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Lewis-Fussell Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG5-087

Scope and Contents

The collection contains correspondence, journals, other writings, account books, albums, photographs, and miscellaneous notes of members of the Lewis and Fussell families of Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsylvania. Includes the papers and drawings of Graceanna Lewis, prominent Quaker natural scientist and social reformer. Educated at the Kimberton Boarding School, she also taught at a number of female seminaries, including a boarding school managed by her uncle, Bartholomew Fussell, and the Foster School for Girls at Clifton Springs, N.Y. Of particular interest is her correspondence with a cousin concerning phrenology and a school for black children in which he was teaching, and her manuscript memoirs of the Underground Railroad. The collection also includes the correspondence (1836-90) of Henry B. Fussell, with his observations on politics and the Civil War, and that of Linnaeus Fussell, with descriptions of his travels in China and in other parts of Asia from 1867-69 while aboard the U.S.S. Unadilla. The early life of the artist, Charles Lewis Fussell is mentioned in the correspondence of his mother, Rebecca Lewis Fussell; the letters of the former are also part of this collection. Other correspondents include Rebecca F. Trimble, Esther Jane Trimble, Esther Lewis, Henry M. Fussell, Rebecca L. Fussell, and many other family members.

Dates

  • Creation: 1698-1978

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Explore Digitized Content

Note that the bulk of the material relating to Graceanna Lewis has been digitized and is available in our Digital Library. Explore this collection online.

Conditions Governing Use

Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.

Biographical / Historical

Bartholomew Fussell was a Quaker minister who married Rebecca Bond at Abington Monthly Meeting in Pennsylvania in 1781. He was a member of Uwchlan Monthly Meeting of Friends at his death in 1838. The couple had eight children, viz. Esther, William, Sarah, Joseph, Jacob, Bartholomew, Rebecca, and Solomon. Esther married John Lewis in 1818, and they had four children, among whom was Graceanna Lewis, Quaker scientist and humanitarian. Joseph Fussell married Elizabeth Moore in 1814, and their eldest son, Henry Bartholomew, married Maria Lewis. Rebecca Fussell married Joseph Trimble in 1837, and their only daughter, Esther Jane, married Isaac Lippincott.

Graceanna Lewis (1821-1912) is the most prominent of the members of the Lewis and Fussell families included in this collection. Her mother, Esther Fussell Lewis (1782-1848), and later for a time Graceanna herself, managed the family farm near Kimberton, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Educated at Kimberton Boarding School, Graceanna at various times supported herself as a schoolteacher, beginning in York, Pa., from 1842-1844 where she taught at a boarding school for girls managed by her uncle, Bartholomew Fussell. While she was devoted to social reform, working for abolition of slavery, temperance, and women's rights, by the 1860s her efforts were directed mostly to the sciences, especially ornithology and botany. After intensive studies in the sciences in the 1860s in Philadelphia, Graceanna Lewis was elected to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 1870. She applied unsuccessfully for teaching posts in 1868 and 1877 at Vassar College after which she resumed teaching at preparatory schools, including the Foster School for Girls at Clifton Springs, N.Y. from 1883-1885. In 1885 Graceanna Lewis retired to Media, Pensylvnia, where she spent her remaining years. She applied her artistic talents to her study of science, and the Lewis Papers contain many of her drawings of plants and birds.

The collection also includes the correspondence (1836-1890) of Henry Bartholomew Fussell (1815-1890) with his observations on politics and the Civil War, and that of Linnaeus Fussell (1842-1907) joined the Union army but soon became a Navy doctor. Many of his letters describe his travels while in the Navy, especially in China and other parts of Asia, 1867-69, while aboard the U.S.S. Unadilla. A few letters mention the Darien expedition (near Panama) in 1871. The early life of the artist, Charles Lewis Fussell is mentioned in the correspondence of his mother, Rebecca Lewis Fussell; the letters of the former are also part of this collection. Other correspondents include Rebecca F. Trimble, Esther Jane Trimble, Esther Lewis, Henry M. Fussell, Rebecca L. Fussell, and many other family members.

Extent

6 linear ft. (12 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Bartholomew Fussell was a Quaker minister who married Rebecca Bond at Abington Monthly Meeting in Pennsylvania in 1781. He was a member of Uwchlan Monthly Meeting of Friends at his death in 1838. The couple had eight children, viz. Esther, William, Sarah, Joseph, Jacob, Bartholomew, Rebecca, and Solomon. Esther married John Lewis in 1818, and they had four children, among whom was Graceanna Lewis, Quaker scientist and humanitarian. Joseph Fussell married Elizabeth Moore in 1814, and their eldest son, Henry Bartholomew, married Maria Lewis. Rebecca Fussell married Joseph Trimble in 1837, and their only daughter, Esther Jane, married Isaac Lippincott. The collection contains correspondence, journals, other writings, account books, albums, photographs, and miscellaneous notes of members of the Lewis and Fussell families of Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsylvania. Includes the papers and drawings of Graceanna Lewis, prominent Quaker natural scientist and social reformer. Educated at the Kimberton Boarding School, she also taught at a number of female seminaries, including a boarding school managed by her uncle, Bartholomew Fussell, and the Foster School for Girls at Clifton Springs, N.Y. Of particular interest is her correspondence with a cousin concerning phrenology and a school for black children in which he was teaching, and her manuscript memoirs of the Underground Railroad. The collection also includes the correspondence (1836-90) of Henry B. Fussell, with his observations on politics and the Civil War, and that of Linnaeus Fussell, with descriptions of his travels in China and in other parts of Asia from 1867-69 while aboard the U.S.S. Unadilla. The early life of the artist, Charles Lewis Fussell is mentioned in the correspondence of his mother, Rebecca Lewis Fussell; the letters of the former are also part of this collection. Other correspondents include Rebecca F. Trimble, Esther Jane Trimble, Esther Lewis, Henry M. Fussell, Rebecca L. Fussell, and many other family members.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into nine series:

  1. Biographical and genealogical
  2. Correspondence
  3. Drawings
  4. Diaries
  5. Writings
  6. Albums and account books
  7. Photographs
  8. Miscellaneous
  9. Relics

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donor: Purchase, 1980

The collection was purchased from Sarah Fussell Macaulay who arranged and annotated the papers.

Related Materials

Fussell-Lewis Papers, SC 045, Gift of Alice Fussell, 1939.

Separated Materials

Oversize drawings (see Ser. 3), originally part of the collection, are stored in FHL Chart Case, Lewis-Fussell.

Processing Information

Letters and papers of the Lewis and Fussell families were arranged and annotated by Sarah Fussell Macaulay. Papers arranged, stored in documents boxes in Record Group 5. Sarah Fussell Macaulay's annotations photocopied on acid-free paper and placed with corresponding letters and documents.

Subject

Title
An Inventory of the Lewis-Fussell Family Papers, 1698-1978
Author
FHL staff
Date
1980
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries

Revision Statements

  • 2020: Updated outdated, harmful terminology related to enslavement, except where it appears in a title, quotation, or subject heading.

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