The Women of Tyler Arboretum: Hannah Minshall Painter (1782-1838)

Many of us are familiar with Thomas Minshall, who purchased quite a bit of Tyler Arboretum’s land from William Penn in 1681. We may know the Painter brothers planted more than 1,000 trees and shrubs, most in the area we now call the “Old Arb.”

We probably know less about the women of Tyler. During Women’s History Month in March 2025, we began sharing the stories of the women who made an impact on Tyler and the surrounding community. So far we’ve featured Laura Hoopes Tyler, Ann Heacock Minshall, Gertrude McMasters Smith Wister, and Sarah Painter Barnard and will continue with periodic additions through March 2026. We hope you enjoy reading about the challenges and contributions made by some of the women of Tyler Arboretum! Next up, Hannah Minshall Painter!

1682-1742: Immigration to Pennsylvania and Ann Heacock’s birth

Ann Heacock was a part of a Quaker family who had long suffered abuse practicing their faith. Because of this maltreatment, between 1682 and 1715 approximately 23,000 Quakers and Quaker sympathizers immigrated to Pennsylvania where William Penn promised them their religious freedom. Among these immigrants were Ann’s grandparents, Jonathan Heacock and Ann Till, who raised their six children on a farm in Marple, PA. One of these children was John Heacock who married Sara Taylor in 1739 where they resided on a farm in Middletown Township with their five children. John and Sarah’s second daughter Ann was born in 1742, and she was educated as a part of the Quaker custom.

1777: Ann Heacock marries Jacob Minshall

Ann married Jacob Minshall at the Providence Meeting on November 6, 1777, and then they set up housekeeping at Lachford Hall (located on the Tyler Arboretum property). Jacob built the east wing where his parents moved in and joined them. Ann and Jacob were married for 40 years before Jacob’s passing in 1818 and Ann’s passing in 1821.

Lachford Hall, prior to the east wing addition and later application of stucco to the building's facade.

1782: Hannah Minshall is Born

Ann and Jacob Minshall only had one child (the only child of her generation), and they named her Hannah. Hannah was born in 1782 and lived with her parents at Lachford Hall. Hannah received a liberal education for that time while growing up in the Quaker community.

1800: Hannah Marries Enos Painter

Hannah and Enos Painter followed the usual courtship patterns of the Quakers; the young people chose each other, but with parental approval as an important framework. Hannah had transcribed the humorous “Advice to Choose a Husband” into her school commonplace book before their marriage in 1800.

Hannah and Enos raised seven children at Lachford Hall. All of their children were educated through the secondary level following in their mother’s footsteps. Hannah’s widowed father lived with the family, and he eventually turned over the farm management to Enos, who in 1817 inherited the property from his father-in-law.

Enos became a successful businessperson, and their farm was quite productive in many ways. Enos also bought back much of the original Middletown land that had been sold off over the years. By 1825, Hannah and Enos’ bachelor sons, Minshall and Jacob, began the planting of more than 1000 plants and trees for their study. Their collection became locally known as the Painter Arboretum.

During this time, it was said that Hannah was a woman of exemplary habits and very much devoted to her children. It was also noted that she was the key to preserving her family’s lineage. Hannah assumed her father’s role in maintaining the burial records for the Middletown Friend’s Cemetery until the 1830s.

Pictured are Hannah’s blouse along with the school chest used by two of her daughters. The Painters were remarkable in their preservation of words as well as things.

Hannah Minshall Painter's account book from 1824.

A look inside one of Hannah Minshall Painter's school books.

1827: Division of Hicksite – Orthodox Quaker

One of the sorrows in Hannah’s life was the division in her Quaker community. In between the Pratt’s land (now Cumberland Cemetery) and the Painter’s (now Tyler Arboretum) stood the old meetinghouse where all the Quaker neighbors had come of age. Quakers were bitterly divided on both the local and denominational levels into the Hicksite and Orthodox factions. Hannah grieved rather than fighting over the division in her community. She went with the more liberal Hicksite party but was tired of being separated from some of her more intimate Quaker friends who were inclined to go with the other party. She remained a Hicksite, dying of a stroke in 1838 that came upon her at a meeting.

Sources:

  • Swarthmore College Library – Special Collections – Friends Historical Library
  • Penn State Brandywine “A Journey to the Past at Penn State Brandywine”
  • Delaware County PA History Website
  • Tyler Arboretum Bulletins published between 1959 -1980s

Middletown Preparative Burying Ground or Friends Hicksite Cemetery. This is Hannah’s final resting place.

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