 1976 at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., walkers had covered 8,000 miles through 34 states. This collection contains digitized selections of papers and photographs.