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Start Over Repository Historical Society of Pennsylvania Form Correspondence. Year 1850 to 1899

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John Rutter Brooke papers, 1861-1902 (bulk) 1767-1918, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
13.9 linear feet (; 27 boxes, 37 volumes, 6 flat files)
Abstract:
The papers of John Rutter Brooke include correspondence, accounts, regimental reports, military orders, and pamphlets that primarily pertain to his career in the United States Army, 1861-1902. Brooke’s military papers document the activities of the 53rd Pennsylvania volunteer regiment during the Civil War; the 3rd Infantry division and 7th Cavalry during the Indian Wars; the 1st Corps of the Army during the Spanish-American War; and Brooke’s service as military governor of Puerto Rico and Cuba, as well as his service in the Departments of the Missouri, the Platte, the Gulf, and the East. The collection is particularly rich in its documentation of the United States Army’s “Sioux Campaign” during 1890-1891, containing extensive correspondence during the height of the Ghost Dance on the Standing Rock and Pine Ridge reservations, and the ensuing military build-up, which escalated into the massacre at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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James Buchanan papers, 1815-1868 (bulk) 1783-1895, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
35.0 linear feet (74 boxes, 25 volumes)
Abstract:
The James Buchanan papers span the entirety of Buchanan's legal, political and diplomatic career, including his service as Pennsylvania assemblyman, U.S. representative, minister to Russia, U.S. senator, secretary of state, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain, and president of the United States. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, but also includes speeches, notes, business papers, legal papers, manuscript drafts, pamphlets, books, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks. The most significant groups of materials in this collection are related to Buchanan's time as secretary of state, 1845-1849; minister to Great Britain, 1854-1856; and the growing differences between the North and South before the Civil War, 1857-1861.

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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George G. Meade collection, 1845-1872 (bulk) 1811-1897, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
9.0 linear feet (11 boxes, 36 volumes, 29 flat files)
Abstract:
George G. Meade's career in the military began during his student years at West Point, where he studied topographical engineering. He served in the Mexican-American War and went on to become a celebrated Union general in the Civil War, where his son George served under his command. This collection covers all aspects of Meade's career, including his student work, his work as a cartographer while working for the U.S. coastal survey and during the Civil War, and his service as commander of the Army of the Potomac. In addition to his military papers, there are a significant group of letters to Meade's wife Margaretta and their children, which document his family relationships and his feelings about his military service during the Mexican-American and Civil wars. Also included in this collection are letters compiled by Meade's son George while he was writing a biography of his father, titled The Life and Letters of General Meade. The manuscripts for this work make up...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Citizens' Permanent Relief Committee records, 1885-1923, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
16.5 linear feet (34 boxes, 61 volumes, 10 flat files)
Abstract:
The Citizens' Permanent Relief Committee was a local philanthropic group which aided the sufferers in many disasters between 1878 and 1900, notably the Johnstown Flood, the Russian famine, the Armenian massacres, and other disasters that took place during the final decade of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. During the Spanish-American War the Committee under the name National Relief Commission, helped soldiers, sailors, and their families. The collection consits of correspondence, business papers, magazines, clippings, applications for relief, treasurer's reports, minutes, investigations, and field reports related to each disaster for which the committee provided relief.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Waln family papers, 1759-1888 (inclusive)

Extent:
5.6 linear feet (; 14 boxes)
Abstract:
The Walns were a family of prominent Quaker merchants in Philadelphia. In 1774, Richard Waln, moved the family to Crosswicks, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, where he purchased "Walnford" and established a flour mill. The Waln family papers document primarily the family's business activities. Richard Waln (1737-1808) who was engaged in the milling business in Walnford, New Jersey, also was involved with financial concerns in Philadelphia. His nephew Robert (1765-1836) was the director of the Philadelphia Insurance Company from 1804 to 1813. Robert a successful merchant, joined into a partnership with his cousin Jesse, and traded with England and the West Indies, and later with East India and China. The collection consists largely of correspondence and financial records.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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John Meredith Read papers, 1818-1873 (bulk) 1746-1917 (bulk 1818-1873) (inclusive)

