Isaac Shipman Sharp was born May 23, 1840 to Sophia Shipman Sharp and Jacob 

Sharp. He was born in Greenwich, Warren County, New Jersey (Document E). His mother, 
Sophia, was born May 13, 1805, while his father, Jacob Sharp, was born September 20, 1799. 
Isaac was named after his maternal grandfather, Isaac Shipman, who was born April 5, 1766 
and was 74 when he saw the birth of his namesake. Isaac had an older sister named Mary 
Margaret, who was born in 1824 and an older brother named John, who was born May 13, 
1833. (Document AP).  
 
Both sides of Isaac’s family were relatively wealthy and influential in Sussex County 
(also called Warren County), New Jersey. The Shipman family is originally from the 
Netherlands and they first came to America in 1760 when two brothers moved to New York 
State. One of the brothers, Mathias, moved to New Jersey and purchased 400 acres of land 
in Greenwich, which was later incorporated into Warren County. Mathias married a woman 
named Margaret and he built the first church in the County. When he died, he left his son, 
Isaac Shipman (Isaac Sharp’s maternal grandfather) 233 acres of land and a lot of timber 
land which made the Shipman family very rich and powerful.1  
 
The Sharp family was also powerful in Sussex County. (Sharp was sometimes spelled 
Sharps because name spellings were not standardized.2) Isaac’s paternal grandfather, John 
Sharps, was one of the most extensive land owners in the County. Among his holdings were 
the city of Phillipsburg. When he died he left most of his money to his son, Jacob, and his 
grandsons, John and Isaac.3 
 
Isaac’s sister, Mary Margaret, married William B Shimer and moved in with him on 
November 7, 1843 after they were married by Reverend Dellilla (Document C). William B 
Shimer was the son of John and Susanna Shimer and was born near Still Walley, Sussex 
County on August 28, 1820. He was mainly self-educated and lived in Phillipsburg, NJ. 
William was a “practical and successful farmer, and was favorably esteemed throughout the 
township”. He was also a director of the First National Bank of Phillipsburg, as well as an 
elder in the Old Straw Church (Document B). 
 
Isaac experienced the first great tragedy of his life when his father died on April 19, 
1843 (Document AP). Isaac was three years old and the tragedy left Sophia alone to take care 
of Isaac and John. She did not have to work to support them, as she had the money that 
Jacob inherited from his family.4 Isaac was not left without a father figure, as his brother 
John was seven years older than him. During this period, John was a student (Document E). 

1
“Matthias Shipman.” ​WikiTree: Where Genealogists Collaborate​, www.wikitree.com/wiki/Shipman-664. 
2
“​Name and Word Spellings.” ​Genealogy.com​, www.genealogy.com/articles/research/00000015.html. 
3
“John Sharps.” ​WikiTree: Where Genealogists Collaborate​, ​ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sharps-64. 
4
​“Matthias Shipman”, “John Sharps”  
 
The family experienced many births and deaths in the following years, exposing the 
Sharp brothers to the realities of the circle of life. Mary Margaret gave birth to Susanna V., 
who was born December 21, 1845, and Frank P., who was born July 1, 1851 (Document B). 
Isaac’s maternal grandmother, Mary, died September 22, 1851. His maternal grandfather, 
Isaac, died December 26, 1852 (Document AP).  
 
Isaac’s brother, John, became a doctor. He studied medicine with Dr. William 
Shipman, a relative from his mother’s side. He attended lectures at the Philadelphia Medical 
College and graduated M.D. in the spring of 1854. He then moved to Finesville, Warren 
County, leaving just Isaac and Sophia in the Sharp family home. Four years later, he moved 
to Philipsburg to practice medicine. He was described as “a young man of splendid talents, 
and bade fair to take a leading position in [medicine]”.  
 
