Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn Papers MS.Coll.190 Finding Aid Prepared by Jennifer Duli
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Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn papers MS.Coll.190 Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Duli. Last updated on January 17, 2012. Chester County Historical Society 2010 September 22 Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn papers Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................4 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 5 Administrative Information........................................................................................................................... 6 Related Materials........................................................................................................................................... 7 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................8 Collection Inventory.................................................................................................................................... 10 Series I. The Manuscript....................................................................................................................... 10 Series II. Biographical notes............................................................................................................... 106 Series III. Catalogues and bibliographies............................................................................................140 Series IV. Printed works by Penn....................................................................................................... 150 Series V. Tracts attributed to William Penn....................................................................................... 151 Series VI. Albert Cook Myers and the Complete Works................................................................... 152 Series VII. Collections of materials related to William Penn.............................................................153 Series VIII. The Irish Diary................................................................................................................ 159 Series IX. Research regarding Indians................................................................................................165 Series X. Research regarding ships in the Delaware, ship captains, and passengers and supplies......168 Series XI. Research regarding English Quakers................................................................................. 170 Series XII. Research regarding non-Quakers......................................................................................175 - Page 2 - Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn papers Summary Information Repository Chester County Historical Society Creator Myers, Albert Cook, 1874-1960 Title Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn papers Call number MS.Coll.190 Date [inclusive] 1645-1960 Extent 81 linear feet Language English Abstract Albert Cook Myers (1874-1960) was a Pennsylvania historian, who dedicated his life’s work to the identification, study and organization of William Penn’s published writings and personal papers. Beginning in 1910, after securing an endorsement from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, he set out to publish: “The Complete Works of William Penn.” All told, Myers devoted fifty years of his life to this project. Though his publication goals were never realized, he assembled a massive and notable body of information about William Penn. To complete his studies, Myers travelled abroad and throughout the United States. As a result of his efforts, he came to be regarded as an expert on the topic and often spoke publicly on the life and times of William Penn. The Albert Cook Myers research collection of William Penn materials contains the information gathered by Myers in his pursuit to thoroughly research and publish a volume documenting the complete writings of William Penn. Researchers will find Myers' notes, transcriptions, photocopies of documents, newspaper clippings, various author articles, first editions and other early editions of Penn's works, picture postcards of places related to Penn, and photos and original manuscript material. The bulk of the - Page 3 - Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn papers collection is "The Manuscript" series, which focuses on Myer's work on Penn's own writings. Researchers should be aware that the bulk of the collection is Myers' notes and only a small portion is original manuscript material related to Penn. The collection spans the dates of 1645 to 1960, however, the bulk of the material was collected and created by Myers from 1910 to 1960. Cite as: Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn papers, MS. Coll. 190, 1688-1955, Chester County Historical Society. Biography/History Albert Cook Myers (1874-1960) was a Pennsylvania historian, who dedicated his life’s work to the identification, study and organization of William Penn’s published writings and personal papers. Beginning in 1910, after securing an endorsement from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, he set out to publish: “The Complete Works of William Penn.” All told, Myers devoted fifty years of his life to this project. Though his publication goals were never realized, he assembled a massive and notable body of information about William Penn, which included transcriptions of original documents found in the United States and England, research notes, first and other early original editions of Penn’s published works, and some original manuscript material as well. To complete his studies, Myers travelled abroad and throughout the United States. As a result of his efforts, he came to be regarded as an expert on the topic and often spoke publicly on the life and times of William Penn. Myers was born in 1874 in York Springs, Pennsylvania. He was a devoted Quaker. He attended Martin Academy and Swarthmore College, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Swarthmore in 1898 and 1901, respectively. He obtained further graduate education from the Universities of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Harvard. Later, in 1932, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Franklin and Marshal College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Though he was best known for his work on the Penn papers project, throughout his life, Myers was involved in many other historical pursuits of significance. Early in his career, he served as history editor for the publication, The Literary Era, and he also authored and/or edited several books on early American and Pennsylvania history. They include, Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1902; - Page 4 - Albert Cook Myers Historical Collection: William Penn papers Sally Wister’s Journal, 1902; Quaker Arrivals at Philadelphia, 1902; Memoir of Gilbert Cope, 1929; William Penn’s Early Life in Brief, 1944-1974, 1937; and several others. Myers was also involved in various capacities with the Jamestown Exposition in 1907, the Pennsylvania State Historical Commission, Pennsylvania Commission on School History Text Books, Philadelphia Mayor’s Historical Commission, and the Sesquicentennial Celebration. He was a member and chairman of the Historical Commission of Valley Forge Park from 1923 to 1935, and in 1932, directed the William Penn Commemoration. He was president of Friends Historical Society of England and a member of the Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies. During World War I, he served as officer of the War Camp Community Service in Philadelphia, organizing historical walks through Philadelphia and receptions at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for servicemen. Albert Cook Myers died on April 1, 1960. He never married. Scope and Contents The Albert Cook Myers research collection of William Penn materials contains the information gathered by Myers in his pursuit to thoroughly research and publish a volume documenting the complete writings of William Penn. Researchers will find Myers' notes, transcriptions, photocopies of documents, newspaper clippings, various articles, first editions and other early editions of Penn's works, picture postcards of places related to Penn, and photos and original manuscript material. The bulk of the collection is "The Manuscript" series, which focuses on Myer's work on Penn's own writings. Researchers should be aware that the bulk of the collection is Myers' notes and only a small portion is original manuscript material related to Penn. The collection spans the dates of 1645 to 1960, however, the bulk of the material was collected and created by Myers from 1910 to 1960. The Albert Cook Myers research collection of William Penn consists of research conducted by Albert Cook Myers for an intended definitive edition of the works of William Penn. Myers proposed to include all of Penn's published works and all the surviving letters in order to supplant other "meagre and antiquated" published editions. Over time, he added the task of writing a biography to his already ambitious plan. For nearly fifty years, Myers researched and collected information, copies of original manuscripts and works, and organized his research for the eventual writing of the edition. The writing of the volume never occurred.