Guide to the Burd-Shippen Family Papers, 1717-1898 DAR.1966.01
Arrangement
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Burd-Shippen Family Papers
Creator
Burd family
Creator
Shippen family
Collection Number
DAR.1966.01
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet(3 boxes)
Date
1717-1898
Abstract
The Burd and Shippen families were prominent lawyers, business owners, and public servants in eastern Pennsylvania during the colonial era. The Burd-Shippen papers contain personal and business correspondence, legal documents, business records, and manuscripts. Many of the legal documents and business records pertain to both Edward Burd and Edward Shippen's legal practices as well as their positions in Pennsylvania government. Digital reproductions are available online for contents in Series V.
Language
English
.
Author
Angela Manella.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of the contents of Series V are available online.
Biography
The Shippen family traces their lineage back to Edward Shippen I (1639-1712), a Quaker who moved to Philadelphia from Boston in 1693. Edward Shippen I's great-great-grandson, Edward Shippen III (1703-1781), had three children: Edward Shippen IV (1729-1806), Sarah Shippen (1731-1784), and Joseph Shippen (1732-1810).
Edward Shippen IV, a wealthy and prominent lawyer in Philadelphia, held multiple public offices by royal appointment. He fathered six surviving children, including Elizabeth Shippen (1754-1828) and Margaret "Peggy" Shippen (1760-1804). During the American Revolution, Edward Shippen IV lost his appointments, yet managed to keep his family financially afloat by remaining politically neutral. Both of his daughters married American revolutionaries. Elizabeth married her cousin, Edward Burd (1751-1833), while her younger sister, Peggy, married Benedict Arnold.
Sarah Shippen married James Burd (1726-1793) in 1748. A Scotsman by birth, James Burd commanded Fort Augusta during the French and Indian War, rising to prominence afterwards as a merchant and colonial magistrate. Their son, Edward Burd (1750/51-1833), served as a major in the Revolutionary War. Following the war, he was prothonotoray and later justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Edward Burd was a friend and business associate to his uncle and father-in-law, Edward Shippen IV. Edward Burd wrote Neddie Burd's Reading Letter, a history of the Berks County bar.
Elizabeth Shippen and Edward Burd had one son, Edward Shippen Burd (1779-1848). He married watercolorist Eliza Howard Simms (1793-1860) and resided in Philadelphia, where he worked as an attorney specializing in property law. Edward Shippen Burd was also involved in real estate and business ventures, including the Philadelphia Arcade and the Philadelphia Ice Company. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, and, with his wife, donated extensively to philanthropic projects, particularly St. Stephens Church and the Protestant Episcopal Hospital of Philadelphia.
The Burd-Shippens are related to the Hubley and Walker families. Edward Burd Hubley, (1792-1856) a lawyer from Reading, Pennsylvania, served the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses as a representative from Pennsylvania. He later became a canal commissioner of Pennsylvania and then a commissioner of Cherokee affairs.
Scope and Content Notes
The majority of the collection includes the personal correspondence and business records of Edward Burd and, his relative, Edward Shippen IV. The business papers include legal documents such as deeds and indentured servant lists, business records in the form of invoices and receipts, and correspondence concerning debts and legal matters. The papers also relate to members of the Burd and Shippen families such as Sarah Shippen Burd, Elizabeth Burd, Edward Shippen Burd, James Burd, and James Burd Hubley. The collection contains the papers of Lewis Burd Walker, an amateur historian and family genealogist. Included in Lewis Burd Walker's papers are transcriptions of the wills of Margaret Shippen Arnold and Benedict Arnold. Walker also provides transcriptions of letters written by Margaret Shippen Arnold to family and friends.
Arrangement
The papers have been arranged in five series, reflecting family and business correspondence of the Burds and Shippens, as well as general correspondence with and between extended family. A final series has been added for the papers of family genealogist and amateur historian Lewis Burd Walker, which relate to the Burd-Shippens.
Series I. Family Correspondence, 1777-1869
Series II. Burd Family Business Papers, 1774-1855
Series III. Shippen Family Business Papers, 1717-1842
Series IV. General Correspondence, 1730-1806
Series V. Lewis Burd Walker Papers, 1823-1898
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Custodial History
This collection was located in the Darlington Memorial Library in the University's Cathedral of Learning until 2007 when it was moved to the ULS Archives Service Center for processing, storage, preservation and service. However, it remains in the custodianship of the ULS Special Collections Department.