John’s move made him closer with his sister and her family. After spending a lot of 
time with them, he met and married another member of the Shimer family. They had one 
son (Document F) named Robert W Sharp (Document U). Tragically, John died on 
December 30, 1858 at the age of twenty-five (Document F). There was another death in the 
family when Mary Margaret’s daughter, Susanna V., died on February 11, 1860 (Document 
B).  
 
In 1861, Southern states seceded over the contentious issue of slavery, and the 
United States entered a Civil War. Isaac and his family, who lived in the North, were 
supporters of the Union cause. On July 1, 1863 when Isaac was 23, he registered for the 
Union Civil War draft in his home county (Document G). However, Isaac did not volunteer 
to serve in the army and at the time, people who had money, as the Sharps did, could avoid 
involuntary service. Isaac’s service to his country ended up coming in the courtroom as 
opposed to on the battlefield.  
 
Isaac moved to Easton, Pennsylvania (Document I) most likely to be an apprentice to 
an experienced lawyer, as was common practice for lawyers at the time.5 He then moved to 
Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Law School (Document I). In the 19th century, 
a formal education in law was not necessary and was considered to be less beneficial than 
apprenticing with a practicing lawyer, but it was still a possible route to legal practice.6 He 
began attending Harvard Law School on March 5th, 1864. At Harvard he received a 
comprehensive course of all current law. His classmates at Harvard were mostly from the 
east coast of the United States, and specifically the Northeast like Isaac, so he was in 
5
Farrell, Sean Patrick. “The Lawyer's Apprentice.” ​The New York Times,​ The New York Times Company, 30 
July 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/education/edlife/how-to-learn-the-law-without-law-school.html. 
6
​Harvard Law School. “History of Harvard Law School.” ​Harvard Law School​, 
hls.harvard.edu/about/history/.  
somewhat of a “bubble,” where his classmates shared similar opinions to him, varying 
greatly from the state of the country at that time as his time at Harvard overlapped with the 
end of the Civil War (Document I).  
 
Between 1864 and 1865, Isaac moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to establish a 
home where he could pursue a professional career as a lawyer (Document H). He left 
Harvard Law School for good in 1865 (Document J) after he likely received a Bachelor of 
Laws (L.L.B.)7. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar on February 12, 1865 and served 
as a lawyer in Philadelphia, which was the first judicial district of Pennsylvania. He was 
considered “a careful and honorable practitioner and enjoyed the confidence and respect of 
the Bench and Bar” (Document H).  
 
On January 17, 1865 Isaac’s sister, Mary Margaret, gave birth to William S. He gained 
a special place in Isaac’s heart, which is evidenced by Isaac singling him out in his Last Will 
and Testament (Document AK). A year later, Mary Margaret gave birth to Thomas E. on 
December 1, 1866 (Document B). 
 
In Philadelphia, Isaac soon met S. H. Alleman, a slightly less experienced, fellow 
lawyer. In 1867, they established Sharp & Alleman Co., “Attorneys & Counselors at Law.” 
The firm specialized in “commercial and insurance law, and collections” and they expanded 
throughout the country as well as in Canada and in Europe. Their first offices were at 37 and 
39 South Third Street (Document T). They then moved to the Burd Building, which was at 
the South West Corner of 9th and Chestnut (Document AD). The firm also had an office at 
206 Broadway in New York City (Document T).  
 
Isaac married Annie Freeman on November 1, 1870 (Document L). Annie was born 
on July 30, 1846 and baptised by Reverend Echardl on March 19, 1847 (Document D). 
Annie was the daughter of James A. Freeman, an auctioneer, and Susan E. Freeman 
(Document K) who was born in Delaware (Document S). Annie had two younger brothers: 
Erasmus, who was three years younger than her, and Harold, who was nine years younger 
than her. All of the Freemans were born in Pennsylvania and they lived in Philadelphia’s 9th 
Ward (Document K). The 9th ward covers most of what is now Chestnut Hill8. 
 
