Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Form Diaries Year 1850 to 1899

Naomi and Rayner Kelsey papers, 1842, 1900-1952, undated (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.44 linear ft.
Abstract:: The papers include the correspondence of Rayner and Naomi Kelsey, a diary kept by Naomi Kelsey, sermons and talks of Rayner Kelsey, and a number of miscellaneous objects.

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]

Scattergood family papers, circa 1800-1876 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear ft.
Abstract:: Primarily the letters of the Quaker Scattergood family detailing daily life in the Philadelphia area and touching on issues of dress. There is a also a letter of Joseph Scattergood from Tunesassa, New York, telling of his work with Cornplanter's Native Americans. As well, there is a diary kept by Ann Sellers from 1853 to 1856 and a cookbook, circa 1800.

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]

Hannah Milhous Vernon papers, 1855-1889

Extent:: .15 linear ft. (3 folders)
Abstract:: This collection is comprised of the papers of Hannah Milhous Vernon, and includes two unbound commonplace books, the loose pages of Vernon's diaries, and a single unbound volume of meeting minutes for the Damorris Monthly Meeting of Women Friends.

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]

William H.S. Wood diary, 1855-1856 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:: William H.S. Wood's diary records the first five months of his time as a student of Haverford College. It contains information pertaining to his extracurricular activities, the weather, personal projects, and events around Haverford at the time.

Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]

Corneille McCarn Rucker papers, 1893-1987 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Corneille McCarn Rucker, an aspiring poet, was raised in Nashville, Tennessee and Hawaii before attending Vanderbilt University. She was the first woman to publish in The Fugitive, an influential poetry journal. It appears that despite this success, Corneille, in general, had a difficult time publishing many of her poems. This collection documents the lively social life and literary aspirations of a well-educated young woman in the early 20th century. Corneille McCarn Rucker memorialized her life in an extremely narrative and vivid fashion through letters, diaries, writings, and scrapbooks.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

W.R. Harrison private journal, 1841-1886 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear_foot (1 box)
Abstract:: W.R. Harrison was a publisher's representative for A. S. Barnes & Co. and Mather, Case, Tiffany, & Burnham, who sold maps and textbooks to public and private schools and booksellers. This collection consists of a journal kept from October 14, 1841, to February 20, 1844, by W. R. Harrison as well as several items originally laid into the volume, including bills and receipts, a letter, and the lyrics to a few songs.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Van Wyck Brooks papers, 1872-1983 (inclusive) 1900-1963 (bulk)

Extent:: 142 boxes
Abstract:: Collection contains 54 boxes of professional and family correspondence; 68 boxes of writings by Brooks, including typescripts, galleys, and notes for books, articles, prefaces, and addresses, as well as juvenalia, diaries, and notebooks; and 20 boxes of memorabilia, photographs, and newspaper clippings.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Marian Williams Perrin diaries, 1886-1889 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3 volumes
Abstract:: Marian Williams Perrin Burton (1869-1959) was a graduate of Wellesley College and a prominent anti-suffragist from New York State. This collection contains three journals, with each volume covering one year and each page printed to hold two dated entries from 1886, 1887, and 1889. These diaries primarily concern her preparation for and time at Wellesley College but also include daily events, literary quotes, and details of illnesses.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Theodore Dreiser papers, circa 1890-1965 (bulk dates 1897-1955) (inclusive) 1897-1955 (bulk)

Extent:: 244 linear feet (503 boxes)
Abstract:: Contains 22 series, including correspondence (118 boxes); legal matters (7 boxes); writings (260 boxes), comprising books, essays, short stories, poems, plays, screenplays, radio scripts, addresses, lectures, interviews, introductions, and prefaces; journals edited by Dreiser (6 boxes); notes (9 boxes); diaries (5 boxes); biographical material (1 box); memorabilia (41 boxes), comprising scrapbooks, photographs (many of which are available online), art work, promotional material, postcards, and miscellanea; financial records (5 boxes); clippings (23 boxes); works by others (12 boxes); and oversize materials (2 boxes). Also includes materials regarding various family members: brother Paul Dresser (8 boxes of correspondence, sheet music and lyric sheets, clippings and memorabilia, and two plays written by Dresser); second wife Helen Dreiser (4 boxes of diaries and other writings); and niece Vera Dreiser (2 boxes of correspondence).

