%eadnotat; ]> 5163aawh Aaron White Family Papers, 1805-1966 2004 Finding aid encoded by JGW from an MSWord finding aid. 2004 Finding aid is in English. Aaron White Family Papers, 1805-1966 Summary Family Papers 1805-1966 RG5/163 White, Aaron, 1793-1863 2 linear ft. Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Libraries' online catalog: http://tripod.brynmawr.edu Contains the papers of Aaron White (1793-1863) and his family. He was a birthright member of Pasquotank Monthly Meeting, N.C., and transferred to Milford Monthly Meeting, Indiana, in 1829. The Whites were active in Quaker affairs and concerns, including abolition and controversies within Indiana Yearly Meeting. Aaron, as the oldest son in his family, played a central role in the family both in business and personal matters. The bulk of the collection is the correspondence of Aaron and Margaret White, letters sent and received. Their extended family and concerns include relatives in Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The letters chronicle the migration of Quakers to the mid-West as well as touch on Quaker activities and issues, slavery in North Carolina, and personal concerns through three generations. Prominent Quaker correspondents include Thomas Shillitoe, Thomas Edgerton, Josiah Forster, and Elijah Coffin. Also of interest are business papers and some family genealogical information on the White, Moore, Coffin, Nixon, and Fletcher families. BIOGRAPHICAL & HISTORICAL

Aaron White was the son of Edmund and Mary (Morris) White of Pasquotank County, North Carolina. Edmund White (d. 1812) of Perquimans Monthly Meeting. married Mary Morris (d. 1813) under the care of Pasquotank Monthly Meeting in 1792. They had eight children: Aaron (born 1793, married Margaret Fletcher); Edmund (born 1896, married Margaret Nixon); Miriam (1797-1800); Joseph Morris (b. 1800); Mary (b. 1801, married Caleb White); Alfred (b. 1804-1844, married Abigail Pritchard); Elizabeth (b. 1806, married Daniel Tisdale); and Margaret Scott (1811-1830, married Joseph Elliott).

Aaron White married Margaret Fletcher (1796-1854), daughter of Joshua and Margaret Fletcher, of Perquimans Monthly Meeting in 1813, and they had seven children born in North Carolina, viz: Albert (1817-1840, married Gulielma Hiatt); Martha (1819-1820); Morris (1821-1822); Marcia (b. 1823, married Charles Moore); Oliver (1825-1825); Catherine (b. and d. 1827); and Susannah (1828-1829). In 1829, the family received a certificate of removal from Pasquotank MM to Milford MM in Wayne County, Indiana. Children born in Indiana under the care of Milford MM were: Richard (b. 1829, married Mary A. Underhill); Augustus (1832-1833); Deborah (1834-1888, married David Sutton); and Lemuel (b. and d. 1838). Margaret and Aaron White also raised the three orphaned children of Margaret’s brother, William (1794-1826) who died in a shipwreck. They were: Samuel Francis (referred to as Francis in some family correspondence), Margaret Ann, and Sarah Nixon Fletcher. The Whites also took into their household two other nephews from North Carolina, Daniel T. (b. 1835) and William E. White (b. 1836) who were the children of Aaron’s younger brother Alfred and his second wife, Mary. Mary White married secondly to Henry Haskett. Margaret White died in 1854, and Aaron married a second time in 1858 to Rachel P. Moore of Milford Monthly Meeting.

Of Aaron and Margaret White’s eleven children, only four survived to maturity, and their oldest child, Albert (1817-1840) died shortly after his marriage. Daughter Marcia married Charles Moore of Milford Monthly Meeting in 1839; Richard married Mary A. Underhill of Miami Monthly Meeting in 1853; and Deborah married David Sutton in 1859.

