Search

Start Over Repository Historical Society of Pennsylvania Year 1915 to 1919

Main content

Harry E. Adamson papers, 1880-2021 (inclusive)

Extent:
11.1 linear feet (; 27 boxes, 6 volumes)
Abstract:
Harry Egan Adamson Jr. (1949-2021) was a Philadelphia AIDS and gay rights activist and restaurant manager. Infected in 1982, Adamson lived with HIV for nearly 40 years. He moved to Philadelphia in 1981 with his partner David Yontz. The couple stayed with Dr. John E. Fryer (1937-2003), who became one of Adamson’s lifelong friends. Yontz returned to Chicago in 1982, but Adamson remained in Philadelphia. Many of his friends and former lovers succumbed to AIDS between 1984 and 2000, but Adamson was a slow progressor and did not need to start medication for his disease until 1998. Though his HIV disease was under good control, neuropathy in his extremities became disabling in 1993. Adamson remained as active as he could, completing a master’s degree in pastoral counseling at La Salle University in 2002, acting as agent executor for Dr. John Fryer’s estate after his death in 2003, and serving on the board of Philly AIDSThrift from 2010-2013. Nonetheless, medical problems and depression...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families papers, 1675-2018, bulk 1840-1995

Extent:
60.6 linear feet (; 103 boxes, 142 volumes, 11 flat files)
Abstract:
This collection from the Montgomery, Scott, and Wheeler families, spanning 60 linear feet, documents the history of Ardrossan, an estate in Villanova, Pennsylvania -- one of the largest on Philadelphia's Main Line -- and its residents over the course of more than two centuries. In 1911, local investment banker Colonel Robert Leaming Montgomery (1879-1949) hired Horace Trumbauer to design the residence on the family's 800-acre plot, complete with a dairy farm and horse stables. The son of William Woodrow Montgomery and Rebecca Waln Leaming, Robert L. Montgomery would go onto to establish what is now the investment firm of Janney Montgomery Scott. He married Charlotte Hope Binney Tyler (1881-1970) in 1902, and the couple had four children: Helen Hope, Mary Binney, Robert Alexander, and Charlotte Ives. Their eldest daughter, Helen Hope Montgomery (1904-1995), became well known in Philadelphia's social circles, and she went on to marry Edgar Scott (1899-1995), grandson of Thomas A....(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club records, 1938-2011 (bulk) 1913-2011 (inclusive)

Extent:
34.0 linear feet (; 75 boxes, 13 flat files, 65 volumes)
Abstract:
The Philadelphia Girls’ Rowing Club (PGRC) was founded in Philadelphia in 1938 by a group of seventeen women who were interested in pursuing recreational and competitive rowing at a time when women were discouraged from the sport. The club owns one of the oldest boathouses on Boathouse Row on the Schuylkill River, the former home of the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, which was built in 1861. The club boasts among its membership some of the early pioneers of women’s rowing in the United States. PGRC is one of the oldest operating all-female rowing clubs in the country. The club currently hosts the Bill Braxton Memorial Regatta and is home to the Agnes Irwin School’s rowing program as part of their effort to encourage women to tap into their maximum potential as athletes. The primary mission of the club is “to ensure that all members develop the skills to feel confident on the river and safely participate in this athletic pursuit. Proficiency in the sport enhances the...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

Saunders House records, 1862-1940 (bulk) 1853-2011, undated (inclusive)

Extent:
3.6 linear feet (; 8 boxes, 7 volumes, 1 flat file)
Abstract:
The Old Man's Home of Philadelphia was chartered in 1860 and opened its doors in 1864 in West Philadelphia, as a residence for old men in indigent circumstances. The home evolved to be Saunders House and began admitting women in 1960. In 1973, it moved to its current location adjacent to Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pa. Today Saunders House provides long-term care and rehabilitation services to up to 180 older adult residents. The collection includes the original Old Man's Home minute book; admission records; record of inmates; annual reports; financial reports; deeds and other property-related documents; newsletters; court records from an inheritance dispute involving the Old Man's Home; a program from the organization's 125th anniversary celebration; a Christian Endeavor hymn book, typescripts, and clippings.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

Junior League of Philadelphia records, 1955-1998 (bulk) 1912-2009 (inclusive)

