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Belfield papers, 1697-1977 (inclusive)

Extent:
106.0 linear feet (235 boxes and 99 volumes)
Abstract:
The Belfield papers include materials from families who lived in the Belfield mansion in Germantown, Pennsylvania from 1826 until 1984; however, the papers span the years 1679 to 1977. Featured individuals include William and Sarah Logan Fisher Wister, their son John Wister and his wife, Sarah Tyler Boas Wister, their granddaughter Sarah Logan Wister Starr and her husband, James Starr, and their great-granddaughter S. Logan Starr Blain and her husband, Dr. Daniel Blain. The collection also houses papers from related individuals in the Emlen, Fisher, Hall, Lindley, Logan, Meigs, Wister, and other families. This collection includes correspondence, financial records, ephemera, photographs, scrapbooks, pamphlets, periodicals, and other items. Topics that are particularly well documented in the Belfield papers include: Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania; Colonial Dames of America; the Sesquicentennial Exposition; stamp collecting; world travel during the Great Depression;...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Wister and Butler Families Papers, 1700-2004, undated; bulk: 1848-1907

Extent:
21.5 linear feet (; 46 boxes, 55 volumes, 17 flat files)
Abstract:
The Wister and Butler families were prominent in Philadelphia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and had ties to numerous other prominent families in the Philadelphia region, Georgia, and Great Britain. The bulk of the collection concerns Pierce (Mease) Butler and his daughters Sarah Butler Wister and Frances Anne Butler Leigh. Butler's former wife Frances Anne Kemble (Butler), known as Fanny Kemble, and various other family members are also represented. The bulk of the collection is correspondence and estate papers; it also includes diaries, newspapers and newspaper clippings, business papers, real estate papers, ledgers and other financial documents, photographs, and other miscellaneous papers. The collection provides insights into a wide variety of topics, including women's history, the Civil War, African American history, family history, politics, culture, and the life of actress Fanny Kemble and her daughters. The materials concerning the Butler plantations both before...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Herbert Welsh collection, 1898-1925 (bulk) 1759-1935, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
59.4 linear feet (; 120 boxes, 14 flat files, 145 volumes)
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of Herbert Welsh, noted political reformer and activist, founder of the Indian Rights Association, editor and publicist, and advocate for the conservation of the forests of Lake Sunapee. The collection also contain papers collected by Herbert Welsh, mostly by his father John Welsh, Philadelphia merchant, U.S. diplomat, and chairman of the International Centennial Exhibition of 1876. The collection spans from 1759 to 1935 with the bulk of the materials covering the years between 1898 and 1925 and includes correspondence, financial files, papers related to Welsh’s interests and activism, broadsides, pamphlets, serials, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and photographs.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Mutual Assurance Company (Green Tree) records, 1784-1995 (inclusive)

Extent:
455.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The Mutual Assurance Company for Insuring Houses from Loss by Fire was organized in Philadelphia in 1784, in order to make fire insurance available to those citizens who wished to have trees in front of their houses. A group of sixty-one men met on July 8, 1784 at the City (or London) Coffee House and agreed to create a new mutual fire insurance company. A deed of settlement was adopted and a green tree was selected as a symbol to appear on the company's policies and fire marks. The company archives of The Mutual Assurance Company, familiarly known as the Green Tree, consist of financial accounts and receipts, correspondence, histories, cancelled insurance surveys and policies, and miscellaneous material. The records date from the formation of the company in 1784 to 1995.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Batcheler, Hartshorne, and Sahlin families papers, 1789-2007 (inclusive)

Extent:
40.0 linear feet
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of the Batcheler, Hartshorne, and Sahlin families, descended from Axel (1826-March 5, 1909) and Axeline Sahlin (1834-1922), a Swedish couple whose children lived in Europe and the United States. Four generations of the family are documented here, with documentation centering around five families. In the United States, the family is represented by Gertrude Chandler (July 17, 1860-1953) and Axel Sahlin (1855-1937); their daughter Ellen Sahlin (February 21, 1895-June 4, 1988) and her husband, Judge Richard Hartshorne (February 29, 1888-September 19,1975); and their daughter, Penelope Hartshorne (1928-2007) and her husband, George Batcheler(1926-2009). The Swedish side of the family is represented by Axel and Axeline Sahlin and the family of their daughter, Essie Sahlin (1859-1950) and her husband, Simon Johannes Boëthius (1850-1924). The contents of this collection are mostly correspondence and other personal papers, including diaries, artwork,...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Harold E. Cox transportation collection, 1858-1960 (bulk) 1803-1967 (inclusive)