Marcia and Charles Moore had nine children. Daughter Deborah (1855-) in 1879 married William Furnas of Fairfield Monthly Meeting, Indiana. They had three children, including Paul F. Furnas (1889-1960) who inherited some of the family papers and was comptroller for Earlham University. Their youngest child, Marcia Frances Moore, in 1892 married Don Carlos Barrett under the care of Whitewater Monthly Meeting, and additional papers apparently were preserved by her.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Contains the papers of Aaron White and his family. He was a birthright member of Pasquotank Monthly Meeting, N.C., and transferred to Milford Monthly Meeting, Indiana, in 1829. The Whites were active in Quaker affairs and concerns, including abolition and controversies within Indiana Yearly Meeting. Aaron, as the oldest son in his family, played a central role in the family both in business and personal matters. The bulk of the collection is the correspondence of Aaron and Margaret White, letters sent and received. Their extended family and concerns include relatives in Indiana, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. The letters chronicle the migration of Quakers to the mid-West as well as touch on Quaker activities and issues, slavery in North Carolina, and personal concerns through three generations. Prominent Quaker correspondents include Thomas Shillitoe, Thomas Edgerton, Josiah Forster, and Elijah Coffin. Also of interest are business papers and some family genealogical information on the White, Moore, Coffin, Nixon, and Fletcher families.

Organization: Organized in three series: 1. Biographical and Genealogical 2. Correspondence 3. Miscellaneous Papers

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Accession information

Deposit. Donor: Betty Furnas Date: 1966. Donor: Barrett family

The collection was given by the Betty Furnas, who was the widow of Paul J. Furnas who died in 1960. He was a descendent of Aaron White by his daughter Marcia who married Charles Moore in Milford MM. Paul J. Furnas was the son of their daughter, Deborah Moore who married William Furnas of Fairfield Monthly Meeting. This material includes family correspondence and business correspondence of Aaron White. Apparently about the same time, other material from other descendents of Aaron and Margaret White were given by the family of Deborah’s sister, Marcia Frances Moore who married Don Carlos Barrett, and Thomas A. Moore’s son Charles H. Moore. This material included family letters to Margaret White and Aaron’s letterbooks. There is also some material from Samuel Francis Fletcher who was raised in the household of Aaron White and married Elizabeth Dix Hiatt.

Initially, White Family Papers were given by Betty Furnas, the widow of Paul Furnas in 1966. Additional family papers were apparently added to the collection shortly thereafter but were kept as two separate units. The collection was originally named Furnas Family Papers, also known as Furnas-Barrett Family Papers. In 1987, the collection was renamed the Aaron White Family Papers. In 2002, the collection was reorganized and the correspondence filed chronologically. A new finding aid was produced.

 Access

Collection is open for research.

 Use Restrictions

Copyright has not been assigned to the Repositories. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the individual Meeting or its successor. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Repositories as the holder(s) of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.

 SEARCHING IN OUR ON-LINE CATALOGUE FOR RELATED MATERIALS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Friends Historical Library (TRIPOD). Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings: Researchers are advised to search by subject and author, when applicable:

White Family Moore family Coffin family Nixon family Fletcher family Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends (Orthodox: 1828- ) Quakers -- New England Quakers -- North Carolina Slavery -- North Carolina Society of Friends -- Controversies Quakers -- Indiana White, Aaron, 1793-1863 Genealogies Shillitoe, Thomas, 1754-1836 Edgerton, Thomas, 1823?-1847 Forster, Josiah, 1782-1870 Coffin, Elijah, 1798-1862 White, Margaret, 1979-1854 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Note to Researchers: These records may only be consulted at Swarthmore and are not available through inter-Library loan.

Series 1: Biographical and Genealogical Coffin family 1 folder 1 Fletcher family 1 folder 1 Hiatt family 1 folder 1 Moore family 1 folder 1 Nixon family 1 folder 1 Parker family 1 folder 1 White family 1 folder 1 Series 2: Correspondence and related papers, 1805-1966 Correspondence, primarily to Margaret Fletcher/White 1805-1824 1 folder 1 Correspondence and settlement of Little River Mills 1825-1826 1 folder 1 Correspondence received by Aaron White 1829 1 folder 1

Includes letter from Thomas Shillitoe and others with family news, mention of meetings, finances of move to Indiana. Also of interest is a letter concerning slaves given to the Yearly Meeting in North Carolina.