Acquisition Information
This collection was purchased by the University of Pittsburgh from Emily Driscoll, a manuscript dealer, with Autographs and Manuscripts in New York City in 1966.
Previous Citation
Burd-Shippen Family Papers, 1717-1898, DAR.1966.01, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Preferred Citation
Burd-Shippen Family Papers, 1717-1898, DAR.1966.01, Darlington Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Crystal Hanna and Angela Manella in May 2006.
Copyright
No copyright restrictions.
Related Material
Burd-Shippen Papers, 1708-1792, B B892, American Philosophical Society.
Burd-Shippen Family Collection, 1715-1834, Manuscript group 30 Pennsylvania State Archives.
Burd Family Papers, 1703-1937, 379, University of Delaware, Special Collection Department.
Edward Shippen Burd, 1779-1848, MC 1999.10, Dickinson College, Archives and Special Collections.
Shippen Family Papers, 1750-1775, MG 375, New Jersey Historical Society.
Burd-Shippen Papers, 1750-1847, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan.
Bibliography
Klein, Randolph Shipley. Portrait of an Early American Family. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia: 1975.
Nixon, Lily Lee. James Burd, Frontier Defender. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia: 1941.
Burd, Edward. Neddie Burd's Reading Letter: An Epic of the Early Berks Bar. Berks County Bar Association, Reading, Pennsylvania: 1927.
Subjects
Corporate Names
Pennsylvania. Supreme Court
Personal Names
Shippen, Edward
Burd, Elizabeth Shippen
Burd, James
Burd, Sarah Shippen
Arnold, Margaret Shippen
Arnold, Benedict
Walker, Lewis Burd
Hubley, James Burd
Burd, Edward
Burd, Edward Shippen
Shippen, Edward
Family Names
Walker family
Donaldson family
Hubley family
Burd family
Shippen family
Geographic Names
Pennsylvania -- Genealogy
Shippensburg (Pa.) -- History
Philadelphia (Pa.) -- History
Harrisburg (Pa.) -- History
Carlisle (Pa.) -- History
Lancaster (Pa.) -- History
Pennsylvania -- Politics and government
Pennsylvania -- History
Genres
Family papers
Correspondence
Container List
Scope and Content Notes
The business papers of the Burd family feature receipts, legal documents, and correspondence of Edward and James Burd. Many of the letters are written from and to Philadelphia, and some are from other locations in eastern Pennsylvania including Lancaster and Carlisle. The materials also include some papers and correspondence of James Burd Hubley to Edward Burd and some of his legal documents. Within this portion of the collection, the majority of the documents are originals, however there are some hand-written drafts and copies mixed in as well which do not contain an official insignia or signature. Some documentation includes portions of letters in which both the composer and the addressee are unidentified, but one of the correspondents is presumably James Burd.
The Shippen family business papers include receipts, invoices and correspondence. Edward Shippen, a lawyer and judge, is the composer of a majority of the documents in this series. Many of the receipts refer to debts owed and paid to Edward Shippen and debts paid by him. There are invoices stating merchandise purchased by the Shippen family, such as coffee and meat. Letters and documents within this series contain legal documents pertaining to bonds, land ownership and tenants. It also contains business correspondence about land and debts owed from the Burd family to the Shippen family.
General Correspondence refers to the letters and documents included within the Burd-Shippen Papers, which seemingly have little direct connection to either family, aside from geographic region. Some of the documentation makes reference to land deals, financial information, and social correspondence with distant relatives. These may represent some of Edward Shippen or Edward Burd's clients during their business or legal work.
Lewis Burd Walker's research about the Burd Family and the Arnold Family are within this series. Documentation includes transcripts of letters dating to 1823; though many letter transcripts have no original date on them. There are transcriptions of letters from Mrs. Margaret Shippen Arnold to her family and friends. Within the Letters and Papers of Lewis Walker is a transcript of the "Last Will and Testament of Benedict Arnold" and the "Last Will and Testament of Margaret Arnold." The papers also contain Lewis Burd Walker's hand-written manuscript of "A Few Glimpses of Our Little Peggy," a story about the life of Margaret "Peggy" Shippen Coxe.