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

Alexander Family Collection, 1815-1914 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2 boxes and 0.6 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists of miscellaneous material relating to various members of the Alexander family, many of whom lived and worked in Princeton, N.J.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]

Julien Levy Gallery records, 1857-1982 (inclusive)

Extent:: 19.0 linear feet (46 containers)
Abstract:: Julien Levy (1906-1981) was a pioneering New York art dealer of the 1930s and 1940s. He was introduced to the art world in Paris by Marcel Duchamp, who he met in New York in 1926. In Paris he met photographers and artists, including Man Ray, Berenice Abbot, and his future wife Joella Haweis, daughter of Dadaist muse Mina Loy. Upon his return to the United States, Levy worked briefly at the Weyhe Gallery before opening the Julien Levy Gallery at 602 Madison Avenue. In 1932, Levy mounted “Surrealisme,” an exhibition that introduced the Surrealist art movement to New York. This collection documents the career of prominent art gallery owner Julien Levy. The records date from 1857 to 1983 and include correspondence, exhibit announcements and invitations, scrapbooks, gallery financial ledgers, audio-visual materials, and personal papers such as letters, diaries, appointment books and calendars. The material in this collection reflects the course of Levy’s life, beginning with childhood...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]

M. Louise Baker papers, 1879-1955 (inclusive)

Extent:: 5.0 linear feet
Abstract:: During her employment as museum artist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology from 1908-1936, M. (Mary) Louise Baker established an international reputation as the preeminent archaeological artist of her time with unmatched technical skill in scientific illustration. Her work at the University Museum included paintings of Maya pottery for limited edition folio volumes; paintings and reconstructions of Ur of the Chaldees’ royal tombs findings for Sir C. Leonard Woolley and of the Palace of Merenptah at Memphis, and a reconstructed drawing of the Piedras Negras Lintel 3. She spent much of her career dividing her time between the positions of museum artist and as art teacher at the George School in Bucks County, PA. A life-long Quaker, M. Louise Baker was born in Alliance, Ohio, on August 4, 1872. At the age of 19, she came to Pennsylvania to complete her education. By 1900, she had decided to concentrate on art and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Museum...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

Helen Clements Kirk papers, 1881-1917 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3 cubic ft.
Abstract:: Helen Clements Kirk was a student at Bryn Mawr from 1888-1892. She studied History and Economics. This collection consists of papers belonging to Helen and her family, particularly her mother, Emma Newbold Clements, and her father, Samuel Clements. Most of the collection consists of correspondence from Helen to her mother, which spans two decades, 1888-1908. In her letters from college, Helen writes about her social life, academics, professors, and events on campus. In letters written after college, from 1893 to 1908, she writes about Philadelphia social life and her new family. The fall of 1892, she married Edward Cameron Kirk and became a mother to his two children, Edith and Carrie. She and Edward had three girls of their own: Dorothy, Marcelle, and Barbara. Some of Dorothy's letters from when she was twelve and eighteen are also included. Besides correspondence, the collection also contains ephemera from Helen's education, including school reports from Cheltenham Academy, the...(see more)

Held at: Bryn Mawr College [Contact Us]

Union League archives, 1833-2010 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1643.0 items
Abstract:: Founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, the Union League of Philadelphia laid the philosophical foundation of other Union Leagues across a nation torn by Civil War. From its founding to the present, the League has been a leading civic organization and has played an important role in the history of our country and the City of Philadelphia. Over the past 150 years, this service has ranged from raising troops during the Civil War and lobbying for enforcement of the “freedom” amendments during Reconstruction, to feeding the hungry during the Great Depression, to finding jobs for returning veterans after World War II. The Union League archives houses a wide variety of records related to the general administration of the Union League, its mission, building and history. Additionally, researchers will find a small sampling of papers more generally related to the Civil War, including some letters written by Abraham Lincoln....(see more)