Extent:
11.4 linear feet (; 29 boxes)
Abstract:
The Junior League of Philadelphia, Inc. founded 1912, is an organization of women devoted to volunteerism and community improvement. It was initially established to help create settlement houses in Philadelphia. However, over time, the group became involved with a large number of causes, from war relief to children's care, and today continues its legacy of city-wide community involvement. The Junior League celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012 and remains highly active in the Philadelphia community. The Junior League of Philadelphia records constitute the institutional records of this organization. The collection dates from 1912 to 2009, with bulk dates of 1955 to 1998, and contains board and committee meeting minutes, newsletters, member directories, and annual reports. These materials provide an excellent depiction of the governance of the organization as well as member lists and highlighted events and activities.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

Pisano and Siciliano families papers, 1910-2009, undated

Extent:
0.8 linear feet (; 2 boxes, 5 volumes)
Abstract:
Members from both the Pisano and Silciliano families of Philadelphia and Camden first arrived in the United States in the early 1900s, both from the town of Gasperina, Italy. This collection, compiled by Donna Meidt, highlights their genealogies through vital records, passports, family trees, and images (including digital images on one CD). There are also original photographs and Italian magazines, as well as a sampling of plays, operas, and poetry handwritten or transcribed in Italian by Antonio Pisano (1894-1979). Pisano was a poet, playwright, and member of the theatrical group the Philadelphia Filodramatic Circle Gasperinese.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

Shee family papers, 1775-2009, undated; bulk 1775-1785

Extent:
0.4 linear feet (; 1 box [5 folders])
Abstract:
Cecelia (circa 1750-1779) and John Parke (1755-1780) were the children of Thomas Parke of Kent County, Delaware. Around 1770, Cecelia married Bertles Shee. Cecelia lived in Philadelphia and Dover, Delaware. Both John Parke and Bertles Shee served in the Continental Army. This small collection of papers from the Shee family mostly consists of detailed letters Cecelia wrote to John in the army between July 1775 and February 1777. There are also genealogical notes, a copy of Bertles Shee's will, a letter concerning property in Ireland, a letter from John Chew concering Bertles Shee's debts, and a set of typed transciptions of most of the documents in the collection.

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

Foerderer family papers, 1894-1994 (bulk) 1865-2009 (inclusive)

Extent:
3.8 linear feet (; 13 boxes, 1 volume, 1 flat file)
Abstract:
Percival E. Foerderer (1884-1969) was a Philadelphia businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist, although lived most of his life in the city suburbs of Merion and Bryn Mawr. His college-age medical education was interrupted when his father, Robert H. Foerderer, became ill and could no longer run the family’s decades-old leather manufacturing business. In response, Percival quit school and, in the early 1900s, joined Robert H. Foerderer, Inc, manufacturers of “Vici Kid” leather. Later in life, Percival served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson Medical College and Hospital, and on the boards of many other companies and organizations in Philadelphia. He married Ethel Brown (1885-1981), daughter of a Philadelphia textile manufacturer, who presided over the Women's Board of Jefferson and was active in several other civic and philanthropic activities. Percival and Ethel Foerderer had three daughters, Mignon, Florence, and Shirley. This family collection spans from the...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Main content

St. David's Church (Radnor, Pa.) records, circa 1706-2008

Extent:
15.0 linear feet (; 30 boxes, 34 volumes, 15 flat files)
Abstract:
The cornerstone for St. David’s Church was laid in 1715 by a group of Welsh settlers in what is currently Radnor Township. During the Revolutionary War, the parish faced turmoil and the absence of a minister for the parishioners. By 1788, the parish once again had leadership, and in 1792, Reverend William Currie incorporated the parish and drew up a charter. The parish continued to grow as railroad lines brought urban dwellers to areas like Radnor that surrounded Philadelphia. For the next century, the parish would erect buildings to accommodate its constituency, providing the parishioners with a new rectory, chapel, parish house, and education building. Currently, the church attends to the religious needs of over one thousand families and holds many events, including an annual fair and auction. The records of St. David’s Church span from 1706 to 2006 and offer insight into the activities of the parishioners and history of the church in Radnor, Pennsylvania. This collection consists...(see more)

Held at: Historical Society of Pennsylvania [Contact Us]

Limit your search

more »

more »

more »

more »

more »

more »

Current results range from 1343 to 2021

View larger »