Online Content: Not Available / Subject: Societies, etc - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Extent:: 0.5 linear feet (2 boxes)
Abstract:: This scrapbook documents the activities of Anita Schade and spans the years 1891 to 1957. A large portion of the materials are related to the German Literary Society which she founded in Washington, D.C., 1901. There is also content from several other organizations she was involved with, including the German Dramatic Society, the Goethe Society of America and the Shakespeare Club.

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

Extent:: 2.0 linear feet (5 boxes)
Abstract:: Eight scrapbooks of newspaper clippings related to German Americans and German-American issues, dating from 1885 to 1943, and concentrated in the period 1905 to 1938. Most of the clippings are from the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, the New Yorker Herold, or the New York Times. Subjects include international news, general news, politics, obituaries, bequests, business, singing clubs, religion, and poems. The obituary clippings primarily cover prominent German Americans of the time and some Germans.

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

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