Erasmus Freeman, one of Annie’s younger brothers, worked as a Clerk in an Auction 
house. He married a woman named Henrietta, who was of Bavarian descent and they had 
7
​Nowadays, Harvard Law School graduates receive a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, which is a graduate degree. 
However, at the time when Isaac Sharp attended, Harvard, and all other law schools, only gave out the 
undergraduate L.L.B degree. The J.D. was not given as a university’s first law degree until 1903 at the 
University of Chicago and not at Harvard until 1969 (Schoenfeld).  
8
​“Wards and Divisions.” ​Committee of Seventy,​ Committee of Seventy, 
seventy.org/publications/political-maps-of-philadelphia/wards-and-divisions. 
two children named Edgar A. and Annie S. Freeman. He named his daughter after his sister. 
They also had a servant named Margaret Barrett, who was from Ireland. Erasmus’ family 
lived on Catherine Street (Document R). 
 
After their marriage, Isaac and Annie lived with Annie’s father, James at 1713 Vine 
Street for over a decade. Annie’s brother, Harold, who worked as a civil engineer, also lived 
with them. Annie spent her life taking care of three men: her husband, her father, and her 
brother (Document S).  
 
As Isaac became comfortable with his work load at the firm, he wanted to contribute 
further to the legal community. Simultaneously, Isaac was becoming more well informed on 
some of the nation’s greatest legal problems. Isaac’s specialty in law was commercial and 
insurance law, and thus he wrote and published articles about this topic in law reviews. In 
April of 1872, he had a piece entitled “Stay and Exemption Laws,” published in the 
American Law Register, a publication which over time shifted into the modern day Penn 
Law Review. The Penn Law Review is now written and published by students of the 
University of Pennsylvania Law School. At the time though, it was simply a publication in 
which legal experts such as Isaac provided opinions and information on various legal topics 
and debates. In this publication, Isaac discussed both the constitutionality and functionality 
of “stay laws,” which were laws that provided debtors additional times to repay debts 
(Document M).  
 
The next year in October of 1873, he wrote another piece entitled, “The Legal 
Tender Cases. What They Decide,” published in the American Law Register. In this essay, 
Isaac outlined various legal tender cases and described the legal differences between the 
usage of gold and silver coinage versus paper bills (Document N). 
 
Additionally, this is around the time Isaac’s nephew Frank P. Shimer died on 
September 8, 1874 (Document B). 
 
In 1877, Isaac went to get a passport so that he could travel internationally, though he 
was not required to by law.9 Isaac physique was described by the passport as five foot seven 
and a half with a high forehead, a round chin, hazel eyes, and a dark complexion. Isaac also 
had dark brown hair and a straight nose, as well as a medium mouth. His face was also 
described as “oval” (Document O).  
 

“Passport Applications.” ​National Archives and Records Administration,​ National Archives and Records 
9

Administration, www.archives.gov/research/passport.  
 While Isaac was growing closer to his wife and her family his mother, Sophia, died on 
October 31, 1878 (Document AQ). She left Isaac a gold-headed cane, which was a family 
heirloom (Document AK) while Annie gifted Isaac a silver-headed cane (Document AK). 
 
In this same year, Isaac came across a case that he described as one of the “most 
intricate and complex cases that has ever come within my knowledge.” His firm represented 
the Robert Wood and Co. Bronze firm, which produced intricate bronze products and iron 
workings. The firm had innumerable liabilities because they were unable to meet “accruing 
obligations”. Robert Wood and Co. were then suspended from working. Isaac attributed part 
of the firm’s financial problems to people not having enough money to spend on iron and 
bronze decorations, because the country was still in the midst of the Long Depression, 
which lasted from 1873 to 1879.10 The entire business was put “in the lawyer’s hands.” This 
put considerable stress on Isaac, who had to work very hard to find a solution for Robert 
Wood and Co. (Document P). 
 
James died after Annie and Isaac had been married for a decade. He left Annie 
three-hundred and fifty shares of stock of the Catawissa Railroad Company and other 
property that was about the value of seventy-five hundred dollars (Document AK). His 
death was very hard for Annie, who had lived with her father her whole life. 
 
