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Start Over Subject German Americans Place Philadelphia (Pa.) Language English Year 1900 to 1949

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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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Concord Group minute book, December 1937 - November 1945

Extent:
0.1 linear feet (1 box = 1 volume + 1 folder)
Abstract:
The collection comprises the minutes of the Concord Group, a small German-American social club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from its first meeting, on 23 December 1937, until 20 November 1945, mostly in the hand of secretary Karl Rugart and contained in a single notebook. The club mainly carried on a program of lectures and discussions, on topics in the arts, and business and industry, combined with social gatherings and special excursions. In 1943-1945 there are references to war relief efforts. Members included Captain Louis H. Schmidt and architect Eugene A. Stopper, both leaders of the German Society of Pennsylvania at the time; sculptor J. Otto Schweizer; jewelry businessman Franz Zirnkilton (Jr.); German professor Harry W. Pfund; physician John B. Ludy; A. Raymond Raff, the Collector of Customs at Philadelphia; and Lutheran pastor Kurt E. B. Molzahn, whose membership was rescinded by the group in August 1942.

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

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Ladies Society of the Philadelphia Turners. Records, 1933-1938, 1954-1959

Extent:
0.25 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:
This collection comprises two volumes of records of the Ladies Society (Damen-Verein), or women's auxiliary, of the Philadelphia Turners. The parent club, which was known until the late 1930s as the Philadelphia Turngemeinde, was one of the oldest German-American Turner, or gymnastics clubs in the United States, founded in 1849. The Ladies Society was founded on 5 September 1877 to assist the Turngemeinde. These partial records of the Ladies Society are from two different periods. The first volume is a ledger recording member information and dues paid from 1933 to 1938. The second volume is a cashbook kept from 1954 to 1959. In the 1950s the Ladies Society mainly held social events such as card parties, dessert parties, picnics, and dinners; and besides supporting the Turngemeinde it partly had a general charitable purpose.

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

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Liberty Loan Committee of Americans of German Birth or Descent records, 1918-1919 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.21 linear feet (1 box + 6 posters + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:
This collection contains the records of the Liberty Loan Committee of Americans of German Birth or Descent, a committee that coordinated the campaign for the purchase of Liberty Bonds among German Americans in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1918, during the First World War. Liberty Bonds were issued by the United States government to finance the American war effort. These records were kept by Louis H. Schmidt, treasurer of the Committee, and pertain mainly to the Third and Fourth Liberty Loans, with inclusion of a few subscription lists related to the fifth loan, issued in 1919 and known as the Victory Liberty Loan. The collection contains correspondence, subscription forms, lists of subscribers, reports, clippings, and ephemera, including Liberty Loan volunteer buttons and six posters promoting the purchase of Liberty Bonds.

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

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Ladies Social Club of the Philadelphia Rifle Club minute books, 1914-1944, 1959-1982

Extent:
0.38 linear feet (3 boxes)
Abstract:
This collections comprises three minute books of the Ladies Social Club of the Philadelphia Rifle Club, which was founded 12 February 1914, with the aim of holding social events and assisting the Philadelphia Rifle Club (Philadelphia Schützen-Verein), a German-American society that dated back to 1846. The Ladies Social Club also made charitable donations. It held meetings at the clubhouse of the Rifle Club in Schuetzen Park near Tabor Station, at the edge of the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia. The extant minutes cover two periods, 1914 to 1944, and 1959 to 1971. Loose correspondence found with the minute books dates to as late as 1982.

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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National German-American Alliance records, 1910-1918 (bulk) 1903-1938 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.63 linear feet (2 boxes + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:
This collection contains records of the National German-American Alliance (NGAA; Deutschamerikanischer Nationalbund), a federation of German-American organizations in the United States based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that existed from 1901 to 1918, for most of that time under the leadership of Charles J. Hexamer. The NGAA aimed to foster fellowship and common endeavors among German Americans, to advocate on issues affecting German-American life, and to support the preservation of German culture in the United States. The collection includes correspondence, reports, clippings, and printed ephemera. The bulk of the materials dates from 1910 to 1918, and pertains to the NGAA's efforts to erect two monuments to figures of German-American history: one in Germantown, Philadelphia, honoring the first German settlers and their leader, Francis Daniel Pastorius; and the other in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, dedicated to the revolutionary war general Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben....(see more)

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

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Erich Uhlenbrock papers, 1942-1985 (bulk) 1915-1991 (inclusive)

Extent:
1.25 linear feet (3 boxes + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:
This collection documents the personal and charitable activities of Erich Uhlenbrock, a German-American, during the years 1915 to 1991. Throughout his life, Uhlenbrock was involved with many German-American organizations, including the Steuben Society of America. His passion was for singing and he was very involved in a number of singing groups in Philadelphia and the region, including the Liedertafel-Saengerbund, the Vereinigte Sänger von Philadelphia, and the Nordöstlicher Sängerbund. Included are biographical information, business records, correspondence, photographs, clippings, pamphlets, and ephemera from many of these organizations. Uhlenbrock was also friends with the Philadelphia painter and illustrator Conrad J. Linke, and the collection contains sketches for two of Linke's historical paintings.

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

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