Friends Historical Library

03/24/2026

We're looking forward to this event! Hope to see you there

Register now for the 2026 Friends Historical Association Spring Event!

On May 3 at 1:00 PM, we invite you to join us for a guided tour of Stenton, the Logan Family Home, located at 4601 N 18th St in Philadelphia PA.

In addition to touring the house, we will also have a chance to hear from their curator, Laura Keim, about Stenton’s ongoing research initiative, "Wrestling with Justice: Quakers and Northern Slavery." A transformative Pew-Funded project, “Wrestling with Justice” reinterprets the site by challenging the misconceptions that slavery existed solely in the American South and that Quakers were universally abolitionists. At Stenton, the Logan family enslaved, indentured, and manumitted people. This exhibit encourages visitors to reflect on the complex history of Quakers and slavery, and the legacies of this history in the present day.

Please visit the 2026 Spring Event on our website for more information and to register: https://www.quakerhistory.org/2026-spring-event

03/16/2026

Friendly reminder that the application deadline of March 31 is approaching. We'd love to have you come research with us!

Calling all scholars of Quaker history, Peace history, and allied topics! Swarthmore College Special Collections is now accepting applications for our Moore Research Fellowship for the 2026-2027 cycle.

The Margaret W. Moore and John M. Moore Research Fellowship promotes research during the academic year or summer months using the resources of the Friends Historical Library and/or the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, providing a stipend of $1,500-$6,000 to support such research. Applications are due March 31, 2026.

Please share this announcement with all who might be interested. More details and application instructions are here: https://www.swarthmore.edu/libraries/research-funding

01/29/2026

Calling all scholars of Quaker history, Peace history, and allied topics! Swarthmore College Special Collections is now accepting applications for our Moore Research Fellowship for the 2026-2027 cycle.

The Margaret W. Moore and John M. Moore Research Fellowship promotes research during the academic year or summer months using the resources of the Friends Historical Library and/or the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, providing a stipend of $1,500-$6,000 to support such research. Applications are due March 31, 2026.

Please share this announcement with all who might be interested. More details and application instructions are here: https://www.swarthmore.edu/libraries/research-funding

11/24/2025

Here are some nice pics and info from our wonderful event last weekend, in case you missed it

11/17/2025

Wanted to make sure our followers saw this call for proposals...we are super excited about this conference!

11/04/2025

This is going to be such a great event. We're thrilled to be participating.

Our FINAL fall event!

In two weeks, The Poquessing Trail of History is hosting an afternoon symposium inspired by a book collection that has been hiding in Byberry for almost 200 years...

WHAT WAS PURVIS READING?
Saturday, November 15, 2025
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Byberry Friends Meeting
3001 Byberry Road Philadelphia, PA 19154

Discover the reading habits of Philadelphia Black abolitionist and Underground Railroad leader Robert Purvis (1810-1898), based on the historic Byberry Library Company book collection and circulation records.

View actual books Purvis checked out from the Byberry Library Company, participate in a “scavenger hunt” to find additional Purvis books, and tour the historic Byberry Library and 1808 Byberry Friends Meeting House.

More info and free registration:
https://preservationalliance.com/all_events/what-was-purvis-reading/

10/28/2025

More press for our collaboration with 1838 Black Metropolis!

1838 Black Metropolis and Swarthmore College have partnered to compare two censuses taken of Philly's free Black community in the mid-19th century.

10/27/2025

We're thrilled to announce that the next CQHA (Conference of Quaker Historians and Archivists) will be June 12-14, 2026 at Haverford College in Suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! ✨

The Call for Proposals will be released shortly! 📨

(image: roger4336, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

10/10/2025

Welcome to Swarthmore, Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA)! If you missed today's tour with our Curator, Jordan Landes, you can stop by McCabe Library any time during the building's open hours, today (Friday) until 8pm and tomorrow (Saturday) 10 am-4:30 pm to see it for yourself.

We hope to see many of you later at this evening's reception with Swarthmore College Libraries, Swarthmore College Peace Collection, and Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College.

10/05/2025

Happy World Quaker Day! Did you know that last year our Meeting Records Archivist met with a whopping 25 different clerks from a variety of monthly and quarterly meetings to talk about depositing their records? If YOUR meeting has records that need to be preserved (this includes digital files!), find more information on our website.

The Friends Historical Library is an official depository for the records of many North American yearly meetings of the Society of Friends and holds over 3700 linear feet of original archives including membership books, minutes, and other original records. The Library also holds over 2500 reels of mi...

08/25/2025

Swarthmore students Natalie Fraser and Chioma Ibida recently published this article about their research here at FHL.

Revisit the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia and how Quaker solidarity, community outreach, and nonviolence intersected amid racial upheaval and distrust.