One of Isaac’s specialties was patent law and on April 18, 1880, Isaac helped a friend 
named Henry P. Feister apply for a patent for a “Printing, Binding, and Trimming Machine”. 
One-half of the patent was assigned to Isaac Fine, and one-third of the patent was assigned 
to Isaac (Document Q).  
 
In 1883, Isaac’s firm began to compile and publish the ​Sharp and Alleman Co.’s Lawyers 
and Bankers Directory.​ The directory’s introduction describes it as “a carefully selected list of 
trustworthy and capable Attorneys in every city and town of importance in the United States 
and Canada, recommended by Judges, Clerks of Courts, Merchants, Bankers, etc., and by 
personal investigation of our traveling Solicitors. Revised monthly, and prepared for the 
especial use of forwarders of business and business men generally.” Essentially, it was a 
collection of the information of lawyers and bankers that Sharp and Alleman vouched for in 
cities across the country. It also included summaries of local laws as well as focusing on 
patent law, a specialty of their firm. The directory was updated consistently and a new 
edition was published twice a year, in January and July (Document AD). 
 

Armstrong, Martin. “The Long Depression - The First Great Depression.” ​Armstrong Economics, ​16 Jul. 2016, 
10

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/history/americas-economic-history/the-long-depression-the-first-gr
eat-depression/ 
 Isaac spent the middle of the decade keeping up with his family. His brother John’s 
son, Robert Walter Sharp, graduated Yale Theological Seminary in 1885 after attending 
Lafayette College. He then moved to Foxboro, Massachusetts, and became a Congressional 
minister (Document U). Reverend Robert married Ella Hopkins and they had a daughter 
named Vera Sharp (Document AQ). Isaac’s sister’s son, William S. Shimer, owned the farm 
that belonged to his grandfather John Shimer, and had married Elizabeth Fine Pursell. His 
other nephew from his sister, Thomas E Shimer, died on April 27, 1888 (Document B).  
 
Unfortunately around this time, Annie’s health began to deteriorate and on March 17, 
1894 she died of tuberculosis (Document V). All of the property and stocks left to her by 
her father went to Isaac (Document AK). Isaac continued to live at 1713 Vine Street 
through 1895, but he was ready to move to a place that wouldn’t remind him of the wife he 
had lost (Document W).  
 
After Annie’s death, Harold realised that he then lived alone with Isaac, and he 
needed to find another woman to take care of him. He married a woman named Mary 
Patton and they moved to Radnor, Pennsylvania (Document AP) where they had a son 
named Clarence Patton Freeman (Document AK). 
 
In 1895, the Commercial Law League of America was formed and there was a 
meeting in Detroit. Isaac discussed attendance with Alleman, and they decided that Isaac, as 
the “senior”, should attend so their firm could be represented. A few months after the 
League’s organization, Alleman also joined the League. Both Isaac and his partner sincerely 
enjoyed participating in the Commercial Law League of America and would participate in 
further events during their lifetime (Document AM).  
 
By 1900, Isaac had remarried to a woman named Elizabeth S. Worrall Sharp 
(Document AC). Elizabeth S. Worrall was born in 1846 to John S. Worrall, born in 1812, 
and Elizabeth B. Still who were married in 1842. Ironically, John’s mother’s maiden name 
was Sharpless. Their family lived in Philadelphia. Elizabeth S. had an older sister named 
Petera B., who was born in 1844 and married Mary C. Young in 1868. Eventually when 
Elizabeth B. died, John remarried to Mary Ann Delham in 1858 and had five children.  
 
In 1871, Elizabeth S. married William H. Ertell, the son of Louis and Christiana 
Ertell (Document A) and on January 19, 1871, Elizabeth S. and William H. welcomed the 
birth of William W. Ertell who in later years became a farmer (Document AO). Sometime 
before 1900, William H. died, leaving Elizabeth S. a single mother which was when she 
found Isaac, also a recent widower and they married.  
 
