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Start Over Form Financial records Form Correspondence Year 1846

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Biddle family papers, 1709-2017 (inclusive) 1776-1952 (bulk)

Extent:
14.5 linear feet (32 boxes)
Abstract:
The Biddle family has a long history on American land with Quaker ancestors emigrating in 1681 and settling in Philadelphia around 1725. This collection documents the family relationships, and to a lesser extent, the work and military service of six generations of one branch of that family, starting with Clement Biddle (1740-1814), and following the descendants of two of his sons: Thomas Alexander Biddle (1776-1857) and Clement Cornell Biddle (1784-1855). These papers tell the stories, to varying degrees, of more than 30 individual Biddle family members through correspondence, financial records, professional papers, diaries, scrapbooks, and photographs.

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

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Pennsylvania Horticultural Society records, 1791-2006 (inclusive)

Extent:
22.0 linear feet
Abstract:
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) was founded on November 24, 1827 by fifty-three prominent Philadelphians; among them Horace Binney, David Landreth Jr., William Davidson, George Pepper, Nicolas Biddle and Moses Brown. Emulating similar societies existing in England at the time, the men formed their Society to promote “a highly instructive and interesting science for the purpose of improving the growth of vegetables, plants, trees, fruits and flowers.” Since that time, the Society and its membership has fostered “…an appreciation of plants, acquiring scientific knowledge about them, disseminating horticultural information, and involving the public in gardening and beautifying the City of Philadelphia.” More recently, the Society has worked specifically to beautify the city and help realize William Penn’s founding vision for Philadelphia to be a “greene countrie towne.” This is a collection of administrative records from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The...(see more)

Held at: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society [Contact Us]

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German Society of Pennsylvania institutional records, 1764-1968 (bulk) 1764-1998 (inclusive)

Extent:
27.4 linear feet
Abstract:
The German Society of Pennsylvania, founded in Philadelphia in 1764, directed its early efforts to assisting new German immigrants, especially those forced into indentured servitude when they were unable to pay their sea fare. Throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Society was very visible in the thriving German-American community in Philadelphia, boasting just over one thousand members at the peak of its growth, in the late 1870s. In the 20th century, the Society’s scope and prominence was affected by the two World Wars, which created suspicion and criticism of Germanic culture. That suspicion and government scrutiny played a role in the dwindling membership of the Society. In the post-World War II era the Society channeled its overseas relief activities through a Quaker-based aid society. In the second half of the century, the neighborhood was also changing, as it became predominantly African-American, rather than German, and more impoverished. But the Society pressed...(see more)

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

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Vaux Family papers, 1708-1995 (inclusive) 1912-1932 (bulk)

Extent:
12.5 linear ft. (24 boxes and 2 rolled documents in 1 tube)
Abstract:
The Vaux family was deeply involved with Quaker and Native American affairs throughout much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. George Vaux, Sr. was involved in Quaker activity through the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and other Quaker meetings throughout the world (including Antigua and London). Both George Vaux, Jr. and Mary Morris Vaux Walcott, his sister, served as commissioners for the U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners. This organization was established by the United States Congress in 1869 to watch over federal policies regarding Native Americans and to make certain that treaty obligations were fulfilled, especially in reference to supply deliveries. George Vaux, III also worked as the treasurer of the Indian Committee of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Within the collection are letters, reports, photographs, land surveys, and administrative records. This collection may be of special interest to researchers who are studying both the history and recent state of affairs of...(see more)

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

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Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture records, 1785-1982 (inclusive)

Extent:
103 boxes
Abstract:
The collection is divided into three major series: I. 18th and 19th century records, II. 20th century records, and III. John M. Okie papers. The first comprises correspondence, administrative records, and ephemera; the second, correspondence, committee records, financial records, proceedings, memorabilia, and collected agricultural material; the third consists of the papers of Okie, who served as assistant secretary of the Society from 1922 to 1928: he was responsible for the publication of Memoirs VI, a history of the P.S.P.A.

