William Parker Foulke papers

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Abstract

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Controlled Access Headings

Collection Inventory

Summary Information

Repository

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Creator

Foulke, William Parker

Title

William Parker Foulke papers

ID

2173

Date

1849-1854, undated

Extent

0.2 Linear feet ; 1 box

Author

Finding aid prepared by Lindsey Schwartz.

Sponsor

Care of this collection was supported in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and by the Young Friends of HSP.

Language

English

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Abstract

Philadelphian William Parker Foulke (1816-1865) began his legal career in 1835, studying under John B. Wallace and John M. Scott before becoming an attorney of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1841. He was described as knowledgeable and compassionate, traits which are reflected in his participation in numerous academic and philanthropic organizations, included among which are the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the American Philosophical Society. However, he is most known for his involvement in the Pennsylvania Colonization Society and the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons. For the latter, he sat on multiple committees, published papers, and toured prisons in Pennsylvania and Maryland, reporting on their lacking conditions.

Outside of his prison reform work, Foulke received notoriety in 1858 when he became the first American to unearth a full dinosaur skeleton. The find was made in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and the dinosaur was termed Hadrosaurus foulkii by Naturalist Joseph Leidy of the Academy of Natural Sciences (now of Drexel University).

This small collection contains a smattereing of Foulke's correspondence from the 1850s, both incoming and outgoing, which discuss the exploration of Africa beyond Liberia for the purposes of colonization. Some materials document the introduction of colonization legislation to Congress. The Pennsylvania Colonization Society's relationship with the American Colonization Society is discussed briefly, and ACS leader Ralph Gurley is mentioned in some correspondence. Other items in the collection pertain to prison reform and insanity wards in prisons; and there are some miscellaneous family items, such as notes and clippings.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2020.

Access restrictions

None. The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Gift of the Maryland Historical Society, 1991.

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Related Materials

Related materials

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania:

Foulke, William Parker. Considerations Respecting the Policy of Some Recent Legislation in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 1861. (call number Wxf* .2)

Foulke, William Parker. Discourse in Commemoration of the Founding of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Printed for the Academy, 1854. (call number Wxf* .2)

Foulke, William Parker., and Edward Haviland. Remarks On the Penal System of Pennsylvania: Particularly With Reference to County Prisons. Philadelphia: Printed for the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, 1855. (call number Wxf* .2 v.2)

Foulke, William Parker., and Hugh Miller. Notice of Some Remarks By the Late Mr. Hugh Miller. Philadelphia, 1857. (call number Wxf* .2 v.2)

Foulke, William Parker. Remarks On Cellular Separation: Read By Appointment of the American Association for the Improvement of Penal and Reformatory Institutions, At the Annual Meeting in New York, November 29, 1860. Philadelphia: [Ashmead], 1860. (call numbers Vt .204; Wxf* .2, v.2)

Foulke, William Parker. The Right Use of History: An Anniversary Discourse Delivered Before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. [Philadelphia]: Printed for the Society, 1856. (call number Vt .203)

Lesley, J. P. 1819-1903. Memoir of William Parker Foulke. Philadelphia, 1869. (call number Gf .271)

Notebook of William Parker Foulke (1816-1865) Containing Anecdotes About Philadelphia, Pa. (call number FC Fo)

William Parker Foulke Notes On Prisoners in Eastern Penitentiary (Am .3034)

William Parker Foulke Notes Respecting the Indians of Lancaster County (Am .512)

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Controlled Access Headings

Personal Name(s)

• Gurley, Ralph

Subject(s)

• Colonization Movement--19th century.
• Liberia--Colonization--19th century.
• Prison reform--19th century.

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Collection Inventory