Isaac was very active in the Commercial Law League and in 1898, Isaac attended the 
Fourth Annual Meeting of the Commercial Law League of America. At the convention, 
Isaac participated in a debate about the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 (Document Y) which 
“created the position of referee in bankruptcy”. 11 
 
Isaac and Elizabeth lived together at 2025 Delancey Street though William W. did not 
live with them. At this time Isaac was 60 and Elisabeth was 55. They had a servant, a 23 year 
old woman named Elizabeth Fern. Her parents were from Ireland, but Elizabeth was born 
in England. She immigrated to the United States in 1899 and got a job with Isaac and 
Elizabeth almost as soon as she arrived (Document AC). She was responsible for the 
cooking, cleaning, and caretaking of the household. She saved the money she earned and 
sent it home.12 While Elizabeth Sharp appreciated the other Elizabeth, she may have found it 
confusing that they had the same name.  
 
At some point, Isaac became a member of the Union League which was the premier 
social club of Philadelphia. It was also an important supporter of Republican political 
candidates and policies.13 On September 4, 1896, he attended a reception at the Union 
League where he met met many of his friends (Document X). 
 
Isaac Sharp also became one of the directors of the Fire Association of Philadelphia. 
They had offices at 407 and 409 Walnut Street. He was involved in the organization of the 
association’s assets and liabilities (Document Z). The Fire Association of Philadelphia was an 
insurance company and the profits were distributed to volunteer companies.14 As a 
commercial law expert, Isaac’s service as director likely would have involved some sort of 
role in the management of the funds. 
 
As the years went on Isaac expanded his business into real estate. For example, on 
April 26, 1900, Isaac S. Sharp sold 1118 Glenwood avenue to Louisa Dietrich. The next day, 
Isaac bought 1114 Glenwood avenue from Charles C. Van Riper. He went on to arrange for 
the selling of that house as well (Document AB). Due to his knowledge of real estate, Isaac 
moved to 2023 Sharswood Street by 1901 (Document AF).  
 
In 1901, Sharp & Alleman were hired for one of the highest profile cases in the firm’s 
history. They were representing Rudolph H. Evans, the brother of Dr. Thomas W. Evans 
(Document AE). Thomas Evans was a dentist to the royalty of Europe, and he had given 

11
“Federal Judicial Center.” ​Bankruptcy Act of 1898. 
https://www.fjc.gov/history/timeline/bankruptcy-act-1898.
12
​“Tomorrow: Living Life as a 19th Century Servant.” ​Four Pounds Flour​, 3 Jan. 2013, 
www.fourpoundsflour.com/tomorrow-living-life-as-a-19th-century-servant/. 
13
​Guelzo, Allen C. “Union League of Philadelphia.” ​Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia​, 
philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/union-league-of-philadelphia/. 
14
​“Fire Association of Philadelphia Fire Mark.” ​National Museum of American History,​ Smithsonian, 
americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1341847. 
much of his money and his home to the University of Pennsylvania for a dental institute and 
museum.15 Rudolph H. Evans filed a bill in equity in the United States Circuit Court asking 
for an apportionment of the costs that led to the compromise under which Thomas Evan’s 
heirs and the city would split his money and estate (Document AE). 
 
In 1901, the ​Sharp and Alleman Directory​ was enshrined for posterity in the newly built 
Thomas Jefferson Building across the east plaza from the Capitol,16 according to an Act of 
Congress, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress (Document AD). The specific Act of 
Congress was the United States Copyright Act of 1870, which made it mandatory for all 
copyright applicants to send copies of their work to the Library of Congress, an initiative 
spurred by Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford. 
 
