Friends Historical Library holds the papers of individual Quakers and the archives of Quaker organizations. These Friends and groups have focused on different aspects of the world around us, as seen below.
John Woolman was a minister and abolitionist. One of the most influential Quakers of the eighteenth century, Woolman’s journal in manuscript and print has inspired many interested in equality and equity, nature and climate justice, peace and conscription. Among his writings, researchers can find his views on the treatment of the earth.
Mary Botham Howitt was an English Quaker who wrote poetry and stories for children and adults. She wrote two books, Sketches of Natural History (1834) and Birds and Flowers, and Other Country Things (1838), both of which discussed the impact of economic activity on nature. Mary Howitt’s papers are available in the Library.
John Hunt was a New Jersey Quaker minister. Hunt's detailed journal includes discussions of farming and conditions. You can access John Hunt's journals and see his networks on Friendly Networks.
John Bartram, William Bartram, and Peter Collinson
The Bartrams and Collinsons were eighteenth- and nineteenth-century father-and-son pairs, one in England and one in Philadelphia, who contributed greatly to the Quaker consideration of sustainability. John Bartram and son William lived in Philadelphia. They both traveled and collected plants and seeds, which John used to create his famous garden. Peter Collinson and his son Michael lived in London, where as both botanists and merchants, they could arrange for the trade and shipping of plants and seeds to and from the Bartrams.