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Start Over Subject German Americans Place Philadelphia (Pa.) Form Membership lists Year 1900 to 1949

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Austro-American Relief Society records, 1916-1942 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.83 linear feet (5 boxes + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:
Records of the Austro-American Relief Society of Philadelphia, Pa., mainly documenting its charitable work from 1916 to 1941, including fundraising in behalf of war relief for Austro-Hungarian and German civilians and prisoners of war during and after World War I. The collection includes financial records, membership and donor lists, inventories, correspondence, ephemera, and clippings.

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

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Deutscher Klub und Technischer Verein records, 1884-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.9 linear feet (5 boxes)
Abstract:
Records of two Philadelphia societies, the Deutscher Klub (German Club), founded 1874, and the Technischer Verein von Philadelphia (Technical Society of Philadelphia), founded 1872. The Technischer Verein first became affiliated with the Deutscher Klub in 1896, and met at the latter society's clubhouse. In 1910 the two societies merged administratively; and in 1928 they finally published a newly revised constitution and by-laws for the combined organization, which was called Deutscher Klub und Technischer Verein. The collection includes Technischer Verein records from 1884 to 1926; Deutscher Klub minutes from 1888 to 1898; and minutes of the combined organization from 1922 to 1937, with one item dated 1939. Also included is ephemera dating from 1927 to 1933, inlcuding items from the Women's Auxiliary of the organization, and from the National Association of German-American Technologists, which from its beginnings in 1884 was closely aligned with the Technischer Verein von Philadelphia.

Held at: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library [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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Germania Männerchor records, 1877-1975 (bulk) 1877-c1975 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.5 linear feet (1oversized flat box)
Abstract:
The Germania Männerchor of Philadelphia is one of the oldest German-American singing societies (founded on February 21,1853). This collection comprises meeting minutes, a cashbook, and ephemera including programs, a photograph, and audio recordings of the Germania Männerchor on a vinyl record, with materials spanning from the year 1877 to circa 1975. The specific items include a volume of minutes and accounts spanning the years 1877 to 1887, a cashbook spanning the years 1888 to 1814, concert programs, a photograph of the members of the Germania Männerchor circa 1932, and audio recordings of the 75th anniversary concert on a vinyl record.

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

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Max Heinrici manuscript and photographs, circa 1936-1939

Extent:
0.83 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
The collection contains an unpublished manuscript by Max Heinrici, and several photographs of him in his later years. The manuscript (approximately 460 leaves) tells the history of the German Society of Pennsylvania from 1915 to 1935, and was intended as a continuation of an earlier history of the Society that Heinrici had published in 1917, co-authored by Oswald Seidensticker. It includes biographical sketches of prominent Society leaders, and lists of its officers and board of directors for the period. The text gives perspectives on the experiences of German Americans in the era of the First World War, and contains material on charitable relief work carried on by German Americans in Philadelphia to benefit Germany and Austria-Hungary during and after the war.

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

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Männerchor records, 1868-1985

Extent:
1.63 linear feet (4 boxes + 1 oversized folder)
Abstract:
This small collection comprises a bound volume containing a constitution and by-laws, a charter, ephemera, photographs, songbooks from festivals, and memorabilia related to the Männerchor, the first German-American singing society in the United States, founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 15 December 1835. The specific items include the original handwritten charter, signed by 13 members, in March 1868; a summer season concert program from 1887; a banner dedicated to the society in 1925 from its women's chorus (Damenchor); the program and menu for the 100th anniversary celebration in 1935, along with a miniature souvenir banner dedicated to the Männerchor on that occasion, by the Vereinigten Sänger von Baltimore (United Singers of Baltimore); and two photographs taken at the Männerchor's 150th anniversary celebration, in 1985, on which occasion the society was officially dissolved, according to a note on the verso of one of the photographs, signed by Herbert Schmidt, one of the...(see more)

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

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Deutsch-Amerikanischer Zentralbund von Pennsylvanien, Philadelphia branch, records, 1909-1941 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.21 linear feet (1 box, 18 folders)
Abstract:
This collection contains records of the Philadelphia branch of the Deutsch-Amerikanischer Zentralbund von Pennsylvanien (DAZB), also known as the German-American Central Alliance, or the German-American Federation, of Pennsylvania. The federation existed from 1899 until 1941; from 1901 to 1918 it was part of the National German-American Alliance, which it had helped to found. These extant records mainly comprise materials related to activities of the School Committee, which promoted German language learning, and learning about German-American culture, among German-American youth. Included are minutes (with financial reports), correspondence, fliers, and educational materials, dated 1909 to 1933. The remaining materials are ephemera, including a flier related to the fifth anniversary of the women's auxiliary, in 1932, and programs for German Day celebrations in 1940 and 1941. A few fliers bear texts composed by Adolph Timm and Max Heinrici concerning the preservation of...(see more)

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

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Frauenhilfsfond records, 1914-1922, 1924

Extent:
0.17 linear feet (1 box + 3 legal-size folders)
Abstract:
The Frauenhilfsfond was the women's auxiliary of the Hilfsfond (Relief Fund), a German-American charitable organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, devoted to war relief and humanitarian aid in German-speaking areas overseas during and after the First World War. The Frauenhilfsfond was essentially an umbrella group of German-American women's organizations in the Philadelphia area that coordinated the women’s efforts related to the relief work. The collection contains the complete minutes of the group from August 1914 until March 1917, as well as a record of donations received from March 1915 to April 1917. It also includes a log of homemade knitted items produced for overseas relief from October 1919 to March 1920, as well as a few items dated in the early 1920s related to campaigns to feed destitute children in German-speaking areas in Europe, efforts that were led by the American Friends Service Committee. The records dating from after 1917 appear to overlap with the activities...(see more)

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

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German Associated Nationality Group of the American Red Cross War Fund Campaign. Records, 1943-1945 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.1 linear feet (5 folders)
Abstract:
This collection contains the records of the German Associated Nationality Group, a committee of the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the American Red Cross that led a fundraising effort within the German-American community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during World War II, from 1943 to 1945, as part of the Red Cross War Fund campaign. Included are minutes of meetings (12 March to 12 May 1943); invitation letters to meetings (July 1943 to April 1944); two appeal letters (1944, 1945), including related Red Cross campaign ephemera; committee membership lists; lists of donors and donations; and two clippings from German-language newspapers.

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

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Harmonie Singing Society records, 1855-1918 (bulk) 1855-1957 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.0 linear feet (7 boxes + 3 oversize folders)
Abstract:
The collection contains the records of the Harmonie Singing Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1855, and originally known as the Liedertafel des Deutschen Freien Gemeinde (Liedertafel of the Independent German Congregation); it changed its name to Harmonie in 1869, when it reestablished itself separate from the congregation. A Women's, or Ladies' Chorus (Damen-Chor) was founded in 1857. The records include minutes dating from the founding in 1855 until December 1918, with a gap during the years 1876 to 1885; a certificate of incorporation of 1892; ephemera from the late 1890s; a scrapbook of newspaper clippings documenting the 50th anniversary celebration, in 1905; correspondence related to the 60th anniversary celebration, in 1915; anniversary concert programs (1925, 1939, 1940, and 1949); and several songbooks used at regional singing festivals of the Nordöstlicher Sängerbund (1903-1957).

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

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