Language: German / Year: <span class="from" data-blrl-begin="1850">1850</span> to <span class="to" data-blrl-end="1899">1899</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Abraham H. Cassel collection, 1680-1893 (inclusive)

Extent:: 4.75 linear feet (48 volumes)
Abstract:: This collection contains printed material from the library of Abraham Harley Cassel, a book collector and historian who acquired over 50,000 books, pamphlets, and documents about early Pennsylvania history. Cassel was a member of the Dunkard Brethren who wrote about and collected books on early Pennsylvania German religious history. His library attracted scholars and historians of Pennsylvania and German American history, and at his death was divided among archives, libraries, and private collectors. The portion of Cassel’s collection that is housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania contains forty-seven items which range in date from 1680 to 1893. Items are arranged in alphabetical order, with volumes relating to the Ephrata religious community and the Schwenkfelder Church grouped together. This collection includes hymn books, religious tracts and catechism, diaries, letters, genealogical records, and examples of Pennsylvania German folk art and fraktur.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

United Singers of Philadelphia records, 1887-1932 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.4 linear feet (;1 box; 1 oversized photograph)
Abstract:: The United Singers of Philadelphia was an umbrella organization that represented approximately forty area singing groups, the majority of which were comprised of German immigrants. This collection dates from 1887-1932, although the bulk of the material is from 1905-1916. It includes a scrapbook compiled by the United Singers of Philadelphia, a German songbook, and a panoramic group photograph. The scrapbook contains detailed press coverage of German-American singers, musicians, and choirs, and political events in Philadelphia in the years before and during World War I. Contents include concert programs and reviews as well as clippings describing related (and often overlapping) political meetings and rallies.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Volksverein of Philadelphia records, 1886-1949 (inclusive)

Extent:: 2.1 linear feet (; 1 box, 12 volumes)
Abstract:: Now defunct, the Volksverein of Philadelphia was a local unit of the Catholic Central Union of America, which is a national Catholic social action and social welfare organization. The collection contains minutes of the meetings of the Volksverein, and job, financial, and subscription records of the organization's official organs, Philadelphia Volksblatt and Nord Amerika. The collection includes eleven ledgers recording cash transactions, subscriptions, and advertising. Also included is one book of minutes.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Francis Daniel Pastorius records, 1689-1910 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.6 linear feet (; 2 volumes)
Abstract:: This collection contains the Grund und Lager Buch begun by Francis Daniel Pastorius to document the founding of the Germantown area of Philadelphia and its settlement. This volume includes "Rules and regulations for settlers" (1689-1697) and a copy of the charter for Germantown granted to Pastorius. This collection also contains an English translation of the German and Latin entries in the Grund und Lager Buch made by Marion Dexter Learned for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1910.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

The Papers of Georg and Max Bredig, 1891-1968 (inclusive) 1894-1944 (bulk)

Extent:: 21.0 linear feet ((30 boxes and 213 books))
Abstract:: This collection of mixed media contains manuscripts, photographs, publications, artifacts and works of art collected and owned by Georg and Max Bredig. The collection documents Georg Bredig's scientific training and rise to prominence as a gifted physical chemist in pre-World War II Germany. In contrast, the scope of the collection takes a dramatic shift after the Nazi rise to power in 1933. As a result of Bredig's Jewish descent, his scientific career and very way of life was brought to an abrupt halt. These documents describe the Bredig family's struggle to survive the horrors of Nazi-occupied Europe, to secure visas and offers of employment for themselves and their colleagues, and to ultimately emigrate to the United States.

Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]

The Papers of Max Bredig, 1889-1978 (inclusive) 1925-1965 (bulk)

Extent:: 27.0 linear feet (23 boxes.)
Abstract:: The Papers of Max Bredig contain manuscripts, photographs, publications, and artifacts which were created or collected by Max Bredig. The collection documents Max's early life and career in Germany and contains a large amount of family and personal correspondence. The personal correspondence shifts to predominantly professional correspondence after he immigrated to the United States in 1933. Max's career as a physical chemist at the Vanadium Corporation of America and later the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is well documented among these papers. This collection is an addendum to the Papers of Georg and Max Bredig located at the Science History Institute.

Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]

Bären-Bund des Philadelphia Turnbezirks minute book, 1891-1915 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.06 linear feet (1 volume)
Abstract:: Handwritten minute book of the Bären-Bund des Philadelphia Turnbezirks, from the founding, 23 March 1891, to 19 April 1915. The Bären-Bund was an alliance of senior gymnast squads, or Bären-Riege, of gymnastics clubs (Turnvereine) in the Philadelphia Turner district. The minutes include financial records and a copy of the constitution that was adopted upon the founding.

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

German Society of Pennsylvania Agentur records, 1854-1938 (bulk) 1847-1947 (inclusive)

Extent:: 10.0 linear feet (52 boxes)
Abstract:: 72 volumes of handwritten ledgers, indexes, logs, reports, and letter books, recording the efforts of the Agentur to help needy German immigrants and Philadelphia residents of German origin over a period of a hundred years. Valuable biographical information for local history, social history, labor history, immigration research, genealogy.

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

Junger Männerchor records, 1892-1966 (bulk) 1892-1966 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1.7 linear feet (4 hollinger boxes + 1 oversized folder)
Abstract:: The Junger Männerchor of Philadelphia is one of the oldest German-American singing societies (founded on February 22,1852). This collection comprises membership records, ephemera, memorabilia, songbooks, sheet music, and audio recordings of the Junger Männerchor, with dated materials spanning from the year 1892 to 1966. The specific items include two member books (1906, 1911), concert programs, concert tickets, an issue of the society’s own periodical "Der Adler" (Oct. 1902), a preservation copy of a historical volume authored by J.F. Anton and published in 1902, and an extensive collection of songbooks and sheet music used by the society.

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

Philadelphia Turngemeinde collection, 1883-1958 (inclusive)

Extent:: 0.17 linear feet (1 box + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:: Collection of miscellaneous records as well as ephemera of the Philadelphia Turngemeinde (also known as the Philadelphia Turners), one of the oldest German-American Turner, or gymnastics clubs in the United States, founded in 1849. The records include a letter dated 1900 from Turngemeinde vice president Louis F. Schuck to the Academy of Music; an original manuscript (4 leaves), dated 1911, by member Casper Fischer, telling the history of the organization from the founding until 1899; and a guest register for events of the club from 1956 to 1958. The ephemera include invitation letters, program and admission ticket to the dedication ceremony of the new Turngemeinde hall in 1883 and the first two leaves of the Philadelphia newspaper Vereins und Logen Zeitung for 20 May 1899 containing the report of the Turngemeinde's 50th anniversary celebration.

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

Arthur von Briesen Papers, 1895-1929 (inclusive) 1905-1920 (bulk)

Extent:: 12 boxes
Abstract:: The papers housed in the Arthur von Briesen Papers document the later years of Arthur von Briesen (1843-1920), a New York City lawyer and philanthropist. Von Briesen, a German-American patent lawyer, served as President of the Legal Aid Society of New York (1889-1916), and as president of the Alliance of Legal Aid Societies of America. Aside from emphasizing his work with the Legal Aid Society, the papers also highlight a variety of other areas--professional, political, and philanthropic--actively pursued by von Briesen. The papers illuminate the passionate side of von Briesen in the private correspondence with his family and others, as well as his cultural interests and engagement within the German-American community of New York City.

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