Thursday, January 11, 2018

1828-1835 Autograph Album of Beulah Walmsley Newbold of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


Autograph album that belonged to Beulah Walmsley Newbold, who collected inscriptions from relatives, friends and schoolmates at the Westtown Boarding School at Westtown, Pennsylvania.

The school, founded in 1799 by members of the Religious Society of Friends from Philadelphia, is still in operation as Westtown School and is perhaps the oldest, continuously operating such school in the country.  I found many of the inscribers, as well as Beulah herself, listed in A Brief History of Westtown Boarding School with a General Catalogue of Officers, Students, Etc., published in 1872.

Several inscribers gave their residences as the Quaker settlements at Salem, New Jersey, founded by a group led by John Fenwick in 1675, and at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, founded in 1686.

The album measures approximately 8" by 6-1/2" and contains the sentiments of nearly 80 of Beulah's relatives, friends and schoolmates.  An alphabetical list of the inscribers, together with any personal information they offered, appears at the end of this post.

Beulah didn't write a dedication page, unless it's now missing, but her name appears in the margins in faint pencil on several pages.  Some inscribers helpfully identified her by her first name and surname.

Several inscribers called themselves sister or brother, and this may have referred to her Quaker brethren.  Someone added a later note in pencil  - "her brother?" - to the page inscribed by Josiah on November 2, 1829 at Philadelphia.  Beulah did in fact have a brother Josiah Hewes Newbold.


Other pages may have been inscribed by Beulah's siblings Thomas Hall Newbold and Mary Newbold.  Mary whimsically inscribed her page at Persuasion Hall as "Yrma Deblown".


Surnames in the Album

? [42]JJanneyTTrotter [2]
AActonKKiteWWaker
Acton ?KnightWanington
AdamsLLoganWilliams [3]
AllenMMasonWilson
AtleeNNewbold [5]Wood
CCollinsPPaxsonWoodnutt
ComfortRRhoads [3]YYarnall
CowperthwaitRodgers ?
GGillinghamRoget
HHooperSSharpless
HuntSpencer

From brief online research, hopefully correct - corrections and additions requested:

Beulah Walmsley Newbold was born June 15, 1810 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Michael Newbold and Margaret (Shoemaker) Newbold.  I don't believe Beulah ever married.  She died December 6, 1891 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; at the time she was living on Chalkley Hall Lane, which was an address mentioned by two inscribers, though one appeared to misspell it as Chakley.

Beulah is buried in the Friends Ground Cemetery at Frankford, Pennsylvania.  Her Find a Grave memorial notes that she was a sister of Martha S. Birdsall.  Perhaps the Martha who inscribed a page at Chalkley Hall was Beulah's sister Martha Simpson (Newbold) Birdsall, wife of William Birdsall.


If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Sources
U.S. Federal Censuses
U.S. Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1994
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates Index, 1803-1915
FindaGrave.com
Sources linked in the body of this post