In 1902, Isaac and Elizabeth attended a convention of the Commercial Law League 
of America in Niagara Falls, Canada which was Isaac’s first time out of the country. The 
convention was described as the “finest convention the League has ever held.” Isaac saw 
many of his old friends and their families. He participated in Moot Courts, dancing, and the 
reading of reports. In 1902 the Sharp & Alleman Company published an account of the 
convention (Document AG). 
 
In 1903, Isaac lost a small pocketbook which contained four valuable rings. This loss 
was upsetting to him as he published in the paper that he was offering a reward for $100 for 
its return (Document AH). 
 
By 1908, Isaac lived at 513 South 42nd Street (Document AI) which was built in 
1900. It was three stories high and had 3,300 square feet.17  
 
Isaac was very active in his church, the Harriet Hollond Memorial Presbyterian 
Church of Philadelphia. He was a trustee of the church and became an “elder” in 1891. 
There is evidence of Isaac being involved with philanthropy through the church. (Document 
AA). In 1909 there was an earthquake in Italy and Sicily that led to a lot of suffering. 
Philadelphia Catholic Archbishop Ryan sent letters to churches asking them to donate 
money to a “quake fund.” Isaac donated five dollars (Document AJ) which translates to 
about $138 dollars today.18 

15
“Evans Building.” ​University of Pennsylvania Facilities and Real Estate Services​, University of Pennsylvania, 13 
Dec. 2018, https://www.facilities.upenn.edu/maps/locations/evans-building.  
16
​“History of the Library of Congress.” ​Historyplex​, Historyplex, 
historyplex.com/history-of-library-of-congress. 
17
513 S 42nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Redfin. 
https://www.redfin.com/PA/Philadelphia/513-S-42nd-St-19104/home/39476589  
18
“Inflation Rate between 1905-2019 | Inflation Calculator.” ​$5 In 1909 → 2019 | Inflation Calculator,​ Official 
Data: Economy, Inflation, and More, www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1905?amount=5.  
 
Isaac died September 3, 1909 in Collersville, New York (Document AL). The most 
likely causes of his death were influenza and pneumonia or a heart problem.19 He was buried 
next to Annie in her family’s plot in Woodland Cemetery in Philadelphia. 
 
Using his law expertise Isaac wrote his Last Will and Testament. He provided that his 
debts and funeral expenses be paid. He left his nephew, Robert Walter Sharp, the 
gold-headed cane his mother had passed down to him as well as his gold watch and chain. 
He left Harold Freeman the silver-headed cane that Annie gave to him. He also left Harold 
and his nephew-in-law, Clarence Patton Freeman, the funds necessary for the upkeep of the 
graves of Isaac’s wives, his family, and himself. To Elizabeth, he left all of his clothes, 
jewelry, “personal effects”, furniture, “household effects”, and anything he had left that she 
needed for “comfortable support”. For the benefit of his step-son, William Worrall Ertell, he 
left money to his brother and nephew-in-law to make sure William never incurred debts. He 
left the rest of his estate, in equal shares, to his niece Sophia S. Davis, his nephew Reverend 
Robert Walter Sharp, his nephew Charles R. Sharp, and his nephew William S. Shimer. While 
he had more nieces and nephews, he left money to the ones with which he had the most 
personal bonds. He named Elizabeth and Harold as the executors of his Last Will and 
Testament (Document AK). 
 
Elizabeth died in 1924 and she was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, most likely next 
to her first husband (Document AN) and Isaac’s estate paid for her grave (Document AK). 
Her son, William W., died on November 20, 1924, of diabetes melitus, and was likely buried 
with his parents (Document AO). After Isaac’s death, his partner, Alleman, retained 
ownership of the firm and sold it to H.A. Cannon and Otis Spear, both of whom were 
connected to the firm (Document AM).   
 

Toro, Ross. “Leading Causes of Death in the US: 1900 - Present (Infographic).” ​LiveScience​, Purch, 30 June 
19

2012, www.livescience.com/21213-leading-causes-of-death-in-the-u-s-since-1900-infographic.html.