Blackburne and Sharp families papers

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Scope and content note

Administrative Information

Controlled Access Headings

Collection Inventory

Summary Information

Repository

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Creator

Blackburne.

Creator

Sharp.

Title

Blackburne and Sharp families papers

ID

2149

Date

1792-1953, undated (Bulk, 1810-1870)

Extent

3.3 Linear feet ; 5 boxes, 11 volumes

Author

Finding aid prepared by Susan M. Kearney.

Language

English

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Scope and content note

In 1844, Christopher John Blackburne (1809-1859) married Sarah Sharp (1818-1911). This collection is a loose reflection of this couple and their descendants’ lives. Christopher John Blackburne and Sarah Sharp had four children: Hannah Blackburne (1847-1932), John Sharp Blackburne (1850-1925), Jane Blackburne (1856-1857), and Emily Louisa Blackburne (1859-1939). Christopher John Blackburne was the son of Francis Blackburne and Jane Hogg. Papers in the collection trace his long lineage in Yorkshire, England to Anthony Blackburne who purchased a property in Richmond, Yorkshire in 1633. One volume in the collection, Hale Hall: with Notes on the Family or Ireland Blackburne (1881) probably connects to the Blackburne family history. A small Bible belonging to Christopher John Blackburne contains a note saying it was written on his passage from Liverpool to Philadelphia in 1830 (Box 1, Folder 3). The Sharp family lineage traces to a couple named Joseph Sharp and Sarah Moore who married in 1754. Only one child of Christopher John Blackburne and Sarah Sharp married. Their son John Sharp Blackburne (1850-1925) wed Ida Croll (born 1889). This marriage produced three children: Agnes Blackburne (1889-1975), John Blackburne (1891-1969), and Albert Blackburne (1895-1896). Neither Agnes nor John married and with Albert’s death in infancy, this family left no direct heirs.

The Blackburne and Sharp families papers covers 1792-1953, with the bulk of the material focusing on the lives of family members from the mid 19th century through the early 20th century.

In addition to papers preserving family history, the collection houses letters (1836-1940), legal papers (1792-1935), and miscellaneous tax and financial records (1844-1931). Christopher John kept copies of his business and personal correspondences in several copybooks covering from his marriage (1844) to his death (1859). Other family members’ items of note include a monetary conversion book owned by Christopher John Blackburne (1833), an address book belonging to Hannah Blackburne, commonplace books belonging to John Sharp (1810, 1832-1833), and a commonplace book owned by Ida Croll. Some of the most interesting items center on 19th century educational materials, including an historical atlas owned by Sarah Sharp (1828-1830), an arithmetic primer owned by Rebecca Sharp (1832), Pitch’s Mapping Plates and two penmanship books belonging to Hannah Blackburne (1860-1862), and school notebooks owned by Emily Blackburne (1870-1871).

Through the death of Sarah Sharp’s father, the family owned a key piece of real estate in Philadelphia at 13th and Market Street. Sarah Sharp Blackburne refused to sell this property during her lifetime. Upon her death in 1911, newspaper articles reveal the strong interest in the property’s future. Obviously, the land passed to her children because articles in 1927 discuss litigation matters for this property’s rights (Box 5, Folders 18-19). Adjacent to this land was St. John’s Roman Catholic Church. In 1899, the church sustained major damage in a fire. The family papers include newspaper articles about this event (Box 5, Folder 9).

The rest of the collection comprises materials less directly related to the family, probably memorabilia preserved by various family members. The most noteworthy of these items include the diary of Linneaus Cox (1886), two pocket maps of Pennsylvania and the Western Rivers (undated), a sheet with Liverpool prices for imports (6 May 1836), some French death cards (1836-1864), three marshal sales lists (1839-1840), the Norris family papers (1849-1879), a doctor’s visiting book (Laurence Hackman, 1881), and papers and articles regarding to the trial of John Woodward for the murder of Edward D. Montgomery (1857-1859).

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2017.

Access restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Gift of Barbara Lail Hosmer, courtesy of New York Public Library, 1984.

Gift of The Strong, 2015.

Accession numbers 84.38 and 2015. 091.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• The Strong.

Genre(s)

• Family papers.
• Legal records.

Geographic Name(s)

• Philadelphia (Pa.)--Social life and customs--19th century.

Personal Name(s)

• Hosmer, Barbara Lynn.

Subject(s)

• Family life--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--19th Century.
• Family life--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia.
• Genealogy.
• Real Estate--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia--19th century.
• School Books--19th century.
• Spouses--Correspondence--19th century.

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Collection Inventory