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

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Taylor, Harris, Roman, Frazer, and Smith families papers, 1683-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
8.0 boxes
Abstract:
The families in the Taylor, Harris, Roman, Frazer, and Smith family papers, 1633 to 1980 (bulk 1685 to 1851) are all related by the marriage of Marianne Smith to Dr. Stephen Harris on April 14, 1833. Both sides of the lineage represented in this collection immigrated to Pennsylvania because of religious persecution in England and Ireland. As Presbyterians and Quakers, they no longer wished to live under a series of laws which forced non-Anglicans out of public office, schools and the church as well as prohibiting meetings for non-Anglican worship. These newcomers contributed to the establishment of the government and religious expression in early Chester County. The documents, covering topics such as land surveying, Native Americans, the Revolutionary War, astronomy, publishing, the iron industry, and religious persecution, provide a broad picture of early Chester County and its residents as they interacted with each other at home and in Philadelphia through business, religious, and...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

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Robert Chambers collection on William Wagner and the history of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1820-1910 (bulk) 1798-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.0 linear feet (5 containers)
Abstract:
Incorporated by William Wagner (1796-1885) in 1855, the Wagner Free Institute of Science is a natural history museum and educational institution in Philadelphia that is dedicated to providing free public education in the sciences. The Robert Chambers collection on William Wagner and the history of the Wagner Free Institute of Science includes material collected by Chambers and contains correspondence; genealogical and family information; documents on William Wagner's early business career with Stephen Girard, the Lennoxville Steam Saw Mill and Snowden and Wagner; Wagner Free Instute of Science financial and operational material; and personal material from Sydney T. Skidmore, a member of the Board. This collection will almost certainly not provide a researcher with all the information needed—instead, this is an excellent starting point. Because these materials were, according to institutional memory, removed from other collections by Robert Chambers and kept close at hand due to...(see more)

Held at: Wagner Free Institute of Science [Contact Us]

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Southwell family papers on Ireland, 1662-1977 (inclusive) 1685-1715 (bulk)

Extent:
1 box
Abstract:
This collection consists primarily of documents concerning government administration in Ireland during the tenures of Sir Robert Southwell (1635-1702) and his son Edward Southwell (1671-1730) as Secretaries of State for Ireland. The documents here are largely miscellaneous in nature but are clustered around a few themes. Highlights include lists of rents and financial transactions from the period after Cromwell's invasion and before the Williamite war in Ireland, a 1689 eyewitness letter recounting the battle of Derry, a series of documents related to admiralty, smuggling, and collecting maritime revenue in the first decade of the eighteenth century, an inventory of maps of Ireland, and a substantive series of petitions relating to Richard Blake of Ardfry.

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

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Rodrigue family papers, 1770-1875 (bulk) 1770-1975 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.59 linear feet
Abstract:
Marie Jacques Dominique D’Orlic (1748-1825) was a French colonist and a wealthy planter in St. Domingue, a French colony on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now modern-day Haiti). D’Orlic and his wife and daughter were forced to flee the island during the slave uprisings of the 1790s, and lost their wealth. The D’Orlics eventually landed in Philadelphia by 1795, where D’Orlic served as a trusted advisor to other white refugees from St. Domingue. Jacques Andre Rodrigue (1759-1844) was also a French aristocrat and a wealthy merchant and sugar planter in St. Domingue. Rodrigue lost nearly all his wealth in the slave uprisings of the 1790s and was also forced to flee to Philadelphia, where he settled, married the daughter of D’Orlic, and built another large business as a merchant trading with France. The Rodrigue family papers date from 1770 to 1975, with the bulk of records dating from 1770 to 1875. This collection contains the papers of Jacques Andre Rodrigue (1759-1844) and the...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

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Martin, Campbell, and Furlong families papers, 1825-1930 (bulk) 1795-1963 (inclusive)

Extent:
5.2 linear feet (; 13 boxes)
Abstract:
This collection contains papers that document several generations of the Martin, Campbell, and Furlong families with the Martin family receiving the most coverage. To a lesser extent, the Kennedy and Jenkins families, who had strong personal and mercantile ties to the Martin family, are also represented. These interrelated middle class Irish Catholic families from Philadelphia were involved in several prominent industries in the region, including overseas commerce. Devout in their religious beliefs, the families, the Campbells in particular, played a significant role in shaping Catholicity in Philadelphia. Members of the Campbell family were also actively involved in political and social movements of the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries, including the labor movement and women’s suffrage. Distinguished members of these families are represented, including suffragist and writer Sarah Jane Campbell (1844-1928). Items in the collection date from 1795 to 1939 with the majority of...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center [Contact Us]

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