Searching the Sources: Quaker Archives in the Philadelphia Area

SEARCHING THE SOURCES: QUAKER ARCHIVES IN THE PHILADELPHIA AREA Barbara L. Curtis* In Faith and Practice under the heading of "Records," there is the injunction "AU meetings are directed to keep minutes of their proceedings in suitable books, carefully indexed and kept in safe custody, . . ." In the case of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, there are now two depositories—Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. Until 1975 there was a third one at 4th and Arch Streets. When Philadelphia Yearly Meeting decided to go out of the archival business itself and close out the operation there, the remaining records and documents were turned over to the care of the Quaker collections at the two colleges, under the general oversight of the Yearly Meeting's Records Committee. This resulted in considerable financial savings for the Yearly Meeting as well as making it more convenient for Friends in general and the scholarly world in particular to use the source materials for the history and activities of Quakers in the Delaware Valley in two locations rather than in three. It is the understanding of all concerned that the records are considered "on indefinite loan." Conditions of use, possible reproduction or other disposition which the archive is permitted to make of them are prescribed by the Yearly Meeting. In return for providing these services of access and safekeeping, the college libraries enrich their own resources of manuscript materials for the use of scholars, historians and genealogists in pursuit of the Quaker past. Before undertaking to outUne some of the major collections at Haverford and Swarthmore that seem to have been underutiUzed or are very recent additions that contain significant original manuscript material, there is need to sketch briefly the origins of the Quaker collections at Haverford and Swarthmore. *Barbara L. Curtis was Quaker Bibliographer, Haverford College Library, 1968-1979. This article is a revised version of an address given by Barbara Curtis to die conference of Quaker historians held at Haverford College in June, 1980. 40 Quaker Archives in the Philadelphia Area41 When Haverford College came into existence in 1833, immediately foUowing the disastrous controversies of the 1820's. one of the major reasons prompting Orthodox Friends to estabUsh an institution of higher education was the widespread feeUng that their young men were not well versed in the history and principles of their own religious society. By the end of the 19th century local Quakers, especially those with Orthodox connections, were using the college library and its archival adjunct as the place to receive and care for collections of family papers, deeds and legal documents as well as data of family genealogy. In the 1940's, thanks to the concern of the college Board of Managers under the leadership of Morris E. Leeds, and with additional financial assistance from the Joseph Grundy Foundation, a separate area was provided specifically for the Quaker Collection. Still further expansion occurred in the 1960's with the completion of the Bortón Wing, which includes an air-conditioned and humidity controlled vault. By now, in 1980, the Quaker Collection houses over 30,000 volumes and manuscript materials in excess of 250,000 items. Special strengths of the collections at Haverford begin with the fine group of letters given to the college early in the 20th century by Lucy Roberts, widow of Charles Roberts, Philadelphia business executive and longtime member of the Board of Managers. These autographed letters include distinguished scientists, writers of prose and poetry, men of statesmanship and general affairs in both America and Europe, going back as far as the 14th century. Although this collection has been known and used by a wide assortment of scholars for many years, there is still a mine of original data that can be searched and extracted in the 1980's. The materials housed in the manuscript collections relating to the Society of Friends are particularly strong in the areas of relationships with the Indians, with the 18th century aspect of Quakers and the slavery issue, and a significant group of over 700 journals and diaries of individual Friends. The Quaker Collection has made a point of seeking out fiction by or about Friends and assembling a very complete collection of poetry both pubUshed...