Ripley papers
Scope and Contents Note
This collection contains financial, legal, and personal documents for several families tied to Ripley.
This collection is arranged into eight Series: Boardley family papers; Brown family papers; Miscellaneous; William Skinner papers; Smyth family papers; Alpheus Wheelock papers; Abraham Woodland papers; and James Woodland papers.
Dates
- Creation: 1659-1938
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
Publication rights
Copyright has not been assigned to Washington College. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Washington College as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Biographical Information
Ripley in Church Hill, Maryland, has been part of the Brown/Bordley family since the late 17th century. One of the first Browns in Queen Anne’s County was James Brown (approx. 1690-1756). Both he and his son, Joel Brown (approx. 1735-1878), were farmers. Lt. Col. James Brown (1767-1822) fought in the War of 1812 and helped expand the family’s land holdings. He married Elizabeth Hackett (1779-1796), and they had a son, John Brown (1793-1822). John married Eliza G. Bonsal (1799-1859) and had a child, James Brown (1838-1926). His daughter, Helen, married Madison Bordley and continued to run the farm named “Ripley.” The farm remains in the family. The Bordley family has also been in Chestertown since Thomas Bordley (1682-1726) emigrated from England in 1694 to join his brother, Rev. Stephan Bordley. Several Bordleys are alumni of Washington College.
Extent
2.56 Cubic Feet (4 boxes, 2 os folders, 1 volume)
Language of Materials
English
Physical and technical access restrictions
None.
Custodial History
Papers were in the possession of the family, they were then purchased, along with the Commodore Collection, from Dixon's Auction House in Crumpton.
Acquisition information
Purchased, 2020.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Ripley Papers
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Washington College Archives & Special Collections Repository
300 Washington Avenue
Chestertown MD 21620