Inscribers in the Album
  • M. Reddy or M. Kelly or ?; sentiment itself far too faint to decipher.  M. Newbold written at top
  • ?, possibly Martha W or Portia W.; inscribed at Bellmonte on 11th 1st 1830.  Called herself Beulah's sister, whether a sister, sister-in-law or Quaker sister
  • "A Stranger"; page 1 of a 2-page sentiment inscribed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 7 month 30. 1830.
  • Elizabeth; inscribed at Bellmonte; called herself Beulah's sister, whether sister, sister-in-law or Quaker sister
  • Lydia
  • E. M. H.; from or inscribed at Baltimore on 5 mo 2nd 1828
  • Thomas; inscribed at Bellmonte on 11th mo. 13th 1830.  Beulah's brother, either brother, brother-in-law or Quaker brother.  However, Beulah did have a brother Thomas Hall Newbold.  A small engraving of  Kinniard House is pasted at the top of the page.  Presumably the Manor where Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "Treasure Island"
  • R. A. W.; inscribed on 11 mo 25. 1828 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • S. W.; not sure of given name initial; inscribed on 11 mo 30th 1829 at Plymouth, presumably the Quaker settlement founded in 1686 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Sarah; inscribed on 5th Mo 3d 1829 at Cheltenham, presumably Cheltenham, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Elizabeth of New Jersey
  • Charlotte; from or inscribed at Fallsinton; presumably Fallsington, in Falls Township, Pennsylvania
  • Anna; from or inscribed at Pemberton, presumably New Jersey; on November 8, 1830.  An small engraving of Holywell House in Hertfordshire is pasted to the top of the page.
  • Josiah; inscribed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 2, 1829.  A note added later in pencil indicates that Josiah was Beulah's brother, Josiah Hewes Newbold.  Hopefully this is true, as many inscribers called themselves Beulah's brother or sister, presumably in a religious sense.
  • Anna
  • E.; from Glenwood, presumably Glenwood, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Hannah; inscribed in 5th mo. 1830; from Middletown, presumably New Jersey or Pennsylvania
  • Charles
  • S; inscribed in 7th mo 1830
  • S. W.; inscribed at Chalkley Hall, a settlement established in North Liberties, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • J; inscribed on 11 Mo 30th 1829
  • Hannah R.; inscribed in 1833 at Frankford, presumably Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  A small engraving of a marine setting is pasted to the top of the page.
  • S. W. L.
  • Elizabeth Arabella; inscribed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 1, 1830
  • Martha; inscribed at Chalkley Hall at Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Unsigned by someone at Philadelphia
  • Unsigned at Philadelphia in 1830
  • James A.; inscribed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 12th Mo 1829.  Follows the page inscribed by E. W. Acton, so possibly James Acton
  • A. A. or unsigned; inscribed on 11th mo 21st 1831
  • Thomas; inscribed in 7 mo. 1830 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Miriam; from or inscribed at Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Friend; inscribed at Plymouth, the Quaker settlement founded in 1686 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • J; inscribed at Glenwood on October 27, 1831.  Called himself Beulah's cousin.  A later notation added "ack" to the "J", to note that his name or nickname was Jack.
  • H; inscribed a 2-page sentiment on November 24, 1829. 
  • M. P. inscribed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1831
  • Unsigned
  • Hannah; inscribed on 4th mo 9th 1833 at Rhoadstown, presumably in New Jersey or Pennsylvania
  • Margaret; inscribed at Salem, presumably the Quaker settlement founded in 1675 at Salem, New Jersey
  • Elizabeth; from or inscribed on 7th Mo 12th 1833 at Stouton.  There's a Stouton Street at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Phebe; from or inscribed at Waln Grove, presumably the same building by that name built in 1742 in the Frankford area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Robert Waln, a Philadelphia merchant
  • Nancy; from or inscribed at Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Unsigned
  • E. W. Acton; inscribed in 1833 at Salem, presumably Salem, New Jersey, the Quaker settlement founded in 1675
  • James A.; inscribed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 12th Mo 1829.  Follows the page inscribed by E. W. Acton, so possibly James Acton
  • Rebecca Adams; inscribed on January 21, 1835 [or 1833] at Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Very faint inscription.
  • Hannah P. Allen; from or inscribed at Woodbury.  A Hannah P. Allen attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • Charlotte W. Atlee of Philadelphia.  Charlotte attended the Westtown Boarding School with album owner Beulah Newbold.
  • E. E. Collins; inscribed in 1833 at Haddonfield, presumably Haddonfield, New Jersey