Extent:
11.0 linear feet (; 28 boxes)
Abstract:
John Meredith Read (1794-1874) was a Philadelphia lawyer, jurist, and politician. He served on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and was a founding member of both the Free Soil and Republican parties. This collection of John Meredith Read's papers deals mostly with his legal career and covers his political career to a lesser extent. The collection spans Read life and includes some papers from his ancestors as well as his children. There is both business and personal correspondence, legal papers, financial records, estate papers, papers on the Masons, miscellaneous ephemera and printed matter, and volumes.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Fairmount Park Art Association records, 1871-1972 (inclusive)

Extent:
84.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The Fairmount Park Art Association (FPAA) was the United States' first private, nonprofit organization that worked to integrate public art and urban planning. Founded in 1872, the FPAA initially focused on enhancing Philadelphia's Fairmount Park by purchasing and commissioning sculpture, but by 1906 it had embraced a broader goal: "to promote and foster the beautiful in the City of Philadelphia, in its architecture, improvements and general plan." The FPAA supported city planning projects that incorporated outdoor sculpture and advocated the establishment of Philadelphia's Art Jury, which later became the Philadelphia Art Commission. In 2012, the Fairmount Park Art Association changed its name to the Association for Public Art. The Fairmount Park Art Association records span from 1872, when the association was formed, until 1972. The collection includes the association’s constitution, meeting minutes, correspondence, committee files, reports, financial records, contracts, membership...(see more)

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Fenton and Remak families papers, 1844-1942 (bulk) 1821-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.5 linear feet (; 14 boxes, 6 volumes, 2 flat files)
Abstract:
This collection relates primarily to two local Philadelphia families, the Fentons and the Remaks, that were joined with the 1885 marriage of Thomas H. Fenton and Lizzie Remak. Several family members are highlighted in the collection, in particular Lizzie's mother, Susan M. Scott Remak, and Thomas and Lizzie's daughters, Doris and Beatrice Fenton. The collection is rich in genealogical source material and family documents, correspondence, and photographs. There are also scattered clippings, printed matter, glass slides and negatives, and several volumes.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Lavington Quick Papers, 1861-1865 (bulk) 1847-1876, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
0.6 linear feet (; 2 boxes, 5 flat files)
Abstract:
Lavington Quick (1819-1876) served as a U.S. Army Brigadier surgeon during the Civil War. The Lavington Quick Papers contain various documents pertaining to his medical career, as well as medicine and hospitals during the Civil War. The collection contains records of Quick's medical schooling, reports of inspections of soldiers, records of medical discharges, invoices for medical supplies received by Dr. Quick, mainly at the Army hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, special Army orders regarding Quick and others. There are a number of newspapers articles by Quick, that touch on the state of the Army and the hospitals but speak mostly to the political events and currents of the early 1860s. Additionally, there are other newspaper clippings, photographs, currency, and stock certificates. From the collection, one can gather a fair bit about the inner workings of the surgeon general's office during the Civil War, and of the state of medicine in wartime.