Extent:
199.5 linear feet (160 boxes, 624 volumes, 38 rolled items)
Abstract:
Prior to the 1870s, Philadelphia's public transportation system consisted of dozens of independently owned and operated horse drawn streetcar lines. In the 1880s and 1890s steps were taken toward electrification and unification, a goal finally achieved in 1902 with the founding of Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT). PRT constructed subway and elevated train lines, and managed public transportation until 1940, when the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was established, absorbing PRT and all of its functions. The Dr. Harold E. Cox transportation collection is composed primarily of records from PTC and PRT, as well as PRT's subsidiary and predecessor rail lines. This collection dates from 1803 to 1967, with the bulk of materials ranging from 1858 to 1960. It consists of financial records, legal records, correspondence, administrative records, ephemera, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, atlases, and route maps and diagrams. The collection documents the growth and...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Salmon P. Chase Papers, 1850-1872 (bulk) (1824-1884, undated) (inclusive)

Extent:
12.0 linear feet (; 43 boxes; 16 volumes; 10 flat files)
Abstract:
Salmon P. Chase (1808-1873) was a career politician and an influential Union decision-maker during the Civil War. He served as governor of Ohio, U.S. senator, secretary of the Treasury, and Supreme Court chief justice. The Salmon P. Chase Papers, which span the years 1824-1884, provide tremendous insight into the professional life of Chase and provide information on the National Bank and specie debates, as well as the abolition movement from the early 1820s through the Civil War. This collection contains correspondence, speech notes, newspaper clippings, biographical material, court opinions, financial papers, and a myriad of miscellaneous items. In addition to containing Chase's papers, this collection also contains the papers of J. W. Schuckers, Chase's personal secretary and biographer. Schuckers’s papers give further insight into the economic situation immediately following the Civil War and include correspondence, newspapers, investments records, and other financial papers.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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John Wanamaker collection, 1827-1987 (inclusive)

Extent:
193.2 linear feet (; 316 volumes, 438 boxes)
Abstract:
John Wanamaker (1838-1922) was a well-known merchant, entrepreneur, and lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was active in the city's religious, political, and philanthropic areas, founded several Presbyterian churches and Sunday schools, and served as postmaster general under President Benjamin Harrison from 1889 to 1893. He opened his first Philadelphia clothing store, Oak Hall, with partner Nathan Brown in 1861, and founded John Wanamaker and Co. in 1869. In 1876, he opened "A New Kind of Store" known as the Grand Depot at Thirteenth and Market Streets. This store later became the flagship store, with satellite stores eventually established in central and southeastern Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey, Delaware, and New York City. Wanamaker was at the forefront in many areas of retailing including merchandising, employee relations and advertising. His sons Thomas B. Wanamaker and L. Rodman Wanamaker were also active in the business. Thomas ran John Wanamaker and...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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John Gibbon papers, 1862-1892 (bulk) 1845-1896, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
1.3 linear feet (; 2 boxes, 5 volumes, 1 flat file)
Abstract:
John Gibbon spent his career in the U.S. Army, serving through the Mexican American War, the Civil War, and the Indian Wars. This collection includes his correspondence with his wife, memoirs and commentary on many aspects of his life and the military, and several miscellaneous items, such as photographs and account books. The collection gives a valuable, broad view of the U.S. Army through the course of three wars. Gibbon comments on many major campaigns of the Civil War, including Gettysburg and Appomattox. He also writes about his command of the 1877 campaign against the Nex Perce Indians under Chief Joseph, and his peace enforcements during the anti-Chinese riots in Seattle in 1886.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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