Elizabeth Satterthwaite Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 005

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The files in the first series are dated as early as 1909 and the latest as 1945 when Satterthwaite was working on them and is made up of fifty boxes. The documents in this series include correspondences between Satterthwaite and those she was conducting research for, transcripts of wills, deeds, court records, indentures, marriage records, death and burial records, tombstone inscriptions, baptismal records, hand-drawn maps of properties owned by the families, original letters, family trees and charts, military service records, applications for membership for the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution, booklets, pamphlets, bound books, and meeting minutes. Other dates that are written on the folders include the earliest date the family name and their history is mentioned, as well as the most recent date mentioned. Both Elizabeth and Joseph Satterthwaite were notaries and some of the legal documents bear a notary seal as well as their signature and the date. The correspondences between Satterthwaite and clients are dated from as early as the 1880s to the 1940s. The documents in the second series take up six boxes and contain bound volumes with the meeting minutes, membership information, and other information of Friends societies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania mainly, with mentions of other states. Most of the documents in series two are from Quaker societies that Elizabeth and Joseph Satterthwaite belonged to or were in communication with. The Satterthwaites themselves were on the committee for the Friends societies they belonged to, that along with the amount of documents relating to these societies shows the large interest they had in the history of the Quakers in the United States. Other documents that make up this series include church records, applications and information for Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, and Colonial Dames, as well as newspaper clipping concerning genealogy, and service records for the French and Indian Wars as well as the Revolutionary War. The dates for this collection are from 1813 to 1940.

Dates

Created: 1813-1940

Creator

Satterthwaite, Elizabeth B. (Person)

Biographical or Historical Information

The collection contains the histories and lineages of some of the oldest families in the Northeastern United States. Many of these families had ancestors who were among the first settlers in the area, their arrivals dating as early as the late sixteenth century. Going back even farther, some of these families come from noble or in a few cases even royal descent. Whether or not a family can truthfully claim such an ancient descent, the collection serves as a way for people in the area to connect with their past and learn of their family history. The collection also serves as a research tool for anyone writing on the early history and families of the American colonies or even more recent history. Persons and families of note who have been discovered in the documents include Elizabeth Bassett nee Proctor, wife of John Proctor who was accused of witchcraft alongside her husband. The Rogers family claims descent from John Rogers, an English clergyman and bible translator who was the first Protestant to be burned at the stake by Queen Mary I and is recognized as a martyr. American suffreagette Alice Paul was in correspondence with Satterthwaite and the collection contains some of Ms. Paul's hand-written and typed letters, along with her own notes on her own genealogy. The Woolman family are descendants of John Woolman, the early eighteenth century abolitionist from Mt. Holly, New Jersey.

Note written by Elizabeth B. Satterthwaite

Extent

56.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Elizabeth Satterthwaite Collection contains the genealogies of families from the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware area. There are two series in the collection, the first series contains genealogies of the families, while the second series contains meeting minutes of Friends societies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Satterthwaite was a historian and genealogist from Trenton, New Jersey. She was operating and working on this research during the early half of the twentieth century. Along with Ms. Satterthwaite, her husband, Dr. Joseph H. Satterthwaite, worked on some of the research as well, typed notes with his signature on them make appearances throughout the collection. The scope and content note includes the earliest and most recent dates mentioned as well as the variety of documents that can be found in the collection. The arrangement note mentions how many boxes are in the collection and how many folders the boxes contain. The historical note describes the significance of the collection including people of note, and how the collection can be used.

Arrangement Note

The collection is made up of fifty-six boxes, fifty of them containing files on each family, the other six containing information of Friends societies. The files in the first series are labeled with the family name, the year it was worked on by Satterthwaite, as well as the earliest and most recent years mentioned. The files are arranged alphabetically and extend from "A" to "Z". Due to the varying sizes of the folders and how much content is in each, the number of folders in each box range from fourteen to fourty-five. Depending on how much research was done and how much information Satterthwaite found, one family could take up multiple folders or an entire box. The number of files in each box of the second series range from ten to twenty-eight.