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Henry Simmons letterbooks

 Collection
Identifier: HC.MC-975-02-019

Scope and Contents

This collection is comprised of the two volumes of the letterbooks of Henry Simmons and a single folder of related materials. Letterbooks are comprised of business and government correspondence related to Simmons's work with various Indigenous nations.

Dates

  • Creation: 1797-1799, undated

Creator

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

Henry Simmons (1768-1807) was born on September 15, 1768, to Henry Simmons Sr. and Mary Paxson, the youngest of the five children. Before he was a year old, Simmons's mother died, and his father married Sarah Dun. Simmons's father and step mother went on to have eight more children. Despite Simmons's relative lack of formal education in his youth, he went on to be a school teacher on the Oneida reservation from 1796 to 1797, and at Cornplanter's village from 1798 to 1799.

Henry Simmons belonged to the Middletown Monthly Meeting, where he first expressed his desire to help Native American populations. After Middletown Monthly Meeting found Simmons suitable for missionary work, he was given a certificate from that meeting recommending him for missionary service to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Indian Committee. Along with Halliday Jackson and Joel Swayne, Simmons was invited by Cornplanter (Gaiänt'wakê, John Abeel) to spend a year with the Seneca Nation during which the group of missionaries set up a school and model farm.

Henry Simmons married Rachel Preston in 1800, and the couple had four children: Deborah (b. 1804), John (b. 1803), Hannah (b. 1806), and Henryetta (b. 1808). Simmons died in Pennsylvania in 1807.

Extent

0.06 linear ft. (2 volumes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Henry Simmons, who belonged to the Middletown Monthly Meeting, spent a year with the Seneca near Cornplanter's village along with Halliday Jackson and Joel Swayne. There, the group of missionaries set up a school and model farm. Simmons's letterbooks are comprised of business and government correspondence related to his work with various Indigenous nations.

Acquisition

Unknown.

Related Materials

  • HC.MC.975.01.072 Henry Simmons journals
  • HC.MC.975.03.054 Henry Simmons commonplace book
  • HC.MC.975.07.132 "Account of a visit paid to the Indians in New York State"
  • HC.MC.1003 Associated Executive Committee of Friends on Indian Affairs records
  • HC.MC.950.101 Halliday Jackson papers
  • HC.MC.975.01.069 Joshua Sharpless diaries
  • HC.MC.975.01.078 Joel Swayne diary

Processing Information

Processed by Kara Flynn; completed August, 2015.

Title
Henry Simmons letterbooks, 1797-1799, undated
Author
Kara Flynn
Date
August, 2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections Library

Contact:
370 Lancaster Ave
Haverford PA 19041 USA US