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Start Over Repository Historical Society of Pennsylvania Subject Genealogy & local history Year 1865 to 1869

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Kirk & Nice, Inc. records, 1831-1988, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
36.88 linear feet (; 4 boxes, 148 volumes )
Abstract:
Kirk & Nice, Inc. is recognized as the United States' oldest continuously operating funeral establishment. Founded in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1761 by Jacob Knorr, originally the business was a carpenter shop that specialized in building furniture. Only on occasion was the request made for Mr. Knorr to construct a coffin. The Civil War and death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 revolutionized funeral services by popularizing the process of embalming the deceased along with encouraging citizens to outwardly mourn the passing of loved ones. In 1869 Jacob Knorr's business was re-named Kirk & Nice, after Benjamin R. Kirk and William Nice. During the 1860s and 1870s the carpentry shop gradually changed focus to funeral services, and the company continues to offer services to the residents of Philadelphia at two locations: Kirk & Nice, Inc. at George Washington Park in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and Kirk & Nice Suburban Chapel Inc. at Sunset Memorial Park in Feasterville, Pennsylvania....(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

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E. D. Buckman genealogical collection on the Buckman and allied families, circa 1850-circa 1892, undated

Extent:
5.4 linear feet (; 47 volumes)
Abstract:
This collection, compiled mostly by Edwin D. Buckman of Philadelphia, contains genealogical records pertaining to the Buckman family of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and many related families, such as the Blakers, Burgesses, and Hestons. The majority of the material consists of handwritten notes which trace the family from its roots in England and Edward Buckman (1623-1670), a Quaker of Sussex County. The Buckmans eventually settled near Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, approximately thirty miles north of Philadelphia. This collection consists of forty-seven volumes, all in modern library bindings. The volumes’ contents vary from histories of the Buckmans to papers on related families to abstracts of minutes from Friends' meetings. There are also notes and charts on the Buckman family by generation, newspaper clippings, and a few family papers such as deeds and correspondence. A few of the volumes contain indexes of other volumes.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]