Repository: Chester County Historical Society / Place: Chester County (Pa.) / Year: <span class="from" data-blrl-begin="1950">1950</span> to <span class="to" data-blrl-end="1999">1999</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Start Over Repository Chester County Historical Society Place Chester County (Pa.) Year 1950 to 1999

Extent:: 10.0 boxes
Abstract:: “In 1966, several black civil rights workers decided to form a small organization whose purpose was to end racial discrimination in Chester County.” So began the United Political Action Committee of Chester County (UPAC). The founders included Charles A. Melton, Charles H. Butler, Norman W. Bond, Robert L. Wright, Willie Stokes, James Ward, Alston B. Meade, W.T.M. Johnson, Ernest Spriggs and Charles V. Hamilton. The records, 1958-1996, include biographical material on committee members and others associated with UPAC as well as correspondence, minutes, hand written notes, legal documents, newspaper clippings, news releases, memos, scrapbooks, programs and photographs of activities. Also in the collection are papers of Dr. W.T.M. Johnson. These include indexed compilations of his published letters as well as papers related to his time as a member of the faculty at Lincoln University.

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 4.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Joseph B. Smith and Sons Funeral Home in West Chester, Pennsylvania was established in 1870, when Joseph B. Smith purchased the existing Hoffman Undertaking and Furniture Business. Smith’s firm, which was in business until 1994, was owned and operated by four successive generations of Smith men: Joseph B. Smith; his son, William B. Smith; his grandson, Ashton B.T. Smith; and his great-grandson, Ashton B.T. Smith, Jr. It ranked as one of the oldest funeral home businesses in Chester County. The Joseph B. Smith and Son Funeral Directors records houses the records produced by that funeral home from 1876 to 1946. In addition, there is a small cache of Smith family papers dating from 1883 to 1975. The bulk of the collection is made up of funeral home records. Included in the funeral home records are account books, funeral registries, bills, funeral home ephemera, and undertaker and coroner licenses. The Smith family papers section of the collection has very little to do with the...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 5.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Nursery in Chester County was one of the oldest and longest running horticultural enterprises in the state of Pennsylvania. It operated from 1853 to 1990, and was owned by three successive generations of the Thomas family. The Thomas nursery actually began in 1828 as a small farm and orchard called “Maple Farm,” which was owned by Charles and Ruth Thomas. It was their son, Joseph Williams Thomas, who formally established the nursery on a small portion of the farm around 1853. He named his burgeoning business, Chester Valley Nursery. Later, he changed the company’s name to Joseph W. Thomas and Company. Around 1888, Joseph’s sons, Edwin and Charles Lincoln, joined him in business and the name of the firm was changed once more to Joseph W. Thomas and Sons, reflecting the new partnership. The Joseph W. Thomas and Sons Nursery records contains documents created by that business from 1884 to 1993. Researchers will find financial records; general business...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

Extent:: 10.0 boxes
Abstract:: This collection consists of papers of the Cross, Dickey, and Miller families of Chester County, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland. John Miller and his wife, Margaret, emigrated from Scotland to Pennsylvania with their young daughter, Jane, in 1786. Miller, who was trained as a stone cutter in Scotland, developed a thriving marble business in Philadelphia; he also owned a farm in Great Valley, Pennsylvania. John was active in the Philadelphia community; he was an early member of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society, and a supporter of the Magdalene and Missionary Societies. The papers in this collection consist primarily of personal correspondence, business records, genealogical notes, diaries, and family photographs, of the Cross, Dickey and Miller families. The collection is particularly strong on relationships between women, family health, Presbyterian church, the history of Oxford, Pennsylvania, marble cutting business, and the genealogy of the Miller, Dickey,...(see more)

Held at: Chester County Historical Society [Contact Us]

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