Place: Philadelphia (Pa.) / Year: <span class="from" data-blrl-begin="1860">1860</span> to <span class="to" data-blrl-end="1864">1864</span> - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

John Wanamaker collection, 1827-1987 (inclusive)

Extent:: 193.2 linear feet (; 316 volumes, 438 boxes)
Abstract:: John Wanamaker (1838-1922) was a well-known merchant, entrepreneur, and lifelong resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was active in the city's religious, political, and philanthropic areas, founded several Presbyterian churches and Sunday schools, and served as postmaster general under President Benjamin Harrison from 1889 to 1893. He opened his first Philadelphia clothing store, Oak Hall, with partner Nathan Brown in 1861, and founded John Wanamaker and Co. in 1869. In 1876, he opened "A New Kind of Store" known as the Grand Depot at Thirteenth and Market Streets. This store later became the flagship store, with satellite stores eventually established in central and southeastern Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey, Delaware, and New York City. Wanamaker was at the forefront in many areas of retailing including merchandising, employee relations and advertising. His sons Thomas B. Wanamaker and L. Rodman Wanamaker were also active in the business. Thomas ran John Wanamaker and...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Mutual Assurance Company (Green Tree) records, 1784-1995 (inclusive)

Extent:: 455.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Mutual Assurance Company for Insuring Houses from Loss by Fire was organized in Philadelphia in 1784, in order to make fire insurance available to those citizens who wished to have trees in front of their houses. A group of sixty-one men met on July 8, 1784 at the City (or London) Coffee House and agreed to create a new mutual fire insurance company. A deed of settlement was adopted and a green tree was selected as a symbol to appear on the company's policies and fire marks. The company archives of The Mutual Assurance Company, familiarly known as the Green Tree, consist of financial accounts and receipts, correspondence, histories, cancelled insurance surveys and policies, and miscellaneous material. The records date from the formation of the company in 1784 to 1995.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society minute books, 1827-2001 (inclusive)

Extent:: 7.3 linear feet (27 containers)
Abstract:: The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) was founded on November 24, 1827 by fifty-three prominent Philadelphians; among them Horace Binney, David Landreth Jr., William Davidson, George Pepper, Nicolas Biddle and Moses Brown. Emulating similar societies existing in England at the time, the men formed their Society to promote “a highly instructive and interesting science for the purpose of improving the growth of vegetables, plants, trees, fruits and flowers.” Since that time, the Society and its membership has fostered “…an appreciation of plants, acquiring scientific knowledge about them, disseminating horticultural information, and involving the public in gardening and beautifying the City of Philadelphia.” More recently, the Society has worked specifically to beautify the city and help realize William Penn’s founding vision for Philadelphia to be a “greene countrie towne.” This is a collection of meeting minutes of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Horticultural...(see more)

Held at: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society [Contact Us]

Union League archives, 1833-2010 (inclusive)

Extent:: 1643.0 items
Abstract:: Founded in 1862 as a patriotic society to support the Union and the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, the Union League of Philadelphia laid the philosophical foundation of other Union Leagues across a nation torn by Civil War. From its founding to the present, the League has been a leading civic organization and has played an important role in the history of our country and the City of Philadelphia. Over the past 150 years, this service has ranged from raising troops during the Civil War and lobbying for enforcement of the “freedom” amendments during Reconstruction, to feeding the hungry during the Great Depression, to finding jobs for returning veterans after World War II. The Union League archives houses a wide variety of records related to the general administration of the Union League, its mission, building and history. Additionally, researchers will find a small sampling of papers more generally related to the Civil War, including some letters written by Abraham Lincoln....(see more)

Held at: Union League of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Barry-Hayes papers, 1778-1861 (bulk) 1723-1875 (inclusive)

