Form: Diaries - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Gilchrist Family papers, circa 1823-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2 boxes
Abstract:: A small but interesting collection of letters and the diaries of Grace Gilchrist Frend from 1907 to 1939. Family members include Anne Burrows Gilchrist, wife of Alexander Gilchrist and mother of Percy Carlyle Gilchrist (scientist/engineer), Beatrice Carwardine Gilchrist (physician who committed suicide), Herbert Harlakenden Gilchrist (painter who also committed suicide later in life), and Grace Gilchrist Frend (would-be singer). The family were intimates of Thomas Carlyle and many pre-Raphaelite painters. Anne was a champion of Walt Whitman; Alexander researched the life of William Blake (a posthumous publication compiled by Anne).

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

Newcastle Memorandum-book or, a methodical pocket-journal, for the year MDCCLXXV Calculated to answer the immediate purposes of Gentlemen and Tradesmen in all Parts of Great Britain and Ireland, respecting their Daily Transactions and other Occasional Business, 1775-1847 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1 volume
Abstract:: A leather bound datebook used as a diary, account book, and note book, belonging to Ralph Hodgson from Darlington, England. Contains brief records for 1775, 1776, and 1777 and a few entries, in a later hand, dated 1845, 1846, 1847.

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

Aitala family papers, 1926-2001 (inclusive) 1940-1954 (bulk)

Extent:: 5 boxes (and 1 oversized folder)
Abstract:: Documents, notebooks, and diary entries relaying the narrative of the Aitala family's migration through and immigration from Italy to the United States during and after World War II.

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]

Alvin and Frankie Rubinstein travel diaries and correspondence, 1920-2002 (inclusive) 1958-2000 (bulk)

Extent:: 1.1 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:: Alvin Z. Rubinstein (1927-2001) was a political scientist and international relations scholar, who was best known for his studies of the foreign relations of the former Soviet Union and Russia. Frankie Rubinstein (1918-2019) was an English teacher who taught at Philadelphia's Overbrook High School and at the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Together, from 1960 to 2000, the married couple travelled extensively to countries in Europe, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. While their travels were motivated chiefly by Alvin Rubinstein's research and academic work as a political scientist, the majority of the correspondence and other material reflect Frankie's voice and life experience. However, her husband Alvin did write some correspondence and the collection also includes several journals in which he took extensive notes on trips to Yugoslavia and Moscow in the 1960s.

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

Margaret Tutwiler diaries, 1989-1992 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1 box
Abstract:: Four diaries document the work and life of Margaret Tutwiler during her time as Assistant Secretary of State during the George H. W. Bush presidential administration.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [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]

James A. Babbitt papers, 1917-1919 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.21 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract:: Collection includes two diaries (1917-1919) kept by James Babbitt. The first dairy, entitled "Haverford Reconstruction Unit No. 1," describes the work of emergency relief in France beginning with the departure of Dr. Babbitt and 54 men from Haverford College in August, 1917, and through the establishment and operation of Hôpital du Chateau (Chateau Hospital) in Sermaize-les-Bains, Marne, France. Includes letters (1918-1919) by Dr. Babbitt in France to his patients expressing interest in their condition, and letters (1917-1918 + undated) from his patients, primarily thanking him for his help and reporting on their conditions. Also contains an introduction of Dr. Babbitt by Henry J. Cadbury (August, 1917) as a member of the American Friends Service Committee; reports consisting of an introduction to the project and some personnel, short description of the hospital buildings, four weekly hospital reports from August, 1918, and a list of operations performed; poem portraits of hospital...(see more)

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

Unknown Diary, 1883

Extent:: 0.04 linear ft. (1 folder)
Abstract:: This collection contains one half of a daily diary from 1883 written by an unknown author.

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

Mary Rawson Bush diary of a trip to France and Italy, 1822 november-1823 march (inclusive)

Extent:: .1 linear_foot (1 volume )
Abstract:: Mary Rawson Bush (1790-1841) traveled from England throughout Europe from November 1822 to at least March 1823 with her husband Major General William Bush (1790-1854). The couple traveled through France and the Alps to Italy, via a carriage, stopping at inns along their route. Mary's commentary details their travels in the carriage, their stops in cities, museums visited, and her opinions of her experience.