 Correspondence of Aaron White 1830 1 folder 1

Includes a letter from Aaron White to his wife while making a trip east.

 Correspondence to Aaron White 1831 1 folder 1 Letter to Charles H. Moore from his father with Moore family genealogy 1831 1 folder 1 Correspondence 1832 1 folder 1 Aaron White letterbook 1832-1837 1 folder 2 Correspondence, including letter from Thomas Shillitoe 1833-35 1 folder 2 Correspondence, including letter to daughter Marcia at Westtown 1836 1 folder 2 Letters between Margaret and Aaron White 1836 1 folder 2

Letters between Margaret and Aaron White when he travels to N.C., Norfolk, and Philadelphia, including acceptance of girls to Westtown.

 Correspondences 1837 1 folder 2

Includes letter arranging tuition for daughter Marcia and niece Jane White at Westtown School (1837) and letters from Marcia at school.

 Correspondence 1838 1 folder 2

Includes a letter from the Abolition Society of New York urging support of abolitionist candidates and a letter concerning a slave Henry Knox of N.C. whose wife and others were working to buy him to join the family in Indiana.

 Correspondence, largely to Margaret White 1839 1 folder 2 Margaret White to Aaron White 1839 1 folder 2

Travel to Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

 Letter, Samuel Francis Fletcher to his fiancée, Elizabeth Dix 1839 1 folder 2 Correspondence 1840 1 folder 2 Correspondence 1841 1 folder 2

Of interest letter from Thomas Edgerton concerning his disownment for abolitionist activities/subscription to pay for school building.

 Correspondence 1842 1 folder 2 Correspondence 1843 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1844 1 folder 3

Includes letter from John M. Macy explaining his plan to live among the Shawnee; subsequent letter indicates poor health which forced him to leave.

 Correspondence and apprenticeship agreement for Jonah Davis 1845 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1846 1 folder 3

Includes visit of Margaret White and others to Chester Monthly Meeting. Letter from Elijah Coffin, and travels with the Coffins and other English Friends. Also biographical sketch of Thomas Moore, died 1846,

 Correspondence 1847 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1848 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1849 1 folder 3

Includes correspondence with John Allen and Josiah Forster, English Friends

 Correspondence 1850 1 folder 3

Includes memorial on death of Parker Gordan (1830-1850) who lived in the White household (in hand of Aaron White) and nephew Daniel T. White's coming to live with them and join the Society of Friends.

 Aaron White letterbook 1850-52 & 1861 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1851 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1852-1853 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1854 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1855 1 folder 3 Correspondence 1856-1860 1 folder 3 Correspondence, primarily to Deborah White Sutton 1861-1874 1 folder 3 Correspondence to the Suttons and Barretts 1875-1906 1 folder 3

Includes letter certifying that Charles Moore was one-quarter Cherokee and his children therefore were of Cherokee descent.

 Correspondence to Marcia Frances Barrett and Furnas family 1928-1966 1 folder 3 Correspondence, primarily between Margaret White, daughters and granddaughters n.d. 1 folder 3 Series 3: Miscellaneous Papers, 1813-1839 & n.d. Marriage certificate, Aaron White and Margaret Fletcher, Perquimans Monthly Meeting 16, 9mo, 1813 1 folder 4 Fletcher, Haskett financial papers, etc. 1821 1 folder 4 Permission of Charles H. Moore from parents to marry Marcia White, address to Milford MM 1839 1 folder 4 Deborah White (later Sutton) autograph books 1 folder 4 Aaron White, draft of wills 1844 1 folder 4 Marcia Frances (Moore) Barrett's genealogical notes, memorabilia 1 folder 4 Miscellaneous family published memorabilia 1 folder 4