Benezet, Anthony

Abstract A collection of letters of Anthony Benezet (1713-1784), a prominent Friend, philanthropist and teacher. These letters, which are addressed to various persons, reflect cultural and religious aspects, the efforts of Friends to abolish slavery, interest in education, opposition to intolerance and war, missionary work, and observations on the Indians. Mention is made in the letters of Conrad Weiser, George Whitfield, Samuel Wetherill, and others; and there are frequent references to publications...

Scope and Contents

Papers include such biographical information as provided in William Wistar Comfort’s autobiography, a small amount of correspondence, as with his father, Howard Comfort, Comfort’s writings on French topics, Friends’ stories for children, on William Cowper and primarily on Quaker topics, including on William Penn, Anthony Benezet and Stephen Grellet. Comfort spoke publicly on many occasions, specifically at schools and colleges as well as in France during his stay there in 1937.

Overview

The collection includes miscellaneous historical and genealogical documents of the Matlack and other Quaker families focused on the 18th and 19th centuries. Collection is notable for its variety of formats, including commonplace books, diaries, account books, correspondence, and poetry.

Overview Memorials are brief biographical essays which testify to the spiritual values of a Quaker's life. Early meetings only wrote memorials for ministers, but today some meetings continue the practice to memorialize all deceased members. In the 19th century, in particular, some Yearly Meetings periodically published compilations of memorials. This collection consists of miscellaneous memorials, from various meetings and regarding various Friends, collected by the Friends Historical Library over...