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

Zelma Corning Brandt papers, 1906-1989 (inclusive)

Extent:: 7 linear ft.
Abstract:: Zelma Corning Brandt (1891-1990) was a social crusader active throughout the twentieth century. Her chief interests included the independence and development of colonial countries, American Indian affairs, nuclear disarmament, women's issues, and geriatric concerns. The collection consists of correspondence, travel notes, diaries and writings, and publications and reports, especially from 1960-1989. Brandt's longevity and attention to detail provide a complete view of various world and domestic issues and events through this period. Zelma Brandt attended Bryn Mawr College from 1909 to 1911.

Held at: Bryn Mawr College [Contact Us]

Lucy Evans Chew diaries and papers, 1912-1967 (inclusive)

Extent:: 7.5 linear ft.
Abstract:: Lucy Evans Chew graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1918. Shortly after her graduation, she married Samuel Chew, an English professor at Bryn Mawr. For the majority of their married life, the Chews remained in the area surrounding Bryn Mawr. The Lucy Evans Chew Collection is primarily comprised of 58 volumes of her diaries from the years from 1920 to 1968. The diaries include descriptions of her daily life, her association with the college, her travels, and her reflections on her life.

Held at: Bryn Mawr College [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]

Nathalie Gookin papers, 1916-1920 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2 linear ft.
Abstract:: Nathalie Gookin was a student at Bryn Mawr from 1916-1920. Her collection consists of daily letters written to her parents and aunt during her time in college, as well as some letters from before she matriculated and some from after she graduated. She was admitted to Bryn Mawr with a $100 Western States Scholarship at the age of sixteen and she was the youngest person in the college. She lived in Rockefeller dorm all four years, majored in English and Latin, and graduated 5th in her class, magna cum laude. She was a member of the English and French clubs. Nathalie's letters to her parents are detailed and frank. Frequent subjects include frustrations with the workload, classes, professors, social life in the dorms, and larger campus-wide events. During her freshman and part of her sophomore year, she writes frequently about her admiration of Helen Harris, class of 1917. The collection also includes some letters from her mother, Marie Gookin, while she was visiting Nathalie at Bryn...(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]

Marvin Rosefield Keck papers, 1916-1920 (bulk) 1916-1972 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.25 linear feet
Abstract:: Marvin Rosefield Keck, (1895-1971) was a musician who served in World War I in Admiral Niblack’s Flagship Band of the Mediterranean Fleet on the Flagship Olympia. The Marvin Rosefield Keck papers, which date from 1916 to 1972, consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence, diaries, drawings, photographs, scrapbooks, and unpublished writings. The collection covers Keck's experience in World War I as a band member in the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. Olympia and his experience in the American Legion band in South Dakota after World War I.

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

Abraham Anscher papers, 1883-1884 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.2 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: The Abraham Anscher papers comprise a detailed narrative of an 1883-1884 expedition through southern African written by the exploring party leader, Anscher, who was a Jewish Chicago immigrant. His narrative details various places in South Africa including: Botswana, Matabeleland, the Transvaal, along the Zambezi River, and beyond. Some correspondence is also included.

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

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]

Katherine Milhous and Frances Lichten papers, 1903-1977 (inclusive)

Extent:: 40.14 linear feet
Abstract:: This is a collection of the manuscripts, illustrations, and papers of Katherine Milhous, and the papers of Frances Lichten. Katherine Milhous manuscript materials include drafts, dummies, proofs, notes, finished art, color separations, and other production materials for her children’s books. Her papers include artwork in various media, correspondence, lecture notes, itineraries, scrapbooks, publicity materials, books, photographs, and subject files. There are also 18 model houses Milhous made for the Works Progress Administration. Frances Lichten materials include correspondence, a small amount of family history material, two albums of photographs and letters from Milhous and Lichten's 1925-1926 trip to Europe, and copies of brochures and small volumes illustrated by Lichten.

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Children's Literature Research Collection [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]

Henry Voelcker, Catherine Rabe, and Frederick Martin Rabe family papers, 1871, 1879

Extent:: 0.2 linear feet
Abstract:: The collection consists of 12 letters written by Henry Voelcker, of Philadelphia, to his wife, Catherine Voelcker (later: Catherine Rabe), over several months during a trip to Germany, in 1879, along with a small notebook containing a draft of another letter. Henry and Catherine were both German immigrants, and the destination of Henry's trip was Durkheim, Germany, his hometown; he was very ill at the time and died shortly after his return to Philadelphia. The collection also includes a diary (partly resembling an autograph album) belonging to Frederick Martin Rabe, whom Catherine later married. Rabe, also a German immigrant and resident of Philadelphia, wrote the diary in 1871 when he was living in Lawrence, New South Wales, Australia.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [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]