Abel Doan was born in Morgan County, Indiana, August 25, 1843, the son of John and Eunice (Hadley) Doan, and moved to Westfield in 1857 with his parents. He was married Sept. 8, 1869, at Westfield, to phebe McPherson Lindley, daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth (Ballard Lindley. She was born near Westfield, February 24, 1846, and was educated in the Westfield Friends Academy and at Adrian College in Michigan. After their marriage, they lived on a farm on the edge of Westfield. Abel Doan served as president of a local bank and as a director of several charitable groups. Phebe Doan was active in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and numerous women's groups. Both were prominent in Quaker affairs. Abel Doan died in Westfield, November 28, 1915. After his death, Phebe Doan spent much of her life visiting her children. She died in Pasadena, California, March 4, 1936. Abel and Phebe Doan were the parents of seven children. it is their correspondence with each other and their children, along with some letters of their parents and other relatives, that make up this collection. 1. Mary Doan, born July 26, 1870, died in Richmond, Indiana, April 6, 1939. She graduated from Earlham in 1892 and received an M.S. degree from Purdue University in 1893. She married Allen D. hole (1866-1940), from 1900 to 1940 professor of geology at Earlham College. Both of their sons, Allen Jr., and francis, also served on the Earlham faculty. 2. Martha Doan, born June 6, 1872, died at Franklin, Indiana, April 15, 1960. She received a B.S. from Purdue in 1891, another bachelor's degree from Earlham in 1892, and a doctorate in science from Cornell University in 1896. From 1916 to 1926 she was professor of chemistry and dean of women at Earlham. She subsequently taught at Iowa Wesleyan College. 3. Emma Doan, born December 7, 1873, died in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 7, 1957. She received a bachelor's degree from Earlham in 1894 and another from Purdue in 1897. She married William E. Furnas, also an Earlham graduate, and with him operated a farm near Leesburg, Virginia. 4. John Lindley Doan, born Oct. 3, 1877, died Feb. 3, 1972. He received a bachelor's degree from Earlham in 1901 and subsequently took degrees at Cornell and Gettysburg College. He married Mary Catherine Minick. He was a professor of biology and horticulture at the Ambler School of Horticulture for Women and at Penn Hall Junior College in Pennsylvania. 5. Anna Doan, born June 13, 1880, died Dec. 1, 1980, in Pasadena, California. She received a bachelor's degree from Earlham in 1900 and an MA in 1920. She married Dr. Walter Charles Stephens, also an Earlham graduate. he was a physician in Indiana and California. 6. Frances Doan, born February 19, 1885, died May 6, 1967, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She graduated from Butler University and took a master's degree in education at the University of Chicago. She married Frank H. Streightoff, who was a professor of economics at DePauw University, the College of Emporia, and Butler University. 7. Edwin Lindley Doan, born December 15, 1886, was struck and killed by lightning in a field on the home farm, July 9, 1913. He was a 1908 Earlham graduate and subsequently did graduate work at Cornell University.

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