Description: Meredith family papers

Meredith family papers

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Meredith family (Creator)
Collection:	Meredith Family Papers
Collection Number:	1509
Format:	Manuscript
Language:	English
Subjects and Genres:	Canals and railroads > 19th century. Churches > Delaware Valley Legal Profession > Philadelphia-Antebellum Social life and customs > 19th century.
Online Access:	Link to finding aid
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Physical Description:	61.0 Linear feet 106 boxes, 148 volumes, 43 flat files
Summary:	Jonathan Meredith (1740-1811) emigrated from Leominster, Herefordshire, England in the 1750s, and established a successful tannery and family with his wife, Elizabeth Tuckey, in Philadelphia. Their two daughters married into merchant families, Mary to Thomas Hawthorn of the firm Hawthorn & Kerr, and Elizabeth to Charles Ogden of Rutgers, Seaman & Ogden. A son, David Meredith, followed his father in the tanning business but temporarily strayed to partner in the firm Andrews & Meredith, which traded goods between France and Philadelphia from 1793 to 1797. Another son, Jonathan Jr., embarked upon a legal career in Baltimore, as did the third son, William, who established an esteemed practice in Philadelphia. William Meredith married Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden in 1795 and they had eleven children. Gertrude was a respected writer and William was commended for his booming legal practice and later, for his appointment as the president of the Schuylkill Bank. Their eldest son, William Morris Meredith, followed his father in the legal profession but made his most significant contributions as a Pennsylvania state representative (1824-1828), as the secretary of the treasury in the cabinet of Zachary Taylor (1849-1850), and as the Pennsylvania attorney general (1861-1867). Sullivan Amory Meredith, another son, served as a Union general in the Civil War. Materials in this collection highlight the various business ventures of the Meredith family, documenting Jonathan Meredith’s tannery (1772-1811), the overseas mercantile efforts of David Meredith who shipped goods between France and Philadelphia (1794-1797), and also the legal practices and political affiliations of both William (1772-1844) and William Morris Meredith (1799-1873). William’s presidency of the Schuylkill Bank and William Morris’s several political appointments, including his service as a Pennsylvania state representative (1824-1828), as the secretary of the treasury in the cabinet of Zachary Taylor (1849-1850), and as the Pennsylvania attorney general (1861-1867) are also highlighted. There are a number of Meredith women also represented in this collection, the most notable of whom is Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden Meredith, whose correspondence underscores her literary talents. A number of individuals related to the Merediths and some of their close friends are also represented including the merchant Thomas Hawthorn (Jonathan Meredith’s son-in-law), Union General Sullivan Amory Meredith (son of William Meredith), and Port Folio editor Joseph Dennie.

Physical Description:

61.0 Linear feet 106 boxes, 148 volumes, 43 flat files

Summary:

Jonathan Meredith (1740-1811) emigrated from Leominster, Herefordshire, England in the 1750s, and established a successful tannery and family with his wife, Elizabeth Tuckey, in Philadelphia. Their two daughters married into merchant families, Mary to Thomas Hawthorn of the firm Hawthorn & Kerr, and Elizabeth to Charles Ogden of Rutgers, Seaman & Ogden. A son, David Meredith, followed his father in the tanning business but temporarily strayed to partner in the firm Andrews & Meredith, which traded goods between France and Philadelphia from 1793 to 1797. Another son, Jonathan Jr., embarked upon a legal career in Baltimore, as did the third son, William, who established an esteemed practice in Philadelphia. William Meredith married Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden in 1795 and they had eleven children. Gertrude was a respected writer and William was commended for his booming legal practice and later, for his appointment as the president of the Schuylkill Bank. Their eldest son, William Morris Meredith, followed his father in the legal profession but made his most significant contributions as a Pennsylvania state representative (1824-1828), as the secretary of the treasury in the cabinet of Zachary Taylor (1849-1850), and as the Pennsylvania attorney general (1861-1867). Sullivan Amory Meredith, another son, served as a Union general in the Civil War. Materials in this collection highlight the various business ventures of the Meredith family, documenting Jonathan Meredith’s tannery (1772-1811), the overseas mercantile efforts of David Meredith who shipped goods between France and Philadelphia (1794-1797), and also the legal practices and political affiliations of both William (1772-1844) and William Morris Meredith (1799-1873). William’s presidency of the Schuylkill Bank and William Morris’s several political appointments, including his service as a Pennsylvania state representative (1824-1828), as the secretary of the treasury in the cabinet of Zachary Taylor (1849-1850), and as the Pennsylvania attorney general (1861-1867) are also highlighted. There are a number of Meredith women also represented in this collection, the most notable of whom is Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden Meredith, whose correspondence underscores her literary talents. A number of individuals related to the Merediths and some of their close friends are also represented including the merchant Thomas Hawthorn (Jonathan Meredith’s son-in-law), Union General Sullivan Amory Meredith (son of William Meredith), and Port Folio editor Joseph Dennie.

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Meredith family papers

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