Extent:: 23.0 boxes and [7 oversize volumes, and 1 oversize folder]
Abstract:: John Barry (1745-1803), often credited as the Father of the American Navy, served the Continental Navy and the United States Navy for seventeen years. He and his descendents, particularly his nephew Patrick Hayes and grand-nephew Patrick Barry Hayes, became prominent members of Philadelphia society, serving as seamen, merchants, businessmen and politicians. The Barry-Hayes papers are the business, political and personal papers of John Barry and of his family, especially Patrick Hayes and Patrick Barry Hayes. The collection includes correspondence, letterbooks, diaries, logbooks, legal and financial papers related to Barry’s career in the Navy, the business ventures of the Hayes, Keen and Somers families, and their personal lives.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Conner family papers, 1832-1856 (bulk) 1832-1856 1816-1903 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3.0 folders
Abstract:: Susan Dillwyn Physick was born on June 22, 1803, in Philadelphia, the second of four children. Her parents were Elizabeth Emlen, whose family was one of the wealthiest in Philadelphia, and Philip Syng Physick, the prominent physician. In 1824 she met naval Master-Commandant David Conner, and the two married on June 25, 1828. The Conner family papers consist primarily of 23 journals kept by Susan Dillwyn Physick Conner from 1832 to 1856. The collection also includes her unfinished autobiography with amendments by her son, a scrapbook, two notebooks, two journals by her son, one journal by Philip Conner’s wife, two letters (one by Mary Lewis, one by Philip Conner), three account books, two published books owned by Susan Physick Conner, and notes and drafts by Arthur Hale, Philip Conner’s son-in-law.

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

John Dickinson papers, 1753-1808 (bulk) 1676-1885 (inclusive)

Extent:: 5.2 linear feet and 13 containers, 5 volumes
Abstract:: John Dickinson (1732-1808), a Philadelphia lawyer and politician, was a major figure in colonial Delaware and Pennsylvania governments and during the early national period. He was an active presence and prolific writer during the American Revolution and early Republic from the passage of the Sugar Act (1764) until the Jefferson presidency (1801 to 1809). He also served in the military as colonel, private, and brigadier general. He married Mary Norris in 1770. John Dickinson died in Delaware in 1808. The John Dickinson papers contains incoming and outgoing correspondence; drafts and original manuscript documents from the revolutionary and early national government, Revolutionary War, Delaware and Pennsylvania government; land papers; legal papers; bills and receipts; collected essays, notes and commonplace books; and estate material. The papers provide a clear picture of the way in which colonists envisioned their new country and how these new Americans worked, compromised and...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Library Company of Philadelphia minute books, 1731-2000 (inclusive)

Extent:: 46.0 volumes
Abstract:: In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a group of intellectual Philadelphians established the Library Company of Philadelphia, a subscription library supported by its shareholders. The Library Company flourished because it adopted a purchasing policy responsive to the needs of its intellectually alert, economically ambitious, but non-elite membership. The Library Company of Philadelphia is now an independent research library specializing in American society and culture from the 17th to 19th centuries. The history of this organization is best documented by its minute books dating from 1731 to 2000. The collection consists of minute books documenting the meetings of the Directors (both the final approved version of the minutes and the rough drafts of the minutes), 1731 to 2000; the Trustees of the Loganian Library, 1853 to 1876; and the Committee for Fixing the Value of Lost Books, 1785 to 1848. In addition to meeting minutes, the minute books include financial reports, and supporting...(see more)

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

Stevens-Cogdell-Sanders-Venning collection, 1734-1982 (inclusive)

Extent:: 3.0 linear feet
Abstract:: The Stevens-Cogdell-Sanders-Venning family papers document the development of a white family and a prominent middle-class African American family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, beginning with the 1760s emigration of John Stevens from England to South Carolina. The materials date from 1734 to 1982 and consist of scrapbooks, ephemera, newspaper clippings, Common Prayer books, invitations, holiday cards, correspondence, business papers, and a variety of personal papers. The materials document the Stevens-Cogdell-Sanders-Venning families’ professional, family, and personal lives as well as the development of a prominent middle-class African American family.

Held at: Library Company of Philadelphia [Contact Us]

19th Century playbills, 1852-1902 (bulk) 1803-1939 (inclusive)

Extent:: 29.25 linear feet (117 volumes (many volumes are boxed))
Abstract:: The 19th Century playbills collection contains a range of material related to theater culture in nineteenth century Philadelphia and in selected other theaters across the northeastern United States. Researchers will find nineteenth century playbills from the following Philadelphia theaters: the Walnut Street Theatre, the Academy of Music, the Arch Street Theatre, the Chestnut Street Theatre, National Theatre (Walnut Street), the National Theatre (Chestnut Street), the Melodeon, and the Continental Theatre. There are also playbills from the Chestnut Street, Arch Street, and 11th Street opera houses. This collection contains an assortment of scrapbooks which include newspaper clippings, photographs, and reviews of actors and performances. The majority of scrapbooks were assembled by various theater enthusiasts; however ten were compiled by theater producer and director Paul E. Glase, who was active in the Philadelphia theater scene during the early twentieth century. Because the...(see more)

Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]

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