Philadelphia Area Archives

Start Over Form Scrapbooks. Year 1865 to 1869

George Macloskie Papers, 1857-1906 (inclusive)

Extent:: 7 boxes and 7.5 linear feet
Abstract:: George Macloskie was a Princeton professor of biology (1875-1906) and an ordained Presbyterian minister and lawyer. His collection consists of notebooks related to his class lectures and papers, scrapbooks, printed material, and a commonplace book (1906).

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [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]

John Insley Blair Family Papers, 1843-1961 (inclusive) 1891-1910 (bulk)

Extent:: 13 boxes, 1 folder, and 12.5 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists primarily of travel diaries, scrapbooks, and photograph albums composed by railroad industrialist John Insley Blair and his family. There is also a small selection of letters of Clinton Ledyard Blair regarding a fight over Woodrow Wilson's reforms at Princeton University and Blair's relationship with the University's Board of Trustees.

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

General Manuscripts Miscellaneous Collection, 1502-2012 (inclusive)

Extent:: 120 boxes and 67.8 linear feet
Abstract:: Consists of over 3000 miscellaneous items of primarily American literary, historical, and political figures, including business and personal letters, manuscripts, drawings, photographs, and official documents.

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

League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania records, 1959-1987 (bulk) 1867-1991 (inclusive)

Extent:: 134.6 linear feet (; 343 boxes)
Abstract:: The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania was established in 1920 as a successor organization to the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association, with the purpose of providing "education to increase the effectiveness of women voters and to further better government." The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania records document the history of this organization from 1867 to 1980, but the bulk of the material dates from 1959 to 1977. The majority of the materials consists of minutes, newsletters, reports and memorabilia. There is a small amount of early material, particularly relating to the suffrage movement. Of particular interest may be the photographs of the 1915 Women's Liberty Bell Tour in support of the vote.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

William Redwood Wright family papers, 1752-1928

Extent:: 14.0 linear feet (; 37 boxes)
Abstract:: This collection contains correspondence and financial papers predominantly from William Redwood Wright (1846-1914) that were collected and retained by the Wright family of Jamestown, Rhode Island. Through decent and marriage, the family became connected with the Fisher and Logan families of Philadelphia. The papers are arranged into seven series that are arranged chronologically by generation.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

John Wanamaker collection, 1827-1987 (inclusive)

Extent:: 193.2 linear feet (; 316 volumes, 438 boxes)
Abstract:: John Wanamaker (1838-1922) was a well-known merchant, entrepreneur, and lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was active in the city's religious, political, and philanthropic areas, founded several Presbyterian churches and Sunday schools, and served as postmaster general under President Benjamin Harrison from 1889 to 1893. He opened his first Philadelphia clothing store, Oak Hall, with partner Nathan Brown in 1861, and founded John Wanamaker and Co. in 1869. In 1876, he opened "A New Kind of Store" known as the Grand Depot at Thirteenth and Market Streets. This store later became the flagship store, with satellite stores eventually established in central and southeastern Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey, Delaware, and New York City. Wanamaker was at the forefront in many areas of retailing including merchandising, employee relations and advertising. His sons Thomas B. Wanamaker and L. Rodman Wanamaker were also active in the business. Thomas ran John Wanamaker and...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Harold E. Cox transportation collection, 1858-1960 (bulk) 1803-1967 (inclusive)

Extent:: 199.5 linear feet (160 boxes, 624 volumes, 38 rolled items)
Abstract:: Prior to the 1870s, Philadelphia's public transportation system consisted of dozens of independently owned and operated horse drawn streetcar lines. In the 1880s and 1890s steps were taken toward electrification and unification, a goal finally achieved in 1902 with the founding of Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT). PRT constructed subway and elevated train lines, and managed public transportation until 1940, when the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was established, absorbing PRT and all of its functions. The Dr. Harold E. Cox transportation collection is composed primarily of records from PTC and PRT, as well as PRT's subsidiary and predecessor rail lines. This collection dates from 1803 to 1967, with the bulk of materials ranging from 1858 to 1960. It consists of financial records, legal records, correspondence, administrative records, ephemera, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, atlases, and route maps and diagrams. The collection documents the growth and...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Belfield papers, 1697-1977 (inclusive)

Extent:: 106.0 linear feet (235 boxes and 99 volumes)
Abstract:: The Belfield papers include materials from families who lived in the Belfield mansion in Germantown, Pennsylvania from 1826 until 1984; however, the papers span the years 1679 to 1977. Featured individuals include William and Sarah Logan Fisher Wister, their son John Wister and his wife, Sarah Tyler Boas Wister, their granddaughter Sarah Logan Wister Starr and her husband, James Starr, and their great-granddaughter S. Logan Starr Blain and her husband, Dr. Daniel Blain. The collection also houses papers from related individuals in the Emlen, Fisher, Hall, Lindley, Logan, Meigs, Wister, and other families. This collection includes correspondence, financial records, ephemera, photographs, scrapbooks, pamphlets, periodicals, and other items. Topics that are particularly well documented in the Belfield papers include: Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania; Colonial Dames of America; the Sesquicentennial Exposition; stamp collecting; world travel during the Great Depression;...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Susan Parry volumes, 1849-1911 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.3 linear feet (; 1 box, 2 volume)
Abstract:: Dr. Susan Parry was born December 10, 1826, to Charles Parry (1785-1842) and Phebe Fell (1807-1872) in Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Susan Parry was raised as a Quaker member of the Society of Friends, and she taught in Lumberville, Pennsylvania, at the Lumberville School in the late 1840s. In 1858, she graduated from the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania (renamed the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania around 1867), the first medical school in the world established to train women and offer them the M.D., which was founded in 1850. While finishing up medical school she wrote a thesis “A Disquisition on Hygiene.” She practiced medicine in Bucks County until she died in Doylestown, Pennsylvania on February 12, 1890, at the age of 63.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]