The Fisher Family Papers provide a cogent and comprehensive view of a prominent Quaker family in Philadelphia during a period of military crisis, national upheaval, and government renewal. Miers Fisher is the central figure in the family papers; included is correspondence among Miers and his wife and children, as well as letters from his brothers, business partners, and his many friends and acquaintances. While many letters offer important and detailed insights about politics and public affairs, the majority of the Fisher Family Papers document the everyday personal and business occurrences of a wealthy family.

The Fishers were active in trade and commerce, and correspondence throughout the collection includes the observations of friends and associates about mercantile affairs, both domestic and international (particularly concerning England). Miers and his brothers, Thomas, Samuel, and Jabez, traded news about prices, availability of commodities, and their letters reflect economic trends and the business practices of the Fishers.

Events of the 1770s are best represented in the papers of Jabez Maud Fisher, which are from both family and friends and describe the situation of Quakers in Philadelphia during the time of the Revolution. Letters from other acquaintances comment extensively on public affairs. Jabez left Philadelphia for London to escape the imminent persecution of pacifist Quakers who refused to take an active role in the Revolution. While many Quakers were accused of being Loyalists because of their neutral stance, it is likely that Jabez Fisher was indeed a Loyalist and perhaps harbored stronger pro-British sentiments than the rest of his family. Many letters from friends and acquaintances, especially in London, refer to the "rebellion," and a letter from George Logan states, "I sympathize with thee...on the distresses of our unhappy Country & abhor the instruments of the present Rebellion, all of whom I hope will be made a public example of by receiving a punishment adequate to the worst of enemies." (20 August 1775)

Letters to Jabez from his family reflect their frustration with Philadelphia society, which was beginning to ostracize them, and their disappointment and anger that some Quakers had elected to pick up arms and join the fight, an action that the Fishers deemed hypocritical and improper. In particular, letters from Jabez's brother Samuel relate remarkable details about the situation of the Quakers in Philadelphia and describe broken windows, intimidation, and the difficulty of the Quakers to stand by their beliefs in the face of alienation and threats. The refusal of many Quakers to support the war at all resulted in many problems for them. When Congress issued paper money in 1775, Samuel wrote Jabez that "it is expected if any Friends refuse to take this money, they will suffer much violence." (6 August 1775)

The papers of Miers Fisher describe the fate that Jabez escaped. Miers's papers include information about his exile in Virginia in 1777 and 1778. The Quakers arrested and exiled were said to have "evidenced a disposition inimical to the Cause of America," as noted on the warrant for their arrest, August 31, 1777. Miers's papers include petitions and letters to Congress that were drafted by the exiles during their confinement. Documents regarding the Quakers' detainment indicate their fear for their safety, their indignation at being held upon suspicion only, and their dismay that their peers deemed them traitors due to the rumors circulated and the methods by which they were treated.

The bulk of Miers's papers are from the years following his detention and reveal that his reputation was not irreparably damaged by his arrest and the accusations made against him. Correspondence reveals a successful career as a lawyer, with some letters soliciting his counsel. There are not, however, a great many legal papers in the collection; most documentation about his legal practice exists in informal correspondence, most of it in the General Correspondence section of his papers. Information about various estates and estate administration is scattered throughout the collection, as are the numerous real estate transactions in which Miers was involved.

Although Miers was involved in many civic affairs and served as a member of Assembly and held an important place in the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, most of his activities with these groups is documented implicitly in the collection, and no official papers regarding his work with either of these institutions exists in this collection. There is however, a petition signed by Miers Fisher dated March 1780 in which Miers and several other men protest the presence of slave ships in the Philadelphia port and request that Philadelphia prohibit all activities relating directly and indirectly to the slave trade.

Family letters indicate a strong bond between parents and children and among siblings. Most of the children of Miers and Sarah Redwood Fisher died before adolescence, but Thomas, Redwood, Lydia, Jabez, and Miers, Jr. are represented significantly in this collection. Letters to and from other Fisher children exist in lesser quantities. Notably absent from the family correspondence are the few references to the illnesses of their children, who must have been sick often, and lack of discussion of their deaths, which occurred at fairly regular intervals for a span of more than 30 years.

The correspondence of wife Sarah Redwood Fisher, brothers Thomas and Samuel, and nephew Joshua Gilpin, son of Miers's sister Lydia, complete the bulk of family correspondence. The letters of the family men describe business ventures and trade and occasionally comment on public affairs, as well as family matters. Miers traveled often and the letters between him and his wife tell not only of his travels but also of her endeavors to manage the household in his absence. At times she also gives her opinion about some of her husband's business affairs and real estate ventures and seems to have occasionally passed along information to his associates in Philadelphia while he was out of town.

Correspondence to and from the Fisher children discusses their educations and subsequent business and personal affairs. In particular, the papers of Miers, Jr. reflect his business in Russia, where he was involved in mercantile trade. Most of the children's letters describe personal affairs, and since much of the correspondence is written by or for their father, there are but a few letters that discuss their adult years or their married lives. Lydia Fisher Warner is an exception; correspondence of her husband, brother-in-law, and children provides a glimpse into her married (and widowed) life and the affairs and upbringing of her children. The papers of Jabez Maud Fisher [II] extend well beyond his father's death, but offer only a small window into his business life with few personal or family letters.

There are some papers of William Redwood, Sarah Redwood Fisher's father, and William Redwood, Jr., her brother. These letters are mostly from business associates, but a few are from family members and discuss both family and business news.

The papers of the Fisher family document the personal and business affairs of a prominent family. While some letters discuss public affairs explicitly, many family letters also bear the implications of the political and economic events of the time while providing insight into family structure, religious beliefs, and eighteenth and nineteenth-century Philadelphia culture.