Albert Cook Myers

Albert Cook Myers (December 12, 1874 – April 1, 1960) was an American author, genealogist, and historian of Quakers and Pennsylvania. He was a leading authority on the life and works of William Penn, a Quaker leader and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era.

Early life and education Myers was born in York Springs, Pennsylvania, the first child of Sarah Ann (née Cook) and John T. Myers. His mother taught school before her marriage, while his father sold farm equipment and real estate. At the age of 18, his mother reportedly shook Abraham Lincoln's hand after he delivered the Gettysburg Address. As adults, one of his sisters taught at the Friends Select School, the second was a social worker, and the third was a housewife.

Myers attended Adams County public schools and graduated from Martin Academy in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in 1894. He received his Bachelor of Letters in 1898 and his Master of Letters in 1901, both from Swarthmore College. In 1932, Franklin & Marshall College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters. He took graduate coursework in history at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin, and Harvard University.

Public history career Myers worked as registrar, instructor, and secretary to the president at Swarthmore from 1900 to 1902. He edited The Literary Era from 1898 to 1900. He also served as president of the .

Personal life and death Myers was a lifelong Hicksite Quaker. He never married or fathered children. He lived at his parents' house in Moylan from 1906 to 1955, when he sold the house and moved to West Chester and then to the Pocopson Home assisted living facility. He died in West Chester on April 1, 1960, at the age of 85. He was interred at the cemetery of the Providence Friends Meetinghouse, where he had been a lifelong congregant, in Media, Pennsylvania.

Research and publications In 1910, Myers launched a lifelong project to research Penn's life and compile and edit the complete works of William Penn, which he intended to publish in 15 volumes. He spent years in England and Ireland tracking down Penn's letters. His research gained the support of the Royal Historical Society and the Friends Historical Society, which arranged to have him formally presented to King George V and access private collections across Britain and Ireland. Myers died without completing this work, but he did publish many books and articles on Pennsylvania and Quaker history, genealogy, and biography.

Papers Myers donated his papers to the Chester County History Center in 1955. The collection featured one of nine known surviving daguerreotypes of Frederick Douglass. Douglass had gifted the photo to Susan B. Anthony, whose niece in turn gave it to Myers.