  • Jane Comfort; inscribed on 5th 6th 1829; at Byberry, presumably Byberry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  A Jane Comfort attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • M. H. Cowperthwait of Medford, presumably Medford, New Jersey; inscribed on 4 Mo 15th 1829.  Perhaps Martha Hollingshead Cowperthwaite, daughter of William Cowperthwaite and Martha (Stratton) Cowperthwaite; Martha married James Allen in 1831.  An M. Cowperthwaite attended the Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • C. Gillingham; inscribed on 5th mo 25th 1830 at Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Mary Hooper; inscribed at West Chester, presumably Pennsylvania
  • Esther Hunt; from or inscribed at New Jersey.  An Esther Hunt attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • Caroline W. Janney
  • Rebecca Kite of Philadelphia.  A Rebecca Kite attended the Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • E. H. Knight
  • Mary N. Logan; from or inscribed at Sommerville; might have been a student at Westtown Boarding School with album owner Beulah Newbold.
  • H. H. Mason; inscribed  at Salem, no state written, on 3rd mo 5th 1829
  • Beulah Walmsley Newbold of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; album owner.  Her name appears in pencil at the top edge or side edge of a few pages.
  • Elizabeth; inscribed at Bellmonte; called herself Beulah's sister, whether sister, sister-in-law or Quaker sister
  • Josiah; inscribed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 2, 1829.  A note added later in pencil indicates that Josiah was Beulah's brother, Josiah Hewes Newbold.  Hopefully this is true, as many inscribers called themselves Beulah's brother or sister, presumably in a religious sense.
  • Thomas; inscribed at Bellmonte on 11th mo. 13th 1830.  Beulah's brother, either brother, brother-in-law or Quaker brother.  However, Beulah did have a brother Thomas Hall Newbold.  A small engraving of  Kinniard House is pasted at the top of the page.  Presumably the Manor where Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "Treasure Island"
  • Yrma Deblown, presumably Mary Newbold, inscribed at Persuasion Hall.  Mary Potts Newbold was a sister to album owner Beulah Walmsley Newbold.
  • Unsigned but a penciled note indicates "E. Paxson", perhaps the Elizabeth Paxson who attended the Westtown Boarding School with album owner Beulah Newbold
  • Elizabeth G. Rhoads; inscribed a 2-page sentiment on 1 Mo 13th 1832.  Page 2.  An Elizabeth Rhoads attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • Samuel Rhoads, Jr.; inscribed at Blockley on 1st mo 1st 1832.  A Samuel Rhoads attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • Sarah Rhoads; from or at Blockley, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; inscribed in 5th Mo 1829.  A Sarah Rhoads attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • Rodgers; inscribed a 2-page sentiment at Glenwood on October 27, 1831.  Not sure if Rodgers was a given name or a surname?
  • Edw Roget; inscribed at Clermont Academy on June 27, 1832
  • Edith Sharpless.  An Edith Sharpless attended the Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • Ruthanna Spencer; from or inscribed at Moreland, presumably in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.  A Ruth Ann Spencer attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.
  • Anna H. Trotter of Philadelphia
  • Elizabeth H. Trotter of Philadelphia
  • M. A. Waker of Mountpleasant, Ohio
  • M. Wanington of New Jersey
  • A. Williams; inscribed on 11 Mo 20th 1829 at Plymouth, presumably the Quaker settlement founded in 1686 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • H. Williams
  • P. Williams; inscribed on 11 Mo 30th 1829 at Plymouth, presumably the Quaker settlement founded in 1686 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • M. Wilson; from or inscribed at Baltimore
  • H. S. Wood; inscribed at West Town, presumably Westtown Township, Pennsylvania, where there was a Quaker boarding school, which I believe some of the inscribers attended, including album owner Beulah Newbold.
  • H. A. Woodnutt; inscribed on 3rd mo 6th [not sure of digit] 1829 at Salem, presumably Salem, New Jersey where a Quaker settlement was established in 1675.  Perhaps  the Hannah A. Woodnutt who attended Westtown Boarding School with album owner Beulah Newbold.
  • Priscilla E. Yarnall; inscribed at Edgemont, presumably Pennsylvania, on 4th mo 15th 1829.  A Priscilla E. Yarnall attended Westtown Boarding School, which album owner Beulah Newbold also attended.


2 comments:

  1. The Newbolds (Daniel in particular) are associated with founding the town of Delaware City, Del. They were from Salem NJ, which is due east across the Delaware River, not far as people traveled in the early 1800s.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for taking the time to offer this insight; much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete