Fisher family papers

Miers Fisher was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1769 and retired some 24 years later, moving to his Fox Chase estate "Ury." He and other members of his family were among the Quakers exiled in Virginia during the Revolution. He was elected a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, 1791-...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fisher family (Creator)
Collection:Fisher Family Papers
Collection Number:2094
Format: Manuscript
Language:English
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Online Access:Link to finding aid
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Physical Description: 12.5 Linear feet 12.5 linear feet, 28 boxes,
Summary: Miers Fisher was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1769 and retired some 24 years later, moving to his Fox Chase estate "Ury." He and other members of his family were among the Quakers exiled in Virginia during the Revolution. He was elected a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly, 1791-1792, and was a counselor for the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. The Fisher family papers center on Miers Fisher, with smaller sections of Jabez Maude Fisher, a brother, and other branches. The Miers Fisher section of the papers consists largely of incoming and outgoing correspondence and documents following Fisher's retirement from his law practice in 1793. It concerns family affairs and Miers Fisher's activities as agent for foreigners with business in Pennsylvania, but touches on other aspects of his life. Major family correspondents are: son Miers Fisher, Jr., 1797-1813, mostly letters from are Miers, Sr. while Miers, Jr. was running a mercantile business in St. Petersburg, Russia; son Redwood Fisher, 1797-1825, 1848-1850, which includes letters from his father exhorting the boy to improve himself; brother Samuel Rowland Fisher, 1792-1817, with letters to Miers on family and some on business; wife, Sarah Redwood Fisher, 1777-1819, mostly letters from Miers reporting on trips away from home; brother Thomas Fisher, 1774-1806, on family affairs and a lot of sickness; son Thomas Fisher, Jr., 1791-1896, mostly letters from his father and other relatives while Thomas was apprenticed to a Baltimore, Md., merchant; nephew Joshua Gilpin, 1792-1796, with personal notes and reports on British manufacturing, technology, public affairs. There are additional letters from miscellaneous Fishers, Gilpins and Redwoods. Other correspondents of Miers Fisher, writing from England, are: Maria Ann Dupont Aublay, 1792-1818, on the estate of her brother Francis LeClerc Dupont and including personal news; Robert Barclay, 1775-1817, on trade, public events, and personal matters; James Delancey, 1784-1794, on the estate of William Allen; Jacob Duché, 1786-1793, on his American lands, with some mention of spiritual concerns; William Fisher, 1798-1819, about Tobyhanna and other real estate in Northampton and Wayne Counties; Elizabeth Galloway Roberts, 1804-1812, on her estate. There is also general correspondence, miscellaneous land and legal papers, and a draft of a portion of the Journal of the Transactions of the Exiles. Miers Fisher's brother Jabez Maude Fisher went to England in 1775 and died there in 1779. Letters, 1774-1779, are primarily from his friends and acquaintances in England, with some letters from home. The correspondence is personal with frequent mention of the state of affairs between England and the colonies, with later letters being more concerned with commerce. Among the correspondents are Joseph Guerney and Robert Ormston. There are some very general letters, 1820-1865, to Jabez Maude Fisher, [II], Miers Fisher's son. Miers Fisher's daughter Lydia married Benjamin Warner, Philadelphia bookseller. Warner family papers include: Benjamin Warner incoming letters, 1810-1817; and Benjamin Warner's letters, 1815-1821, to Lydia while on business trips through Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Lexington, Ky., Richmond. Benjamin died in 1821, and apparently his brother Joseph assumed paternal responsibilities for the children. There are several letters to Joseph from the nieces and nephews, particularly from John Warner, 1849-1851, while trying to establish himself in Pottsville. Joseph Warner's receipt book, 1830-1859, is largely for rent and taxes. There is Redwood Fisher Warner correspondence, 1830-1868, primarily school age letters from siblings and 1867 family news from sister Sarah Warner Lewis while "Red" and his wife are in Europe. Other items associated with Redwood Fisher related items are sister-in-law Jane Johnson receipt book, 1840-1884, for general expenses, and Ella I. Yardley estate accounts, 1870-1889, Joseph W. Johnson, Jr., and Redwood F. Warner, trustees of Mary S. Yardley. Finally, there is general correspondence, 1801-1829, of William Redwood and William Redwood, Jr., merchants.