The six letterpress books of West Chester resident A. D. Sharples document his many business and philanthropic interests, and a number of letters also include news of the Sharples, Paschall, and Darlington families. The volumes cover the years 1899-1900 and 1905-1915.
Alfred D. Sharples was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on March 23, 1844, the son of Mary A. Paschall and Philip P. Sharples. In 1863, A. D. married Rachel Roberts, daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth Roberts, and they had six children, including Elizabeth (Bessie), Henry, Mary, and A. Roberts.
Sharples began his career farming, but being known for his accounting skills, he was persuaded to become the accountant for the Philadelphia and West Chester Railroad. In 1880, when he lost that position after the railroad was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, he re-opened the brick making business begun by his great-grandfather William Sharples in 1801. Sharples Brickworks is the business with which most people connect him. While still involved in brick making, he also audited financial records for other businesses, including the Denney Tag Company, the Edison Electric Illuminating Co. of West Chester, and the borough of West Chester. In 1907, Sharpless put the Brickworks business up for auction.
In addition to his professional work, an elder of the Birmingham Friends Monthly Meeting, Sharples was a trustee of the Quaker’s Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and helped to overseer the Friends’ George School in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was also involved with the Friends’ Boarding Home of West Chester, the West Chester Friends’ Burial Company, and was named executor of a number of decedents’ estates. A. D. Sharples died on October 19, 1919, at his home on Dean Street.
