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Start Over Online Content Not Available Place Philadelphia (Pa.) Year 1815 to 1819

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Collection of Bringhurst Family Correspondence, 1780-1811 (bulk) 1780-1941 (inclusive)

Extent:
6 linear ft.
Abstract:
Contains the collected correspondence of the Bringhurst family, largely compiled by C. Marshall Taylor. It includes correspondence, 1780-1806, of Philadelphia Quaker businessman James Bringhurst and his letters received from John Murray of New York City. Bringhurst corresponded with family and prominent friends including John Dickinson, Job Scott, Nathan Hunt, James Pemberton, Jesse Kersey, Lindley Murray and Moses Brown. Of particular interest are descriptions of life in Philadelphia and the conditions of free blacks, as well as Quaker religious and social concerns and visits from traveling ministers. A second group of letters contains primarily letters from Joseph Bringhurst, the brother of James, to his niece, Elizabeth Foulke while she was traveling in the ministry.

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]

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Mira Sharpless Townsend Papers, 1815-1858 (bulk) 1806-1910 (inclusive)

Extent:
1 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Abstract:
The collection contains papers of Mira Sharpless Townsend, a major Quaker social activist and reformer in Philadelphia. Mira Sharpless Townsend (1798-1859) was born in Philadelphia, attended Friends Select School, and in 1828 married Samuel Townsend (1800-1887). He was a member of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting by whom she had six children, only two surviving to adulthood: Emily Sharpless Townsend who married Powell Stackhouse and Clara Gordon Townsend, married William Penn Troth. During the 1840's, Mira Townsend became an active and vocal social activist who wrote and published a variety of poetry and articles which reflected her strong views regarding women, slavery, temperance and capital punishment. She also was the driving force behind the founding of the Rosine Association. In January 1847, at a meeting of the Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment, she announced her desire to form a society "to open a house for the reformation, employment and instruction of...(see more)

Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [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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Herman Joseph Heuser papers, 1890-1925 (bulk) 1811-1933 (inclusive)

Extent:
10.8 linear feet (; 27 boxes)
Abstract:
Herman Joseph Heuser, D.D. (1851-1933) was a Catholic intellectual and prolific writer who influenced scholarly circles and clerical life in the United States and abroad through his literary work. Heuser edited the American Ecclesiastical Review (1889-1975) as well as published The Dolphin (1900-1908), a Catholic literary magazine. These publications reflected Heuser's varied interests from clerical subjects to the arts. He published fourteen books, eight of which appeared serially in The Dolphin. This collection includes primarily correspondence, sermons, prayers, scrapbooks, and personal writings. It also includes materials related to Patrick Augustine Sheehan.

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

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Mary Brackett Willcox papers, 1842-1854 (bulk) 1807-1864 (inclusive)

Extent:
0.4 linear feet (; 1 box)
Abstract:
This collection contains mostly incoming correspondence to Mary Brackett Willcox (1796-1866), wife of James M. Willcox (1791-1854) whose family owned one of the most significant paper mills in the country in Ivy Mills, now Glenn Mills, Pennsylvania. Along with their status in industry, the Willcox family was also one of the most prominent families within the Catholic community in the Philadelphia area. The family’s mansion became the center of Catholicity in Delaware County, and served as the beginnings of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, the oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. During the 1840s and 1850s, students and the Vincentian administrators of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary spent their summers at the Willcox estate. The letters in the collection are from Vincentians, seminarians, and other priests serving the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who formed close ties with Mary and the Willcox family during this period. A majority of the letters address the topics of...(see more)

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

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Awbury Arboretum Association Cope family collection, 1791-2011 (inclusive)

Extent:
5.3 linear feet
Abstract:
Henry Cope purchased 40 acres of land in East Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1852 where he built a home for his growing family. Over the next 70 years, his descendants build 24 houses representing a variety of architectural styles. A portion of this land, now known as the Awbury Arboretum, was left to the City Parks Association in 1916 to protect it from development. The Awbury Arboretum Association Cope family collection, 1791-2011, encompasses several small collections donated by various descendants of the Cope family. It includes correspondence, deeds, financial records, journals, and photographs.

Held at: Awbury Arboretum [Contact Us]

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African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas records, 1790-2019 (inclusive)

Extent:
50.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Established in 1792 by and for persons of African descent, the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is the first African American Episcopal Church in the United States. St. Thomas' founder and first rector was Absalom Jones (1746-1818), the first African American ordained in the Episcopal Church. The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas records, 1790-2019, consist mainly of original church records, as well as some accumulated secondary-source materials. The collection also contains photographs, audio-visual materials, printed materials, and objects.

Held at: African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas [Contact Us]

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Philadelphia Water Department records and collection on Fairmount Water Works, 1801-1980 (inclusive)

Extent:
6.33 linear feet
Abstract:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first city in the United States to provide water as a public utility and was known for its advances in water distribution technology, such as using a centralized distribution system and employing the use of hydropower for pumps. The Philadelphia Water Department (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) traces its roots to 1799 when the Joint Committee on Supplying the City with Water (known as the Watering Committee) was established by the city council in response to pressure from the city's residents to provide them with clean water for drinking, fire fighting, and cleansing the streets following a series of yellow fever epidemics. The Fairmount Water Works (FWW), Philadelphia's second water works, began operating in 1815 and remained in use until 1909. Regarded as a significant achievement in civil engineering, FWW was also an important Philadelphia landmark and tourist attraction. In the early twenty-first century, Philadelphia operates three water...(see more)

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

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The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute manuscript collection, 1762-2003 (inclusive)

Extent:
40.0 linear feet
Abstract:
Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1824, in honor of America's first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest and most significant science institutes in the nation. Its mission is to inspire a passion for learning about science and technology. The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute manuscript collection, 1762-2003, includes small groups (less than 1 linear foot each) of papers of scientists, inventors, science-oriented groups and organizations, industrial businesses, and others in the scientific community, as well as other science and engineering related materials.

Held at: The Historical and Interpretive Collections of The Franklin Institute [Contact Us]

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