Held at: Union League of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Miller-Dickey Family papers, 1786-1992 (inclusive)

Extent:: 10.0 boxes
Abstract:: This collection consists of papers of the Cross, Dickey, and Miller families of Chester County, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland. John Miller and his wife, Margaret, emigrated from Scotland to Pennsylvania with their young daughter, Jane, in 1786. Miller, who was trained as a stone cutter in Scotland, developed a thriving marble business in Philadelphia; he also owned a farm in Great Valley, Pennsylvania. John was active in the Philadelphia community; he was an early member of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society, and a supporter of the Magdalene and Missionary Societies. The papers in this collection consist primarily of personal correspondence, business records, genealogical notes, diaries, and family photographs, of the Cross, Dickey and Miller families. The collection is particularly strong on relationships between women, family health, Presbyterian church, the history of Oxford, Pennsylvania, marble cutting business, and the genealogy of the Miller, Dickey,...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Barry-Hayes papers, 1778-1861 (bulk) 1723-1875 (inclusive)

Extent:: 23.0 boxes and [7 oversize volumes, and 1 oversize folder]
Abstract:: John Barry (1745-1803), often credited as the Father of the American Navy, served the Continental Navy and the United States Navy for seventeen years. He and his descendents, particularly his nephew Patrick Hayes and grand-nephew Patrick Barry Hayes, became prominent members of Philadelphia society, serving as seamen, merchants, businessmen and politicians. The Barry-Hayes papers are the business, political and personal papers of John Barry and of his family, especially Patrick Hayes and Patrick Barry Hayes. The collection includes correspondence, letterbooks, diaries, logbooks, legal and financial papers related to Barry’s career in the Navy, the business ventures of the Hayes, Keen and Somers families, and their personal lives.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Conner family papers, 1832-1856 (bulk) 1832-1856 1816-1903 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3.0 folders
Abstract:: Susan Dillwyn Physick was born on June 22, 1803, in Philadelphia, the second of four children. Her parents were Elizabeth Emlen, whose family was one of the wealthiest in Philadelphia, and Philip Syng Physick, the prominent physician. In 1824 she met naval Master-Commandant David Conner, and the two married on June 25, 1828. The Conner family papers consist primarily of 23 journals kept by Susan Dillwyn Physick Conner from 1832 to 1856. The collection also includes her unfinished autobiography with amendments by her son, a scrapbook, two notebooks, two journals by her son, one journal by Philip Conner’s wife, two letters (one by Mary Lewis, one by Philip Conner), three account books, two published books owned by Susan Physick Conner, and notes and drafts by Arthur Hale, Philip Conner’s son-in-law.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Free Library of Philadelphia Collection of Literary Manuscripts, 1666-1990 (inclusive)

Extent:: 23.0 linear feet
Abstract:: This collection contains letters, manuscript fragments, autographs, and other documents by famous authors. The material dates from 1666 to 1990 with the bulk of the collection consisting of letters written by the authors to various friends with some letters to editors or critics.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

A. Edward Newton collection, 1892-1941 (bulk) 1808-1966 (inclusive)

Extent:: 8.0 linear feet
Abstract:: This collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Philadelphia book collector A. Edward Newton (1864-1940). The bulk of the materials are book manuscripts, correspondence, keepsakes, and newspaper clippings, with published volumes cataloged separately. The collection relates to his book collecting activities and was primarily compiled by his son, E. Swift Newton, with additional material given by various donors.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

Charles and Mary Cohen Collection, 1846-1920 (inclusive) 1850-1912 (bulk)

Extent:: 4 linear feet (5 document cases)
Abstract:

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Archives at the Library of the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies [Contact Us]

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