Repository: German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library / Place: Philadelphia (Pa.) / Year: <span class="single" data-blrl-single="1869">1869</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Start Over Repository German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library Place Philadelphia (Pa.) Year 1869

Extent:: 0.13 linear feet (1 box)
Abstract:: The Arion Singing Society (Gesang-Verein) was founded in 1857 by singers who had seceded from the Liedertafel der Deutschen Freien Gemeinde (later known as Harmonie), a singing society that began under the auspices of the Independent German Congregation of Philadelphia. This collection comprises a letter book of Arion, covering the period 5 May 1858 to 1 June 1870, and various ephemera dating from 1907 to 1957, including concert programs, one concert ticket, and four souvenir programs related to an annual bal masqué, or masked ball, that was a tradition of the society since 1865.

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

Extent:: 2.0 linear feet (7 boxes + 3 oversize folders)
Abstract:: The collection contains the records of the Harmonie Singing Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1855, and originally known as the Liedertafel des Deutschen Freien Gemeinde (Liedertafel of the Independent German Congregation); it changed its name to Harmonie in 1869, when it reestablished itself separate from the congregation. A Women's, or Ladies' Chorus (Damen-Chor) was founded in 1857. The records include minutes dating from the founding in 1855 until December 1918, with a gap during the years 1876 to 1885; a certificate of incorporation of 1892; ephemera from the late 1890s; a scrapbook of newspaper clippings documenting the 50th anniversary celebration, in 1905; correspondence related to the 60th anniversary celebration, in 1915; anniversary concert programs (1925, 1939, 1940, and 1949); and several songbooks used at regional singing festivals of the Nordöstlicher Sängerbund (1903-1957).

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:: 2.4 linear feet (8 boxes + 1 oversize folder)
Abstract:: This collection documents the activities of the accomplished German-American music director Eugen Klee and his wife Emma. Eugen Klee was an award-winning music director in Philadelphia from 1894 to 1913, and in New York City from 1914 until 1929. The collection includes correspondence from family, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances, mostly in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, plus newspaper clippings and ephemera. There is one file of correspondence from the Matthes family who are related to Emma Klee's mother. Also included are five scrapbooks, four of which include many newspaper clippings, music programs, correspondence, travel brochures, leaflets, and photographs related to both Eugen and Emma Klee, and the fifth is Emma Klee's scrapbook containing primarily correspondence from the year 1930.

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

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]

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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