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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Carpenter Family Papers, 1780-1870 (bulk) 1695-1915, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
5.3 linear feet (; 5 boxes, 18 volumes, 1 flat file)
Abstract:
The Carpenter family papers include Brigadier General Louis Henry Carpenter's military papers and Civil War-era correspondence, as well as more than 200 years of correspondence, genealogical material, and other papers related to the Carpenter family of New Jersey. The Carpenter family was among the first settlers of the Philadelphia area and established several towns in Salem and Gloucester counties, New Jersey. They also had ties to numerous prominent families in the Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic region during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The collection offers insights into a variety of topics, including the Revolutionary War in the Philadelphia region; the early history of Haddon Township, N.J.; medicine in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; and life as a Union soldier during the Civil War.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Jay Cooke papers, 1858-1874 (bulk) 1831-1906, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
43.4 linear feet (; 102 boxes, 30 volumes, 12 flat files )
Abstract:
The Jay Cooke papers are a rich source of information about the finances of the Union war efforts during the Civil War, the politics of the Union during and after the Civil War, westward expansion and the construction of railroads across the country, and banking and finance during the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Cooke's correspondence documents the work of Jay Cooke & Company and contains communications with many of the era's most powerful politicians and businessmen. Cooke's connection with the Department of the Treasury provides a unique inside view of political decisions, and illustrates Cooke's influence with many leaders in positions of great authority. This collection also contains a small group of personal papers, offering a perspective on Jay Cooke's philanthropic, religious, and family orientation.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Ferdinand J. Dreer autograph collection, 1492-1925 (inclusive)

Extent:
105.0 linear feet (; 330 boxes, 133 volumes, 2 flat files)
Abstract:
Ferdinand Julian Dreer’s chief hobby was collecting autographs. He started with two documents and over time he was able to amass more than 15,000 items from some of the world’s most prominent and intriguing public figures. Owing to this interest, Dreer became acquainted with many people in the world of arts and letters, politics, education, clergy, business, and international affairs. As he was aware of such a collection’s potential impact on scholarship and society, Dreer donated all of his holdings to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, with which he had been associated for many years as the institution’s vice president.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Alexander H. Stephens Papers, (1858-1882) (inclusive)

Extent:
0.8 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
Alexander H. Stephens (1812-1883) was a career politician who served as a United States senator and representative from Georgia, both before and after the Civil War. He also served as the vice president of the Confederate States of America. This collection contains correspondence between Stephens and William Hidell, Stephens's private secretary while he was vice president of the Confederacy. The letters provide insight into the daily business of the Confederacy, as well as information about the close of the war, attempts at peace, and Stephens's time in prison immediately after the war. The correspondence continues into Stephens's time as U.S. representative from Georgia during Reconstruction and contains entirely political commentary during that time.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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John Welsh papers, 1840-1880 (bulk) 1806-1935, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
8.0 linear feet (; 9 boxes, 45 volumes, 2 flat files)
Abstract:
This collection contain the papers of John Welsh, president of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, financial manager for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia merchant, and American diplomat to the British mission under President Hayes. The collection spans from 1806 to 1935 and consists of correspondence, financial files, his diaries, and documents created by both Herbert Welsh and Edward Lowber Stokes.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Arthur C. Bining collection, 1804-1878 (bulk) 1727-1949 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.6 linear feet (; 4 boxes)
Abstract:
Arthur C. Bining was a Philadelphia historian, worked as a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and was associated with the Pennsylvania Historical Association. This small collection contains letters, autographs, and papers he collected over time. A portion of the papers originated from the United States Customs House of Philadelphia and deal mostly with routine customs matters. There are also folders of papers from individuals that are not associated with the Customs House, such as army officer James Barker, painter Abbott H. Thayer, and inventor August F. W. Partz. Additional papers include those of Joseph R. E. Bunel, paymaster general of the French colony of Santo Domingo, Haiti; and Marie F. M. Bunel, a businesswoman in Santo Domingo.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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Charles Jared Ingersoll papers, 1812-1848 (bulk) 1801-1891 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.0 linear feet (; 6 boxes)
Abstract:
Philadelphian Charles Jared Ingersoll (1782-1862) was a lawyer, congressman, and writer. This collection of his papers mostly spans his career from the 1810s to the 1840s. The bulk of the materials are incoming letters, many from well-known nineteenth-century individuals, including several U. S. presidents; however, there are also drafts of his writings, clippings, a copy of his 1837 nomination to Congress, and other miscellaneous papers. While indirectly highlighting Ingersoll's work, most of the correspondence contains political, legal, or personal discussions.

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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